Saracens were given a Halloween scare as they were forced to come from 7-3 down in order to beat London Irish 24-14 at Allianz Park on Saturday.

The Exiles are one of just three sides to have left Sarries’ new home with victory since their 2013 move. But tries from Jackson Wray and Alex Goode were supplemented by ten points from the boot of Owen Farrell to ensure they would not repeat that trick.

It was Farrell who kicked the Men in Black into a 3-0 lead early on after a penalty was awarded at the scrum.

The England international missed a second kick shortly after and Irish punished the hosts in the 30th minute when wing Aseli Tikoirotunma went over; Chris Noakes converting.

Farrell dissected the posts a second time after the restart to keep the hosts within touching distance.

And Mark McCall’s men re-took the lead when Wray burrowed over following a driving maul. Farrell, however, couldn’t nail a tricky conversion.

Saracens extended their lead when Goode dummied his way over to cross the whitewash and this time Farrell converted.

But the Exiles kept things interesting as Leo Halavatau went over for a try converted by Shane Geraghty and it took a pair of Saracens penalties to make the points safe.

The Men in Black travel to Northampton Saints on Saturday in round four of the Premiership.