London Broncos 12 St Helens 26 If London Broncos had shown the same resolve they did in the second-half for the full 80 minutes they could have pulled off a shock win against Saints in Saturday's Super League clash at Griffin Park.

But the visitors, aided by two disputable tries, always appeared to have something left in reserve and made sure of the victory with two late touch downs from Ade Gardner. Now Broncos need to bounce back this Saturday when they entertain Wakefield in the fifth round of the Challenge Cup at Griffin Park (3pm).

Battling Broncos did reduce the arrears from 18-0 down to 18-12 with 20 minutes of the second period on the clock and had Saints, who eliminated them from the play-offs last season, rattled.

But Saints received the break they needed when the referee allowed play to go on despite Saint's Chris Joynt losing the ball in the tackle, and Gardner's late effort made sure of the points.

Broncos coach Tony Rea, whose team is already playing catch-up after suffering their second successive defeat, said: "It was unlike us to make so many errors in the first-half but we knew there would be plenty of opportunities if we got down their end and put them under pressure.

"I am not happy with the position we put ourselves in. I think we tried a little too hard and got over-excited."

Broncos' Andrew Hart passed a late fitness test after a freak accident during training when he dropped a weight on his chest, and took his place in the starting line up.

The home side lacked the composure they showed in the Challenge Cup victory over Salford the previous week and went behind in the 11th minute but will feel hard done by as in the lead up to Dom Feaunati's try there appeared to be a forward pass.

Dennis Moran was denied a third try of the season in the 19th minute when he knocked on with acres of space ahead of him before Saints scored their second - benefiting from a grubber kick that took a wicked bounce off the posts.

It was full-back Paul Sykes who steered Broncos on the comeback trail, converting his own try on 44 minutes and then kicking a penalty. Nigel Roy reduced the margin further before Saints superiority told.

Rea is adamant his squad, with 11 additions over the close season, is strong enough to take their place in the play-offs for a second successive campaign. He said: "I can not question my squad on character or ability and overall we saw some really positive signs that we are gelling as a team."

Attendance: 4757 Broncos scorers: tries - Sykes, Roy; goals - Sykes; pen - Sykes.

London Broncos: Sykes; Wells, O'Halloran, Roy, Jackson; Bowker, Moran; Retchless, Budworth, Trindall, Hart, Mbu, Dymock. Replacements: Stephenson, Brocklehurst, Stringer, Sanderson.