Saints stand firm at Quins
Northampton's defence stood firm as they blew a 13-0 lead but held on in the closing stages for a hard-fought 20-16 win at Harlequins.
Last Updated: 11/09/10 4:07pm
Northampton's defence stood firm as they blew a 13-0 lead but held on in the closing stages for a hard-fought 20-16 win at Harlequins.
The Saints had powered into a 13-0 lead thanks to Chris Ashton's try and Shane Geraghty adding the conversion to two successful earlier penalties.
Nick Evans booted Quins onto the board on the stroke of half time and when the sides emerged from the break Saints struggled to get going again, and they conceded two more penalties and a George Lowe try to see their advantage rubbed out.
Saints' defence was keeping them in the game as they tried to regain the momentum, and eventually they found a way through with Dylan Hartley capping off a smart move with his try in the 69th minute.
In the end it was defence that won the day for Saints as they clung on in the final stages - with Ben Foden holding Joe Marler up over the line with six seconds left to secure the win for the visitors.
Quick lead
Geraghty kicked Saints ahead in just the eighth minute, but the sides could not then be separated until another Geraghty penalty on 36, which was followed by England star Ashton going over just a minute later.
A 13-0 lead was a comfortable one for the visitors, and even though Evans kicked a penalty to finally get the hosts on the scoreboard on the stroke of half time, it looked like a long way back for Quins.
However, Saints switched off after the interval and a penalty two minutes into the second half gave the visitors some hope, which turned to real ambition with Evans' third successful kick making it 13-9.
With Saints struggling to get back into their early form, Quins took advantage and centre Lowe's try on 55 minutes saw them go ahead for the first time in the match at 16-13.
Saints only stayed in the game through stout defence, but they found some attacking intent on 69 minutes with a neat move following a lineout, which started with a clever spin and offload from Hartley and finished with the hooker crashing over the line.
Saints looked to have held on until the final minute, when a quick couple of penalties led to Quins replacement Marler bounding over the line, only for Foden to tackle and ensure he got under the ball to prevent the grounding.
The video official agreed and no try was given, but even when the clock restarted with just six seconds remaining, Quins had another chance as Danny Care wriggled free following the scrum and darted dangerously towards the line.
A thumping tackle from Ashton though saw the ball come loose and with that Saints hung on, for good this time, and the final whistle blew on a battling performance and a victory that owed more to defiant defence than attacking fervour.