NEWCASTLE Falcons suffered their second home defeat yesterday when the sin-binning of flanker Cory Harris changed a game they were winning 16-3 just before half-time.

During his ten minutes in the bin a Bath side with little previous idea of how to turn their forward dominance into points got the gap down to one.

After losing their first three games, there was then no stopping Bath from that point and they scored two more tries.

The Falcons were always struggling to halt Bath's driving maul and it was when Harris was adjudged to have pulled one down that the yellow card was brandished.

If that seemed to disrupt Newcastle, so did the second half substitutions and they never looked like regaining their momentum.

Director of Rugby Rob Andrew said: "We hardly had a touch in the second half, which is very disappointing given the way we played last week.

"When we are good we are very good, but when we are bad we are downright awful and it's very frustrating.

"Our home form is worrying. There were reasons for it at the end of last season, but given the resources we think we have now it's not good enough. We have to reach a level of consistency week in and week out and over the course of 80 minutes."

There was an excellent performance from young lock Geoff Parling, but there was a lack of dynamism in the back row, where Australian Owen Finegan looked off the pace.

For all their strength up front, Bath had no flair or penetration behind in the first half after going ahead almost from the kick-off, which Finegan caught but was clattered while still weighing up his options.

Bath mounted a series of pick-and-drives, the Falcons fell off-side and Olly Barkley landed the simple penalty.

It was his last success of the half as he missed three penalties, one of which hit a post, and failed to convert the try Bath scored in the left corner on the stroke of half-time.

Newcastle were much the more creative side and after five minutes of Bath pressure they thrilled the 6,869 crowd by breaking out from their own 22.

Dave Walder put Jamie Noon through a gap, Matt Burke joined the line and sent Mathew Tait on a 60-metre run up the left.

He was stopped ten metres short, but the Falcons recycled the ball and Tait had another go before Bath were penalised and Burke made it 3-3.

The Falcons were penalised for crossing at the restart, but Barkley missed the penalty, then Noon and Tait burst up the right and Newcastle kicked a penalty to the corner, only to drop the ball at the line-out.

They went ahead after 18 minutes through a snap drop goal by Walder, who swivelled to find the target from wide on the right.

Bath's inadequacies behind the scrum were underlined when they recycled the ball a dozen times on or just inside the 22, only for the Falcons to turn the ball over in a ruck.

Prop Micky Ward came away with the ball, Parling took it on and from a penalty on halfway Burke pulled his effort just left of the target.

Injuries forced Newcastle to send on Tino Paoletti for Robbie Morris at tight head, while Bath sent on Ryan Davies for fly half Andy Dunne.

When former England full back Matt Perry dropped the ball on his own 22, Burke hacked on and from a penalty on the 22 he made it 9-3 after 30 minutes.

Bath drove a maul 20 metres on the restart, but again failed to capitalise as Barkley missed another penalty.

The first try after 37 minutes was a cracker. Walder worked a switch on halfway with Noon, who broke through and found Parling in support. The lock offloaded to Walder, whose jink wrong-footed what was left of the defence before he found Burke on an angled run to the posts.

Burke converted and while the Falcons might have wondered how they came to lead 16-3 there was no suggestion at that stage that it could be overturned.

Bath's first attempt to hit back foundered when they spilt the ball in a shuddering tackle from Noon, but then came the yellow card.

Bath kicked the penalty to the corner, drove over from the line-out but knocked on.

They scored a minute later, however, when they drove another maul and England prop Matt Stevens peeled off to scamper eight metres up the touchline into the left corner.

It was 16-8 at half-time and the warning bells were soon ringing again as Bath's Andy Higgins came off his right wing and was stopped only by one of several crucial tackles by Mark Mayerhofler.

A counter-attack by Parling relieved the pressure, but seven minutes into the half Davies made a break in the centre for Bath and from a ruck ten metres from the posts scrum half Mike Wood dummied his way over.

The conversion reduced the gap to one point and Harris didn't get back on after his ten minutes in the bin, Ben Woods taking his place while David Wilson went on for Ward.

Later changes saw Matt Thompson go on at hooker, Toby Flood at fly half and Mike McCarthy at blind side, but the tide had turned beyond the Falcons' reach.

Midway through the second half Bath twice kicked penalties to the corner. From the first line-out they drove over but couldn't get the ball down, from the second No 8 Zak Feaunati scored and Barkley convereted. The Falcons' tackling was badly at fault for the final try ten minutes from time.

After another sniping break by Wood, even Colin Charvis missed a tackle as the ball was moved out for flanker James Scaysbrook to score in the left corner.

Other than a burst by Noon and a run up the left touchline by Tait, there was little sign of a Falcons fightback and there will be much soul-searching before next Sunday's Powergen Cup match at home to Sale.

Result: Newcastle Falcons 16, Bath 27.