Canterbury produced a much improved display during a 21-12 defeat against Southend in National 2 South on Saturday.

There was only one point separating the teams deep into the second half but a penalty, eight minutes from the end, robbed the visitors of a deserved losing bonus point.

Early in the game, technical ill-discipline, which has blighted the city club’s season, surfaced again as they conceded needless penalties and found themselves 13 points behind before Mike Melford (pictured) touched down and Nick Dangerfield’s conversion made it 13-7 at half-time.

The visitors struck again 14 minutes after the break when Jim Green went over and although the conversion was missed, it was game on.

The home side, though, stepped up the pressure and a try and penalty saw Canterbury’s positive work go unrewarded.