Back row Aaron Wainwright admitted the draw with Ospreys was a frustrating one as Dragons RFC saw a spirited second half show on home soil just come up short.
Crucial second half tries from front row duo Brodie Coghlan and Oli Burrows saw the Men of Gwent stage another impressive comeback show at Rodney Parade to eventually share the spoils after a heart-stopping finale.
But Wainwright – who now links up with Wales for the autumn internationals – acknowledged a lack of control in the opening 40 minutes had ultimately cost Dragons the chance to secure a first win of the campaign.
“It’s similar to the Sharks game at Rodney Parade a couple of weeks ago. Frustrating not to get the win,” he admitted.
“We didn’t manage the opposition well in the first half, but we came out in the second half and played a bit more. We got momentum and territory and came away with a couple of maul tries.
“If we had controlled it a bit more in the first half the outcome would have been a bit different.
“We needed to control field position better in the first half. We gave them some easy ins into our 22 and a couple of breakaway tries.
“Controlling it more would have kept us more in the game for longer and allowed us to capitalise in the second half.
“We’re almost there - that is the frustrating thing,” he added. “It’s frustrating, it’s not a win, not what we spoke about in the week.
“We needed a win in this game and didn’t quite get it so there is lots to work on.”
Co-captain Ben Carter shared Wainwright’s frustrations but believes the team showed take confidence in the manner with which the battled back from 19-7 down to secure two points.
“First half we gave away some cheap tries and we were always battling it in the second half,” he said.
“We can take confidence from the second half performance, but we’ve got to look at game management in the first and giving people the chance to score against us.
“We need to take that second half and build from it,” he added.
“It would have been great to get that win, it was definitely there, and we will be better for being in games like this. We’ve now got to turn them into victories.”
We didn’t manage the opposition well in the first half, but we came out in the second half and played a bit more. We got momentum and territory and came away with a couple of maul tries...
