This being our final league game before Friday the 13^th and coming on the heels of seven matches without a win, defeat was simply not an option yesterday in probably our most important game since Harlequins in 2003.

That day, power and flair saw us through. Yesterday, it was defensive strength, sheer stubbornness and a refusal to give in to one of England's top sides which saw our Falcons achieve an absolutely priceless win.

The euphoria in the stands which greeted Tom May's successful penalty and the penalty was only compounded by the news that Bristol had lost heavily to Saracens.

We are now seven points ahead of our relegation rivals, meaning a defeat at the Memorial Stadium would not drop us to the bottom, not that that makes a win next month any less necessary.

Steve Bates named Danny Williams and Ed Williamson back in the starting lineup, while Mark Sorenson was on the bench in favour of Tim Swinson and Geoff Parling. David Wilson and Rob Vickers joined Carl Hayman in the front row, while Micky Young was back behind the scrum.

We dominated the opening stages of the game, keeping the ball well, but with the posts swaying like Shakira towards the east, Rory Clegg's first two kicks at goal missed from the right.

Undeterred, the Falcons kept their heads up and the returning Williams raced through for the opening try on the right. Four tries in four starts, I said he was prolific – how did we ever doubt him?

Clegg's conversion put us seven up, but Gloucester then took control of possession, particularly at the scrum where out of about ten they had in the first half, Rory Lawson put the ball in about three times, including four resets in a row before they were finally given the decision.

While Gloucester picked and drove on halfway near the end of the half, one fan suggested they were running down the clock already – I replied that they were wasting their own time, and that for me they could pick and drive on halfway for the rest of the game.

For the only time Gloucester really looked like scoring in the first half was when we gifted them possession just inside our half with a couple of minutes to go, and the three-quarters attached at pace.

Fortunately it came to nothing and we went into the interval 7-0 up.

The second half was more even, but within three minutes Lawson had equalised with a converted try. Here we go again, just like Irish, Wasps and Worcester our good start had been a false dawn.

The Falcons kept pressing, playing with the ball in hand and showing what this can achieve, although another penalty went wide of the right-hand post. Maybe it was the wind that led us to abandon the kicking game, but if it doesn't work, then try something different. We have and it worked!

With Clegg having been replaced with Steve Jones and Tom May taking up the fly-half position for much of the play, it was the starting full-back who stepped up to take what should have been a simple penalty on 70 minutes. Yet it was such an important kick.

KP was silent. Ma Leipy couldn't watch. I feared to watch but was unable to turn away, just trying to think positive “It's going over, he's going to score. This could be the most important kick of your career Tom, don't miss it!”

It was one of those times when you realise that a human heartbeat probably can shake a truck.

May approached the ball and kicked it high into the Geordie evening. It looked good, yet the one or two seconds the touch judges took to decide seemed like an eternity – and the flags went up!

KP erupted in a mix of ecstasy and relief! I haven't seen the highlights, but my brother saw the penalty on the local news and said he'd never seen crowd react to a kick in such a way. We can do this!

There were still ten minutes left, and Gloucester of course attacked hard, yet never found a position from which to attempt a kick. Perhaps they weren't interested in a draw, as a win would've put them top of the table – they had as much to play for as us.

But the Falcons also didn't look ready to settle for 10-7, and tried to put the game to bed. It was great to see such a positive and dare I say confident mindset. We've been begging The Master all year to Give Pace A Chance, and add this to the second half against Northampton to see what such tactics can achieve.

The last ten minutes ticked down so slowly...I was more nervous that I we'd been losing by three points! For those ten minutes it seemed like nothing in the world mattered except the Falcons ending the game in the lead, yet in the back of my mind I knew that one moment of stupidity could undo all our great work.

I watched as the clock trickled past one minute to 59 seconds, 30 seconds to 29, and then suddenly the crowd counted down from ten to zero. The thoughts of 5,000 people turned to one thing: “Kick it out!”

We did, and it was over. We had done it! 10-7, we had come through an incredibly difficult game, and got four absolutely vital points, which given Bristol's half-time score would likely see us seven points clear of relegation. They do. What a relief!

I have to say well done to the team, and the coaches too. Whether the whole team deserved man of the match I'm not sure, but the fact is they took on Gloucester with a positive game plan and didn't crumble when the pressure was on.

Well done to the crowd as well for the incredible atmosphere, probably the best this season, which I'm sure helped our team over the finish line.

This result on it's own might not keep us up, but it will sure help! Let's have a couple of good wins in Europe now, then hit the ground running in Bristol for the rest of the season.

We can do this!

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