Everitt's late penalty could save Irish

Saracens 12 London Irish 14

The way Conor O'Shea saw it – and he was not deliberately overstating the case – Michael Horak scored the "individual try of the season", while Barry Everitt was responsible for "the kick that might save this club". No shortage of incident, then.

Yesterday's basement scrap in downtown Watford may have been lacking in almost every respect – strategy, discipline, basic skill levels, bog-standard rugby know-how – but when a second half goes 12 minutes over the 40, thereby leaving everyone's nerves as taut as the top string on a violin, any man with his job on the line can be forgiven a little hyperbole.

London Irish fully deserved this most precious of victories. Horak's was the only try of the game – an 80-metre rampage as early as the third minute, following a spectacularly fluffed drop-goal attempt from an out-of-sorts Thomas Castaignède – and the visitors dominated the forward contest so completely that they should have won at a canter. As it was, they needed an 89th-minute penalty from Everitt to complete a first Premiership success since the first week of January.

That Saracens are now up to their eyeballs in relegation strife is largely down to Robbie Russell. Having taken the lead with a fourth Niki Little penalty in the first minute of injury time – the second half was extended for ever and a day because of a serious ankle dislocation suffered by Justin Bishop, the London Irish wing, who can kiss goodbye to this year's World Cup – the home side had only to exercise a modicum of common sense to bag the spoils. Sadly, that much was beyond their Scottish international hooker.

By kicking the ball away after a penalty decision from Ashley Rowden, he conceded 10 metres of territory that took the Exiles over the half-way line and put Everitt within range, albeit at the very outer limit of his capabilities. Sod's law dictated that the outside-half would extract full value from his opponent's error of judgement. He connected beautifully and punched the air in triumph as the ball inched its way over the bar.

Saracens missed the expertise of Richard Hill and the bulk of Kris Chesney in the back row; forced to field two willing but lightweight 20-year-olds in Ryan Peacey and Ben Russell, they finished a distant second in the battle of the breakdown. Irish, on the other hand, were blessed with the calming presence of Ryan Strudwick, back in the engine room after three long months of injury hassle.

"This relegation business if getting to everyone," said O'Shea, who combines the director of rugby and chief executive roles at Irish. "When you see world-class players under that sort of pressure and making those sorts of mistakes, you realise what it means. One big side is going down this season and that could be the end of them." Five of the 12 clubs in the Premiership are only too aware of that uncomfortable truth.

Saracens: Penalties Little 4. London Irish: Try Horak; Penalties Everitt 2; Drop goal Everitt.

Saracens: T Castaignède; R Haughton, T Shanklin, T Horan (B Johnston, 87), D O'Mahony; N Little, K Bracken ts(capt); C Califano, M Cairns (R Russell, 48), M Storey (J Marsters, 48), A Benazzi, C Yandell (S Hooper, 71), R Peacey, T Roques, B Russell (B Skirving, 58).

London Irish: M Horak; P Sackey, N Burrows, B Venter, J Bishop (K Barrett, 66); B Everitt, D Edwards; M Worsley (N Hatley, 47), N Drotske, R Hardwick (S Halford, 47), R Strudwick (capt), R Casey, J Cockle (D Danaher, 79), K Dawson, C Sheasby.

Referee: A Rowden (Berkshire).