MELBOURNE had only itself to blame in the aftermath of Friday night’s five-point loss to the Saints.

Entering the contest with an unblemished record, the Demons suffered their first defeat in Round 3, with some basic errors proving to be the difference in the game.

“I think when big moments came to win the ball or execute our fundamentals, we lacked that consistency,” Sarah Lampard told Melbourne Media.

“Even the way we came in wanting to play a certain game plan, we didn’t stick to it throughout the four quarters so that hurt us.”

The Dees had 14 more inside 50s and five more scoring shots, looking in control of many areas of the game, but their inability to convert that dominance on the scoreboard hurt them in the end.

“Especially when they just go straight back down the other end and kick a goal,” Lampard said.

“We kind of got sucked up a bit which is not what we would’ve wanted.

“When we had depth we found that we could contain them, but when that came away they slipped out the back and scored.”

It was an eventful evening for the Demons who were struck by injury once again, with Maddy Guerin (knee) and Sinead Goldrick (concussion) going down within seconds of each other in the second term.

“I think we were limited on rotations but there’s only so much you can do with that,” Lampard said.

“We’re not going to use that as an excuse – we still should be able to run out the game.”

Melbourne was outplayed in the end, as the Saints used their run to pinch an inaugural win in the competition.