LUCTONIANS head coach Ryan Watkins was left frustrated after believing his side could have beaten Sedgley Park in their Latest National League 2 North match.

The Kingsland side slumped to a 31-13 defeat, which has seen them slip to 12th place in the division.

"It was a much better performance than our previous game and the scoreline flattered them a bit," said Watkins.

"There was much more energy in our team but we gifted them some soft scores, which was frustrating.

"But in terms of physicality, we more than matched them, it was just a case of not executing our attack."

Luctonians went into the game on the back of a disappointing 40-3 home defeat by Leicester Lions.

And when Sedgley Park opened up a 21-0 lead, Watkins feared another heavy loss could be on the cards.

"The boys responded well though and kept plugging away," said Watkins.

"They were soft tries that we gave away and came as a result of stuff we worked on in training.

"That was the disappointing thing and the players need to take responsibility."

Lucs got back into the game when Adam Clayton went over for a try, with Tom Jones adding the conversion.

Jones then kicked over two penalties either side of half time to reduce the deficit to just eight points.

He then narrowly missed another three pointer and Sedgeley Park kicked on to score two further tries.

Up next for Lucs is a home game against Sheffield Tigers.

"It will be a tough game and they will look at our recent results and think they've got a chance, but if we go into it with the same attitude and commitment, then I think we can get the win," added Watkins.

Mat Hackley is set to miss the game after picking up a rib injury.