Opposition view: 'Painful experience' for Saracens at the Gardens
Mark McCall reflected on a 'painful experience' as his Saracens side saw their play-off hopes dented by Saints on Saturday.
Phil Dowson's men roared back from 24-7 down to win 28-24 in their final home game of the season.
Saracens had looked to be cruising to a victory that would have pushed them back into the Gallagher Premiership top four.
But Saints' replacements helped to turn the game around, leaving boss McCall and his men frustrated.
“It was a painful experience and a hugely disappointing ending as we were all over the place in the final 20 minutes," McCall said.
“In the first half, we played with intensity and exactly as we had planned to have the better of full-strength European Cup finalists, but after that we were really poor.
“The performance today fully encapsulates our mixed-bag season as the gap between our best and worst is far too wide.
“We didn’t deserve to win and just have to suck it up.”
Saracens felt Saints' last try, which came from Tarek Haffar in the final seconds, should have been ruled out for a forward pass in the build-up.
But referee Luke Pearce stuck with his on-field decision and awarded what proved to be the match-winning score.
“Everybody knows if it doesn’t look right, and it probably didn’t, but I haven’t studied any replays in detail," McCall said.