Head Coach Ceri Jones admitted a lack of control in the second half had ultimately cost his Dragons as they lost out to high-flying Edinburgh on Friday evening.
Wales international Tyler Morgan grabbed a first half double as Dragons led at the break in an entertaining Guinness PRO14 encounter at BT Murrayfield.
But a powerful surge in the final quarter saw the play-off chasing hosts pull clear to maintain an undefeated record at home that stretches back to April.
“It was a good performance for 60 minutes, but unfortunately it wasn’t an 80-minute performance, which was our downfall,” said Jones.
“We will look to take the positives from it, but we lacked a little bit of control just after half-time when we overplayed a bit, which cost us in the long run.
“We had a couple of set piece decisions that went against us, they turned on their power game and we didn’t handle it well enough.
“They are a good team at home, but we put ourselves under pressure to a certain extent with that period after half-time.
“Earlier we had been putting the ball in Edinburgh’s half, chased well and put them under pressure. We ended up hurting ourselves.”
Dragons are next in action in Italy next Saturday afternoon and Jones insisted the message to his players ahead of that overseas trip was clear.
“Quite simply we’ve got to turn a 60-minute performance into an 80-minute performance and stick to the game plan all the way through,” he said.
“It was frustrating that when Edinburgh scored one try they went straight on to score another. We need to show a bit more resilience than that.
“It will be a tough, abrasive game because Benetton Rugby are a good side with a strong home record.
“We expect a similar game to Edinburgh because they have a good set piece, powerful pack and we need to combat that.”
Meanwhile, Jones reserved special praise for centre Tyler Morgan who was at his very best in both attack and defence in the Scottish capital.
“Tyler was really sharp,” said Jones. “He looked electric for both his scores and looks back to his best.
“He is one of our players with X-factor in the back line. He showed parts of that in Edinburgh.”
CLICK HERE to secure your tickets for the Dragons final home game in Newport this season as Ulster come to Rodney Parade for the Guinness PRO14 clash on 3 March (ko 3pm).
We will look to take the positives from it, but we lacked a little bit of control just after half-time when we overplayed a bit, which cost us in the long run...
