Boss Filo Tiatia admitted Dragons were guilty of releasing momentum after a frustrating defeat to Section Paloise at Rodney Parade in the EPCR Challenge Cup.
Aaron Wainwright and Rio Dyer grabbed tries on home soil, but the Men of Gwent were left empty-handed after a 24-15 defeat to the Top 15 outfit.
Dragons now know they need to defeat Emirates Lions in Johannesburg next Saturday to make the knockout stages in Europe.
“In the first 15 to 20 minutes we applied a lot of pressure but then we kept on taking it off,” said Interim Head Coach Tiatia. “We kept turning the ball over, particularly on the edge.
"There is a bit of work to do before Lions and we will have to do an honest review.
“There were a lot good things from certain individuals in the game that helped us build momentum but we kept on releasing it.
“We just can’t do that against good teams in this competition. I feel like a broken record at the moment, talking about growth and learning, but that is where we are at.”
Dragons will travel without full back Cai Evans after he suffered a serious first half injury that Tiatia conceded was a blow for the club and player.
“We will assess Cai and see where he is at when the medical team have looked at him,” added Tiatia.
“It looked serious and like an Achilles, the nature of how he was taken off and it looked painful.
“Cai has played really well for us and come into form. He has been injured most of pre-season so it has taken some time to get him where we need to.
“He has put back-to-back performances that were really good for us. He was very safe for us at the back, so he will be a loss.”
Meanwhile, Harri Ackerman made his return from injury with a first Dragons appearance of the season after returning from a broken leg with Newport RFC.
“It was good to see Harri play,” concluded Tiatia. “He earned an opportunity, it's a different level to Super Rygbi Cymru but he did well.
“There are bits of his game to keep improving on, but I was really pleased with him.”
In the first 15 to 20 minutes we applied a lot of pressure but then we kept on taking it off... We kept turning the ball over, particularly on the edge.
