Gareth Anscombe admits Cardiff Blues only have themselves to blame following their 40-27 Judgement Day defeat to the Ospreys.
Wales' Capital Region led at both half-time and with 10 minutes remaining in a helter-skelter encounter at the Principality Stadium.
Rhys Webb crossed for a brace in the closing stages to secure the spoils for the Ospreys and end any hope of a top six Guinness PRO12 finish for Danny Wilson’s men.
Anscombe kicked 17-points in the defeat but was disappointed with his side’s defensive effort.
He said: “We’re disappointed by the result, we controlled that game for 70 minutes but still walk away with a 12-point loss.
“We didn’t play that much rugby but we kept it ticking away and our attack structure was causing them a few problems, especially in the second-half.
“But our defence was poor, we couldn’t take any of our kick-offs and clearing our own lines, we were poor at that as well so we only have ourselves to blame and that’s why our top six ambitions are over.
“We gave them some really soft tries, which is why we are annoyed in the changing rooms.
“There were a couple of poor decisions by guys and you have Webby (Rhys Webb) sniping around and causing havoc because we are giving him space.”
The defeat brought an end to a four-match winning streak but on the whole the Wales fly-half is enthused by the progress at BT Sport Cardiff Arms Park.
Six defeats at the beginning of the PRO12 season and losses away to Zebre and Treviso have proven particularly costly.
And while Anscombe is left wondering what could have been he is confident the Blues are heading in the right direction.
He added: “We have come on in leaps and bounds, we have definitely improved and I think everyone can see that.
“It was a pretty good encounter for the fans, it was entertaining and the Ospreys have been pretty good for the last few years and we were in control for big chunks of it so that shows how far we have come.
“We will look back and those two Italian results away, with a few internationals out, and they will be the big disappointment. If we have won at least one of those we would still be right in it.
“We have made some positive strides in the last couple of months and have been on a bit of a roll so the signs are bright but we’re bitterly disappointed with today.”