Despite looking the better side for much of the game, Whitehaven ran out of steam against the London Broncos yesterday.

It was a much-improved performance than that of the defeat against Swinton last week, and coach Gary Charlton was happy with how his team performed.

“I thought we competed really well against a full-time team,” said Charlton.

“We knew it was going to be very tough but I’m very pleased with the way we played.

“We can’t knock the effort from the boys.

They gave it everything.

“In the first 20 minutes I thought we created a couple of chances that we didn’t take and we knew it could come back to haunt us.

“Defensively we were very good and we forced mistakes, but didn’t take advantage of them often enough.”

Haven had to make an enforced change when Callum Phillips picked up an injury.

“He had a stinger in his shoulder and didn’t really want to come off,” said Charlton.

“He’s a tough lad and although we have a number of players who can play in many positions, it’s very difficult to lose one of your best."

Noting the Broncos scored four tries down the right defensive side, Charlton said: “We knew they were a very fast team and that they like to move the ball along the line.

“We talked about it before the game and knew what to expect.

“We made a couple of mistakes and dropped the ball, and London made us pay. They are a very good team.

“Cutting out mistakes will be important, but we are still learning to play at this higher level and I know we’re not far away. These are the sorts of things we have to learn, but we are improving.

“I’m sure we’ll get better and be more competitive as the season goes along.”