Leicester stay top of the Premiership despite slipping to defeat at Newcastle for the second successive season and, though they picked up a last-minute bonus point with a Ben Youngs try, the acting head coach, Richard Cockerill, was not a happy man.

"It is tough here," he said. "Newcastle are on a good run and tactically sound. We were sloppy and made life hard for ourselves. How we deal with this loss is key to our run-in to the end of the season. The bonus point was just that – a real bonus."

Newcastle, whose six-match unbeaten run came to an end at Bath last week, rediscovered the bite and commitment which makes the director of rugby, Steve Bates, and Alan Tait believe the Falcons may yet qualify for next season's Heineken Cup. "That has to be our best performance of the season," said Bates. "We're nowhere near the finished article but we are moving in the right direction."

After last week's demolition of Saracens Leicester looked in charge early on but Newcastle scrapped for every ball and after 13 minutes Brent Wilson's brilliant offload sent Matt Thompson on a charge up to the Tigers' line. Newcastle piled in, the ball was flashed along the line and Tom May's pass was tipped on by Alex Tait for Tane Tu'ipulotu to score in the corner.

A sudden downpour prompted a spate of kicking and, when Leicester dived over the ball, May kicked a long-range penalty off the bar in the 29th minute. Three minutes later he sent over a drop-goal from 45 metres and was back again to kick a 38th-minute penalty.

Toby Flood kicked a penalty in the 49th minute against his former club, but another sparkling run from Tu'ipulotu almost led to a try for John Rudd as Newcastle stepped up the pressure.

With five minutes left, Flood found the corner with a penalty but Newcastle's defence held firm and the Leicester drive ended with a scrum to the Falcons for offside. However, when Micky Young's kick was charged down in the last minute, Ben Youngs scored the try.

Newcastle Falcons Tait (Miller 78); Visser, Noon, Tu'ipulotu, Rudd; May, Charlton (Young 45); Golding (D Wilson 29), Thompson (Vickers 50), Hayman, Parling (Perry 71), Sorenson (Brown 78), Swinson (Winter 42), Wilson, Dowson (capt).

Try Tu'ipulotu Pens May 2 Drop-goal May.

Leicester Tigers Murphy; Hamilton (J Murphy 58), Erinle, Mauger (Vesty 73), Tuilagi; Flood, Ellis (Youngs 61); Stankovich (Cole 58), Chuter (Davies 64), Castrogiovanni, Deacon (Hemingway 73), Kay, Croft, Woods, Corry (capt; Pienaar 49).

Try Youngs Con Flood Pen Flood.

Referee C White (Gloucestershire). Attendance 7,614.