Cron laments errors after Force crash to Blues in Super Rugby
The Perth-based side led 17-14 at half-time against Dalton Papali'i's Auckland Blues on Saturday evening.
But they leaked four second-half tries to crash 42-32, which came on the back of their opening round 56-24 hammering by the ACT Brumbies in searing heat to get them off to the worst possible start to the season.
They remain pointless and anchored to the bottom of the 11-team ladder ahead of a difficult three-game road trip in New Zealand against Moana Pasifika, Otago Highlanders and Wellington Hurricanes.
"I thought the boys did a great job when we entered their 22 and went to work," said Cron.
"Some of the things we worked on from last week, big improvements, which was important for us."
But he also lamented poor discipline, pointing to handing over possession with penalties, too many knock ons, and line-out errors.
"You can't give any team free ball," he said. "Too many times we gave them free ball and you end up defending for long blocks in your 22.
"You can only hold people out for so long. The free ball we gave them was not good enough."
Skipper Jeremy Williams concurred, but said the errors were fixable.
"But there has to be some accountability to fix those things, we can't let those little moments slip in a game. It's costly," he added.
The Force crossed for four tries from prop Harry Johnson-Holmes, openside flanker Carlo Tizzano, winger Bayley Kuenzle and fly-half Ben Donaldson.
Wallabies star Donaldson converted three and added two penalties.
But the Blues proved dominant in the second-half as they got used to a stiff breeze, running in four of their six tries.
Stephen Perofeta kicked a perfect six-from-six off the tee.
The Blues, who narrowly lost their opening game at home to the Waikato Chiefs, remain in Australia and meet the Brumbies in Canberra next.