Stags' boss Steve Evans dubbed his side's performance against Exeter City this afternoon 'terrific' but blamed missed chances for not securing a victory.
The encounter finished 1-1 at One Call Stadium after Exeter substitute Lee Holmes cancelled out Stags' striker Kane Hemmings' first half opener.
And the manager believes his side dominated the game and would've secured the three points had they converted one of their many chances after going in front.
"We made the chances and we didn't take them, and that's what's cost us, not Exeter scoring at the end. In the second half, we missed four or five good, simple chances. If the second one goes in, I think the game's over.
"The bottom line is we bossed the footballing game, we bossed the aggression, we bossed the chances but one thing about Paul's (Tisdale) teams is they always go to the end.
"They're always committed and we switch off. One of our players doesn't match a runner and the runner scores. The boys didn't deserve that today.
"The performance was terrific. We bossed it from start-to-finish, we made all the chances and they sucker-punched us at the end.
"You can call it ruthless or you can call it missed chances. We missed a couple in the first half as well to make it 2-0, but some of the chances in the second half, they couldn't have been any easier to score.
"We bossed it from start-to-finish, we made all the chances and they sucker-punched us at the end."
"If you don't take them, 1-0 is never enough in any game of football and you run the risk of getting punished, and we did at the end.
"We've bossed a lot of games, but we need to win some games."
There were a number of impressive performers in the Stags' ranks this afternoon and the gaffer said he 'feels for the players' after victory was snatched from their grasp.
"We're just down because the performance was very good. I feel for the players, I feel for all of us. It would have been an important day to win a game. The fans here were brilliant, they've been brilliant since I came in the door.
"I thought [Jacob Mellis] was outstanding. I thought [Joel] Byrom was special as well until the last 10/15 minutes, because he got a bit tired.
"I thought the strikers covered every blade of grass. Hemmo (Kane Hemmings) missed a couple, Danny's (Rose) missed a simple one, CJ [Hamilton] as well. I thought CJ was very good."
The former Leeds United manager will go home feeling disappointed this evening, but insists the staff will boost the players' morale on Monday morning ahead of the Emirates FA Cup first round clash with Shaw Lane next week.
"We can go home down tonight but when we go back on the training ground, it's the staff's job to lift them.
"We've got another game on Tuesday (Everton in the Checkatrade Trophy), we'll make wholesale changes for that, then we've got to get ready for a tough cup tie. That was tough to take today. The players comfortably deserve three points."
Supporters can login to iFollow Stags to view the manager's post-match interview.
