Michael O'Neill was left to nurse a deep sense of injustice after Northern Ireland's defeat by Russia in their first qualifier for the 2014 World Cup.
"The referee was very fussy towards us throughout the night. The lads didn't deserve that, they deserved to stay in the game."
Northern Ireland's disappointment could have been even greater had key defender Jonny Evans been injured following an unusual incident on the stroke of half-time.
Evans lashed the ball into the crowd after being judged offside with the last kick of the first period and immediately went down in pain before hobbling from the pitch.
A hasty evaluation of the ankle he had surgery on over the summer saw him cleared to continue and O'Neill was cheered by the player's commitment.
Sir Alex Ferguson
The notoriously-protective Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson may yet have a say in Evans' availability for Tuesday night's home clash against Luxembourg
But O'Neill said: "We examined Jonny thoroughly at half-time. I thought he showed magnificent character to play the 90 minutes and we think he'll be okay for Tuesday. It was just a knock.
"Right through the team there were some big, big performances but Jonny's performance with the knock typified the spirit we are hopefully building in this group of players. That will be very important for us going forward."
Despite defeat, O'Neill believes his side showed all the core values he was looking for at the start of the new campaign.
"Russia are a very strong team, we knew that from the analysis we did," he said. "The team is very similar to the team under Dick Advocaat and we knew they would cause us problems.
"We could have been better in possession, the players know that, but I would rather focus on positives - the discipline, the shape and the work-rate of the team was fantastic."
