The defeat leaves the Dragons still second from bottom in the RaboDirect PRO12 table with just five victories from 19 league games this season.
But having been handed heavy defeats in the last month, going down 60-3 to Glasgow Warriors at Rodney Parade and losing 52-19 to Ospreys last time out, the reverse against Welsh rivals Scarlets at least showed improvement.
And Coombs, who captained the region for the first time, was at least relieved to give the fans a little bit more to cheer about following a difficult season.
"We are an honest bunch and we know we have not been where we needed to be in the last few weeks," Coombs told the South Wales Argus.
"We have not performed and the Scarlets game was about putting us back on the map and giving the crowd what they deserve.
"The fans spend their money and deserve more than what we have been giving them.
"We gave them finally something to cheer about and it was the best bit of rugby we have produced in a long time.
"All we asked from the boys was a desperation and an attitude to work hard. We showed belief and we kept playing right until the end.
"What we have been producing over the last couple of weeks has not been acceptable and we are aware of that. It comes down to hard work and it showed in our performance against the Scarlets."
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