Alan Pardew felt that time just edged his side out of all three points as a draw was the final outcome at Leyton Orient.
The manager saw his team go two goals down in a match which they had controlled for large parts, but an enthralling end to the game almost saw Southampton take a win back to the south coast.
"Nothing feels as good as a win and I can't even think how many chances we created - it was unbelievable we still had no goals on the scoreboard," he explained.
"We got hit by a bit of a sucker-punch to start the game and they really worked hard Orient, defended for their lives and we just kept banging away, banging away, banging away until we finally got a breakthrough.
"Once that went in it looked like we could go on and win it. We got the second goal but just ran out of time - the clock defeated us."
Had Saints registered a goal earlier than they did, it could have been an entirely different contest, although the visitors had more joy after altering their formation.
"I didn't think there was anything wrong with the two systems we employed," the boss said. "They were both excellent and we dominated almost the whole game.
"I thought if we could score they would be in trouble because we had dominated for so long that it would really put them on the back foot and it did and we got the second goal at a good time. But the one or two chances just drifted away from us to win it.
"Their second goal was a sucker-punch and a breakaway goal, but we defended really well and on another we could have won the game, but fair play to Orient because they really gave it everything they could.
"They were inspired by the stadium and really did work hard and put their foot in and their lives on the line and they almost got their reward for that."
Pardew praised the large volume of Saints support but he is keeping his feet on the ground as the team remains unbeaten.
"I think this is not one of those games you could forget. There was a lot of passion on the pitch; the fans all played a part.
"It was a cracking game - you'd be pleased to pay you money and watch that at Premiership level because it was a cracking event.
"We're disappointed we haven't won but we go on. We're still unbeaten for a while and we carry that on.
"It's four wins and a draw and on we go because we're still in the relegation zone and trying to get out of there.
"I think in the last 12 games we've lost once so the stats are mounting up, the spirit of the group is very good and the most important thing is the trust between the players, the fans and the management is strong."
