Stormers captain Corne Krige believes his side has the strength of character to bounce back from Saturday's heartbreaking 21-20 defeat to the Highlanders at Newlands.

"I spoke to the guys in the changing rooms afterwards and I said when you give it your best and it doesn't go your way you just have to accept it. It's tough to lose like that twice in three weeks," said Krige.

"But to have come through all our injuries showed a lot of character and I think we have showed enough character to overcome another one-point loss.

"It's going to be tough, but I back the guys," he added.

Highlanders flyhalf Tony Brown struck six penalties and a late drop goal, while the Stormers replied with five Percy Montgomery penalties and a disputed try by flyhalf Werner Greeff.

It was the second time in their campaign that a dropped goal proved their undoing, following on Wallaby centre Nathan Grey's effort which condemned the Stormers to a 26-25 defeat just over a fortnight ago.

Saturday's loss was the Stormers' second of their campaign and they appear to be staring down the barrel, with a home game against Super 12 champions the Brumbies coming up.

Krige said his side's problems started the lineouts. "We struggled to find the jumpers in the first half. We sorted it out in the second, but the ball got quite slippery. It was quite humid out there and the jumpers struggled to handle the ball. It went right through their hands," he said.

"In that sense it was difficult for us to build any phases or put pressure on their defence because we would get into their territory and lose the ball again," added Krige.

Montgomery had a chance with a late penalty, but the ball hit the right upright. "It was very close and there was little margin for error. At one stage I called the guys in and said it's a tight game. Small things are going to count and we must try not to give away penalties," said Krige.

"We were unlucky with a few penalties, but some went our way as well. It was one of those games where it was three points for them and three points for us. Unfortunately our last three points hit the pole." Coach Gert Smal echoed Krige's views about the lineouts, but said he also took positives from the defeat.

"We struggled in the first half to get our lineout ball. From there we struggled to get our game going. We couldn't put phases together. Our first phase possession wasn't quality. You can't dominate the next phase if you don't get quality first phase ball," said Smal.

"Our defence was very good. If we make a little adjustment in our lineouts, our game will look a lot better. There were a couple of times we didn't use opportunities, but that will come with experience."

Although the Highlanders did not score a try, coach Laurie Mains was satisfied with their performance.

"I would have liked it to be a bit more comfortable, but I was happy with our control on the game for the most part," he said.

"By halftime we realised that if we put pressure on them in their half we would get penalties. They were prepared to concede penalties at the tackles when we were attacking, so we decided in the second half that's the way we should play (to kick the ball in Stormers territory)," added Mains.

The Highlanders next face the Bulls in Pretoria