FOREST Bulldogs coach Max Parry admitted his side were beaten by the better team as they lost a top-of-the-table derby against Cheltenham Phoenix.

Bulldogs went down 48-28 to see their four-game unbeaten run come to an end.

Tries came via Liam Brady, Colin Maragon, Tom Hawkins, Harry Howard and Sam Thomas while Rhys Evans kicked four out of five conversions in the defeat.

Having been down by 38 points at half-time, Parry was pleased to see his team score 18 unanswered points in the second period.

“It wasn’t what we hoped for but they are a really, really good side,” Parry said.

“We started really well and for the first 20 minutes it was an even match but as the game progressed we could tell the difference between the two sides.

“They’ve got that experience and game management nous and although we have a huge amount of natural talent, we found it hard having to come back to defend over and over again.

“In that middle period of the game they were on top and they were 48-10 up at half-time.

“The only thing we had over them really was physicality, especially in contact areas. There were some big hits from our side.

“But their line running was excellent and when we’d stop them, they’d break a phase later.”