McParland scores the winner as Saints seal dramatic late victory against Saracens

The black, green and gold lost Manny Iyogun and Fin Smith to injury during the first half and saw Trevor Davison helped from the field in the second.

Saracens came roaring back from 14-0 down, having been totally outplayed during the opening 20 minutes, and it was the hosts who took the lead on 72 minutes.

But Saints would not be denied as Tom Litchfield, who had opened the scoring, cut through Saracens and showed great poise and awareness to set up the onrushing McParland for what proved to be the decisive try.

Rory Hutchinson added the extras and Saracens' sinning helped Saints in the final few seconds as two penalties allowed them to close the game out and delight the many supporters who had travelled from Northampton to Tottenham.

Saints had known they would have to fight for everything they got as Saracens had come into the game on the back of a humbling defeat at Bath eight days earlier.

But it was the black, green and gold who flew out of the blocks in the game dubbed 'The Showdown VI' as they came agonisingly close to an opening try when James Ramm danced in from the left.

Saracens stood tall, eventually intercepting to relieve the pressure, but Saints came again after Owen Farrell was penalised at the breakdown, turning down a shot at goal in a bid to turn the screw.

Saracens again resisted, allowing Charlie Bracken to clear into the away half, but the reprieve didn't last long as another black, green and gold wave came the way of the hosts and George Furbank and Hutchinson set up Litchfield, who galloped through the middle to score before throwing the ball into the crowd in delight.

Fin Smith converted and it was clear how many Saints supporters had made the trip to north London as there were huge celebrations in the stands following the try, with the away fans really lifting the noise levels.

Furbank produced a fantastic 50:22 to pile more pressure on Saracens, but the home side refused to buckle as they defended solidly to force the turnover.

Saints were playing with such intensity though and they just kept flying at Saracens, with Smith showing fantastic awareness to keep hold of the ball and break the line before offloading to McParland for another fine try.

Smith added the extras and Saints thought they'd scored again when Henry Pollock dotted down, but the effort was ruled out for obstruction by Litchfield in the build-up.

Saracens were desperate for some sort of spark, and with 20 minutes on the clock, they finally got up and running as they pushed into Saints territory and turned up the heat.

Tobias Elliott got the hosts on the board as he cut in from the right and shrugged off a couple of Saints players to score, before Farrell notched a tidy conversion.

Saints lost Iyogun to injury in the 27th minute, bringing Danilo Fischetti into the game, and Saracens immediately won a scrum penalty to give them a platform to launch another attack.

Smith was the next Saints player to be forced off injured as he caught a stray boot and had to have a head injury assessment.

Pollock was also having to have treatment, though he was able to continue.

Saracens were starting to boss the scrum battle and after they won a penalty from a Saints put-in, Farrell kicked to the corner, piling more pressure on.

Saints were eventually able to get out by winning a scrum penalty of their own and they maintained their seven-point lead at half-time.

Saints looked to start the second half as they had the first: on the front foot, but Saracens were in defiant mood, shutting the door to their 22 as they won a penalty and turned the tables.

Farrell kicked another penalty to the corner and the PA announcer did his best to stoke up the home supporters as they sought to push their team over the line.

And they did just that as Theo Dan showed his power, forcing his way past Furbank and Fraser Dingwall to score.

Farrell converted to level the scores with 46 minutes on the clock and the game was starting to really open up, with both teams looking to counter-attack in a frantic encounter.

Saints sent for Davison and JJ van der Mescht in a bid to help them get some momentum back in their favour.

However, the black, green and gold just could not get anywhere near the Saracens 22 as the men in black, red and white erected a wall that could not be breached.

Saints were dealt yet another injury blow on 62 minutes as Davison had to be helped from the field, bringing Luke Green back into the action.

Saracens were making the most of Saints' indiscipline as time and again they were able to get out of their own half with help from the whistle of referee Anthony Woodthorpe.

Saints finally had a sight of the home line when McParland's long pass found van der Mescht on the left and he powered through one defender before being held up over the line.

Saracens made the most of their reprieve as they went straight back down the other end and won a penalty, which Fergus Burke kicked to put them in the lead for the first time with seven minutes to go.

Saints looked to issue a response and after Tommy Freeman kicked ahead on the right, Saracens were forced to scramble, pushing the ball out of play.

Saints kicked a penalty to the corner before trying to utilise the power of van der Mescht close to the line, but for the second time he was held up over the line by Saracens.

But Saints just would not be denied and they engineered the winning try in true black, green and gold fashion, cutting Saracens open before Litchfield sped forward and released McParland for the try.

Hutchinson ran the clock down before converting, putting his side 21-17 up with less than two minutes to go.

And after Saracens gave away a couple of penalties in Saints territory, McParland fired the ball back for Furbank to boot it out and put the seal on a memorable success.

Saracens: 15 Elliot Daly; 14 Tobias Elliott, 13 Lucio Cinti, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rotimi Segun; 10 Owen Farrell (Fergus Burke 70); 9 Charlie Bracken (Ivan van Zyl 65); 1 Rhys Carre (Eroni Mawi 51), 2 Theo Dan (Jamie George 51), 3 Marcus Street (Marco Riccioni 51); 4 Maro Itoje (c), 5 Hugh Tizard; 6 Theo McFarland (Nick Isiekwe 65), 7 Andy Onyeama-Christie, 8 Tom Willis (Nathan Michelow 56).

Saints: 15 George Furbank (c); 14 Tommy Freeman, 13 Tom Litchfield, 12 Rory Hutchinson, 11 James Ramm; 10 Fin Smith (Fraser Dingwall 31), 9 Archie McParland; 1 Emmanuel Iyogun (Danilo Fischetti 27), 2 Curtis Langdon (Craig Wright 56), 3 Luke Green (Trevor Davison 51 (Luke Green 63)); 4 Tom Lockett (Chunya Munga 72), 5 Ed Prowse (JJ van der Mescht 51); 6 Josh Kemeny (Callum Chick 67), 7 Tom Pearson, 8 Henry Pollock.

Referee: Anthony Woodthorpe