Queensland Reds coach Nick Stiles has labelled his team's 26-19 Super Rugby loss to the Western Force as atrocious.
The Reds led 19-12 in the 49th minute after winger Eto Nabuli ran onto a perfectly-weighted grubber kick from Duncan Paia'aua to score his third try.
But the Force controlled play from that point on, scoring 14 unanswered points to secure the upset win.
Stiles didn't mince his words after the match, labelling his team's set-piece as sloppy and ruing a series of unforced errors.
The Reds threatened to snatch a draw at the death, only for the Force to hold on grimly in defence.
"It was an atrocious game of football," Stiles said.
"We didn't deserve to win it. And I'm glad we didn't score a try at the end of the game to get a draw, because it wouldn't have been a fair reflection on the performance.
"I felt we played too much football in our back half. Then mistakes, turns into pressure, turns into points."
The Reds have the chance to bounce back when they host the Crusaders at Suncorp Stadium next Saturday.
Stiles said his team's pride was hurting, and words weren't about to fix it.
"It's round two. We're not going to sit in there and have a deep and meaningful and feel sorry for ourselves," Stiles said.
"Our actions in that game speak loud enough.
"How we respond from that performance moving forward into the Crusaders next week is going to say a lot more about us I hope."
Reds skipper James Slipper was forced off early in the second half after copping a heavy knock to his back.
Slipper was still struggling to move freely after the match, and his fitness will be monitored over the coming days.
One bright aspect to come out of Thursday's loss was the performance of former NRL winger Nabuli, whose three-try performance was almost enough to lift the Reds over the line.
"He's had a great pre-season for us and we felt he was going to have a breakout year," Stiles said.
"So to see him get some opportunity in the open and run as hard as he did was really exciting and rewarding.
"Hopefully that drives him forward to be even better."
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