Boss Dean Ryan admitted his Dragons needed to be better and hold themselves to account after derby day defeat to Cardiff Blues.
Fly half Josh Lewis scored 12 points in wet and blustery conditions as Dragons built a lead in the Guinness PRO14 clash at Rodney Parade.
But the visitors hit back from a nine-point deficit in the second period to snatch victory courtesy of a try from Josh Turnbull.
“We were pretty gutsy when sitting on our line, but don’t sit on your line so often is the lesson to be learnt,” said Ryan.
“It’s always tough when you don't win, it's always tough when you don’t win because of certain that you are in control of.
“Sometimes it’s a bit easier when you know someone else has done something well. We've got to be better in those close contests and at holding ourselves to account.
“It was a tight derby game in tough weather conditions,” he added.
“We've got to challenge ourselves about sitting in tough games like that because some of our behaviour has allowed them to march up the field too easily.
“A couple of poor penalties, a few kick chases put them in our 22. Ultimately if you spend a lot of time in your own 22 then they are going to come out the right side of a one-point win. We need to be a lot better.”
Dragons built a first half lead through the boot of Lewis as a high penalty count hurt Cardiff Blues.
But roles were reversed in the second period as the hosts repeatedly fell foul to the whistle.
“If you leak easy it puts a magnifying glass on all those small behaviours, none more so than the scrum,” said Ryan.
“We go from a dominant scrum in the first half to a penalised scrum in the second.
“In these conditions that is always going to put you under enormous pressure.
“We’ve got to get back, get fresh and get ready to go again,” he added.
“It’s a war of attrition and we will look at small behaviours and then look to freshen up and go again.”
We go from a dominant scrum in the first half to a penalised scrum in the second... In these conditions that is always going to put you under enormous pressure...
