Eels win in thriller finish

The Parramatta Eels have beaten the Newcastle Knights 18-16 at Energy Australia Stadium in a match that took the full 80 minutes to decide.

It wasn?t a promising start for the Eels and it got worse 10 minutes in when a mistake from Luke Burt led to Timana Tahu scoring an opportunists try.

George Carmont went across for Newcastle?s second and at half time Parramatta?s recent woes seemed set to continue with the score at 10-0.

The second half would bring a change of fortunes though for the Eels as Dykes finished off a great run from Widders and Graham dived over in the corner to give Parramatta an unlikely lead.

It was then up to Kurt Gidley to send Newcastle?s reply as he went over late in the game for what seemed to be the winning try and another blow for the Brian Smith coached Eels.

With Eels fans bracing themselves for their sixth consecutive loss the gods shined on the blue and golds as Luke Burt dived over the line in the 80th minute and Witt converted to give Parramatta a two point win and something to build on in the coming weeks.

EnergyAustralia Stadium Referee: Jason Robinson Video Referee: Mick Stone. Touch Judges: Jason Weinstein, David Abood Scorers: KNIGHTS Tries: Tahu, Carmont, K.Gidley Goals: K.Gidley 2/3 EELS Tries: Dykes, Graham, Burt Goals: Witt 3/3

By the clock: 0 min: Kick-off!

3rd min: NEWS - Newcastle have been awarded the first penalty of the match for the Eels being inside the ten.

6th min: NEWS - Parramatta have had the better of possession so far and are playing positively as they look to overcome their form slump.

10th min: TRY - Knights. Luke Burt threw a ball inside thinking he was going out which found Timana Tahu who had an easy run to the line. Kurt Gidley converts - Knights 6-0.

15th min: NEWS - Parramatta are allowing Newcastle to make too many easy metres.

20th min: NEWS - The Eels are struggling to get any go forward but the kicking game from Dykes has been very good so far tonight.

22nd min: NEWS - The error count is Newcastle 3 Parramatta 4.

25th min: TRY - Knights. Kurt Gidley saw that Parramatta were short out wide and sent it that way with George Carmont finishing off. Kurt Gidley fails to convert - Knights 10-0.

30th min: NEWS - Parramatta have come close to scoring with John Morris being held up over the line.

36th min: NEWS - Already Parramatta are looking for new ideas with John Morris now on the bench.

40th min: HALF TIME - Newcastle were just starting to kick into gear coming into half time and if Parramatta aren't next to score it could be a long night for the Eels. Half time score - Knights 10 Eels 0

41st min: The second half is underway!

44th min: NEWS - Like the first half Newcastle have been making plenty of easy metres in the opening minutes of the second half.

46th min: TRY - Eels. Dean Widders got on the outside of Woolnough out wide and Adam Dykes finished off the play running 30 metres to score. Witt converts - Knights 10-6.

49th min: NEWS - In the last few minutes The Eels have been finding a few gaps in the Newcastle defence that weren't there in the first half.

54th min: NEWS - The Penalty count is 5-4 in Parramatta's favour.

57th min: TRY - Eels. A mistake from Newcastle in their own half gave Parramatta a great attacking chance. On the 4th tackle Junior Langi threw a great flick pass and Graham went over in the corner. Witt converts from the sideline - Eels 12-10.

59th min: NEWS - Newcastle have come out looking very flat in the second half and now find themselves behind on the scoreboard.

60th min: NEWS - Parramatta have now been awarded 5 consecutive penalties.

65th min: NEWS - It's now the Eels who are on the back foot having to survive repeat sets on their own line.

71st min: NEWS - Parramatta have given away a stupid penalty putting Newcastle hot on attack in the Eels half.

72nd min: TRY - Knights. The pressure finally told on Parramatta and Kurt Gidley went from dummy half to score. Kurt Gidley converts his own try - Knights 16-12.

80th min: TRY - Eels. In the dying minutes the Eels have pulled it out of the bag with Luke Burt crossing to tie up the game. Michael Witt converts to win the game and the Eels players come from every direction to congratulate him.

80th min: FULL TIME - The Eels have pulled of a very unlikely victory which will mean a lot to the club and it's fans in this tough time. Final score - Eels 18 Knights 16.

----------------------------------------- Leagueunlimited.com players of the match: 3 - N Hindmarsh (Eels) 2 - T Tahu (Knights) 1 - A Dykes (Eels) -----------------------------------------