Pat Lam was left ruing the chances his side left out on the AJ Bell field on Saturday as Bristol Bears suffered their sixth straight defeat in the Gallagher Premiership, going down 25-20 to second-place Sale Sharks.
The good news for the Bristol director of rugby is it didn't look like second vs 10th in the Premiership in a finely balanced contest, the bad news is that despite the improved display the lack of clinical finishing that has plagued the Bears throughout the season continued and hurt them dearly.
A competitive first half saw momentum swing both ways, though Bristol rallied to hold a two-point advantage at the interval, largely thanks to Piers O’Conor’s two converted tries. But it was scores not finished following a break from Piers O'Conor in the opening minute and then chance for Will Porter before half time that will weigh on Lam's mind.
Jean-Luc du Preez’s second-half try, coupled with his brother Rob’s conversion and earlier penalty, powered the hosts to a seventh win of the season.
The last time Bristol lost six in a row in the league was in 2017, before Lam arrived at the club when the Bears got relegated.
Lam said: "I am proud of the boys for their fight and their effort because it is not the easiest place to come to.
"It is never pretty up here, it is about matching their physicality and we created enough chances today, unfortunately we weren't clinical enough to finish it off and we were on the wrong end of the penalty account again.
"We created a lot of chances and opportunities that we didn't take, but it is one we know we weren't far off in.
"I know people want the wins, and we want the wins, but focussing on the performance and getting the little things right will add up to the win. We weren't far off it today, we will regroup, have a good week, get back to it at Ashton Gate and look to put together a performance that will give us the best chance of winning our next game [against Leicester Tigers]."
Bristol got off to a lively start with their first attack from the opening kick but failed to capitalise on O’Conor’s driving run having taken a clever chip kick from Callum Sheedy, yet they remained largely under the cosh for the opening stages of the game as Sale drove to apply pressure inside the Bears’ 22.
Tom Roebuck had a try disallowed in the seventh minute but after three Sale mauls, Sharks broke the deadlock nine minutes in as Rob du Preez skipped in for the try.
However on Bears’ second attack, O’Conor found space on the right wing thanks to a clever wrap around move straight off the training paddock and broke free to bring the scores level, Sheedy providing the extras.
Sale were quick to respond in the 23rd minute when Roebuck followed a Rob du Preez kick and touched down after snatching the ball in the air from Charles Piutau. Rob du Preez made no mistake with the conversion.
Rob du Preez edged his side further ahead with a penalty as momentum swung Sale’s way, but after some sloppy play Bears’ Luke Morahan broke to the try-line and, despite being tackled, the ball was sprayed to O’Conor who had an easy run-in.
And Bristol went into half-time with a two-point advantage after AJ MacGinty scored a penalty kick in the closing seconds.
Bristol emerged from the break asking questions of Sale inside their 22.
Bears won a penalty after an advantage was played with former Shark MacGinty kicking between the sticks in the 47th minute, but Sale responded with their own penalty two minutes later as Rob du Preez opted for and scored a long-range effort
It remained tense inside the AJ Bell Stadium as Bristol looked to extend their lead with an attacking vigour that boxed Sharks into their own half
But as the final quarter approached, it was Sharks’ turn to charge at Bristol’s defensive line.
In the 68th minute, a Sale maul drove over the line where the TMO eventually awarded Jean-Luc du Preez a try to swing the scores in Sharks’ favour.
Alex Sanderson’s side refused to let Bristol through in the 75th minute as their stubborn defensive guard pushed Bristol into touch in the in-goal area.
Sale Sharks: 15. Joe Carpenter, 14. Tom Roebuck, 13. Sam James, 12. Sam Hill, 11. Byron McGuigan, 10. Robert du Preez, 9. Gus Warr; 1. Ross Harrison, 2. Akker van der Merwe, 3. Nick Schonert, 4. Cobus Wiese, 5. Josh Beaumont, 6. JL du Preez, 7. Jono Ross ©, 8. Daniel du Preez
Replacements: 16. Tommy Taylor, 17. Simon McIntyre, 18. Joe Jones, 19. Rouban Birch, 20. Sam Dugdale, 21. Joe Simpson, 22. Kieran Wilkinson, 23. Arron Reed.
Bristol Bears: 15. Charles Piutau, 14. Luke Morahan, 13. Piers O’Conor, 12. Sam Bedlow, 11. Gabriel Ibitoye, 10. Callum Sheedy, 9. Will Porter; 1. Jake Woolmore, 2. Bryan Byrne, 3. Max Lahiff, 4. Joe Batley, 5. Chris Vui, 6. Steven Luatua (c), 7. Fitz Harding, 8. Magnus Bradbury.
Replacements: 16. Harry Thacker, 17. Aristot Benz-Salomon, 18. Jay Tyack, 19. John Hawkins, 20. Jake Heenan, 21. Andy Uren, 22. AJ MacGinty, 23. Joe Jenkins.
Referee: Adam Leal (21st Premiership game).
