Newcastle Falcons boss Steve Diamond praised the work ethic of his troops during Saturday’s 25-16 loss at Exeter Chiefs, and shared his players’ frustrations at missing out on a losing bonus point.

The Falcons led for the first half-hour and were within bonus-point range until five minutes before the end, with a late penalty miss confirming their empty-handed exit from Sandy Park.

“It could have been closer,” said the director of rugby.

“Our first-half discipline wasn’t very good, we had two players sin-binned during the game and gave an opportunist try away when Elliott Obatoyinbo kept the ball infield but injured his shoulder so he couldn’t retrieve it.

“The second-half performance I felt was pretty good.

“Taking Newcastle from where they have been in the doldrums, not really being competitive – I thought we were competitive today against a good side who don’t lose many at home.

“With a little bit more skill and knowledge we’ll be able to pick up some wins during the remainder of the season, and the lads are working hard.”

Refusing to single out Brett Connon for his last-minute penalty miss, Diamond said: “I know we had the kick at the end to get a bonus point, but I don’t attach any blame to Brett there.

“He kicked everything else all afternoon, and the game was lost before then. You can’t give away two yellow cards for the exact same offence and expect to win games, and we’ve got to be more disciplined.

“I saw a lot of positives, and the response from the squad has been great. A lot of them are playing for contracts, which in some ways isn’t nice, but they’re approaching it in a positive manner.

“Our line-out went really well, we had a couple of guys making their Premiership debuts and we controlled the game well playing into the wind.

“If you give double-figure penalties and two yellow cards you’re not going to win, and that’s the lesson. The lads are disappointed in the changing room at not getting the bonus point, and I think it was there for us.

“The players and the staff have all shown loads of goodwill towards me since I came in, and they’re working really positively to turn things round.

“We’ve now got a massive game at home to Leicester on Friday, and I can’t wait for it.”

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