The curse of ill discipline returned to haunt the Isuzu Southern Kings when they went down 33-19 to Ulster at the Kingspan Stadium in Belfast on Saturday.
Just when they appeared to be staging a late fightback in a Guinness PRO14 showdown, the Kings had two players dismissed by Scottish referee Lloyd Linton.
With 13 minutes remaining, Kings centre Tertius Kruger received a red card and replacement hooker Alandre van Rooyen was shown a yellow in the same play.
This comes only days after new Kings chair Loyiso Dotwana had urged the team to improve their discipline and cut down on the high number of cards they have been receiving.
So far, the Kings have been issued with 23 yellow cards and three red and this has hampered their efforts to make progress in the league.
Asked if he thought his team could have won if they had managed to keep 15 players on the field, Kings head coach Deon Davids said: “I definitely believe so and there was a lot of belief out there among the Kings players.
“At times, we had the momentum and we were in the Ulster half and we had started to find some rhythm.
“We had also brought in fresh players from the bench. So there was a lot of energy.”
The defeat left the Kings still searching for their first win on the road in the competition.
“I am proud of the boys for the way they showed up here in Belfast.
“In the first half, it was a tremendous defensive effort and we did not have much ball in our hands.
“But the guys did well when we had the ball and we tried to play territory in our back 50.
“I think our patience was there, but unfortunately we could not create turnovers.
“Also, when you make so many tackles – as we did in the first half – it is very tiring.
“At halftime, we spoke about getting our hands on the ball and when we had it, to try and create opportunities.
“I think it went better and we got into their half and put them under pressure.
“I think the Kings did a lot of good things in the first half, but we slipped one or two tackles and that is something individuals will have to look at.
“I think our systems are in place, but they need some attitude to be able to slow the opposition ball down to dominate the contact.”
The win allowed Ulster to boost their chances of securing a PRO14 playoff spot as they moved into second place in Conference B with a bonuspoint.
Stuart McCloskey, Rob Lyttle and Marcell Coetzee scored tries in the first half to help the Irish province to a 21-12 lead at the break.
Robert Baloucoune and John Andrew crossed for Ulster in the second half.
Speedster Yaw Penxe, Ulrich Beyers and Mike Willemse were the Kings’ try-scorers.
The Kings remain second from bottom of the Conference after winning only two of their 18 games in the competition this season.