DESPITE suffering an 11th straight defeat in all competitions, Newcastle boss Alex Codling praised his side's effort and the Falcons' hard going faithful.
Codling said: “The crowd were brilliant again – they turned up in numbers and really got behind the team.
“We're doing it tough at the moment – our fans know that but they also see the effort from the players, and the spirit was epitomised by the end of the game. The result had gone and we only had 14 on the field with Mateo Carreras going off with a dead leg but we went up the other end and scored. That told me a lot about the character of this group, they don't roll over.
“We were a point away from a losing bonus, but that's where we are at the moment.”
Bristol centre Benhard van Rensburg said: “Newcastle made it tough for us. It's a really important win.
“We were reminded how Bristol lost the last two games up here so to get this win means a lot to us.”
