Jordan Henderson believes Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Sunderland felt more like a defeat as they conceded twice in the final 10 minutes to let slip a precious three points.
Second-half goals from Roberto Firmino and Adam Lallana had given them a convincing two-goal cushion as they looked set to end their wait for a first Barclays Premier League victory at Anfield in 2016.
But after goalkeeper Simon Mignolet was too easily beaten by Adam Johnson's free-kick at the Kop end after 82 minutes, Jermain Defoe's strike in the last minute of normal time stole the Black Cats a point.
The Liverpool captain admitted he and his teammates were downhearted to have thrown away the victory, but said they can't use any excuses for their late collapse.
Crestfallen captain disappointed with draw
"It's obviously disappointing," admitted a downbeat Henderson to the Sky Sports cameras. He explained that it "feels like a defeat in many ways" having been 2-0 up after 82 minutes, and said they should "see the game out and win the game comfortably."
The England international bemoaned that they "didn't manage to do that" and called it "very disappointing" not to come away with the win.
The Reds had to wait until the hour mark before breaking the deadlock, Firmino dispatching a header from James Milner's accurate cross, having been frustrated in the first-half.
Alberto Moreno was the closest to breaking the deadlock, forcing a strong save from Vito Mannone and putting a header over from close-range towards the end of the first 45 minutes.
But Henderson believes there were positives to take from the first-half, insisting that they were "building momentum, keeping the ball, getting it back quickly" and called it "just a matter of time" before they scored because they were "keeping the ball with patience" and "knew we could create chances and it was just a matter of time to put them away."
Fans' protest had no affect on the players
Asked whether the walk-out of thousands of supporters affected their performance, the Reds skipper dismissed any suggestion that the players were influenced, declaring: "I don't think we can make that as an excuse."
He explained that "many people will say that" but said for the players that "it doesn't really matter what's going on around the stadium" and said they have to "focus on the game and what's happening on on the pitch" and said the "last 10 minutes wasn't good enough."
The Reds were without manager Jürgen Klopp, who was in hospital undergoing surgery on his appendix at the time of the game, and Henderson explained that he's "doing okay" and said "professional footballers, it's happened before, a couple of years ago at Queens Park Rangers the manager wasn't there and it didn't affect us one little bit so I don't see any reason why it should have today."
Reds need change of luck for top-four charge
The draw sees them drop down to ninth in the league table, ten points away from fourth and on just 35 points after 25 games, and the midfielder acknowledged their hopes of Champions League qualification are dwindling.
"It's another big blow for us," admitted the 25-year-old, who said they "were expected to win" against the Black Cats and called it "another setback" - saying they have got to "stay positive" and "keep going" and "keep working hard" to hope that their "luck will change."