Simon Culhane admitted the Highlanders had to stay close to the Crusaders to have any chance of winning last night, and being reduced to 14 men proved a big difference in the game.
Culhane, the Highlanders assistant coach, said the Crusaders had put together a complete performance which was hard to keep up with.
"We as a side needed to stay close to them and break their spirit a bit. We tried to chase the game and it is hard to do that against them," he said.
"We were trucking along all right but that 10 minutes [the sin-binning of flanker James Haskell] really cost us, and they scored 14 points in a couple of minutes.
"We had to keep playing, and full credit to the boys. They kept at it. But a quality side like them [the Crusaders] were always going to take it to us."
Culhane said once the Highlanders started chasing the game, more errors were bound to appear, and the Crusaders made the most of them.
"We had to score first in the second half and we didn't manage to do that. When you are down by that deficit you can't afford to give away any more.
"We were always going to lose a bit of a composure when we were chasing the game so much.
We were in caught in two minds, really, in that second half, with a bit of a wind behind us, or wanting to keep the ball in hand.
"All night they were into us.
"That 10 minutes [the sin-binning] really hurt us.
"We thought we had them under pressure before that happened ... after that we had to try to throw caution to the wind a bit."
The Highlanders were down 32-13 at the break, after the match was tied up 13-all when Haskell was yellow-carded, about midway through the first half.
Culhane said the loss may be a blow to the Highlanders' chance of making the playoffs, but they always knew they had to win their final two games.
The team would now have three weeks off for the June internationals, before taking on the Chiefs in Dunedin on June 29.
They then finish on the field with a match in Brisbane against the Reds.
The Highlanders have a bye in the final round, from which they will pick up an automatic four points.
Culhane said the players were looking forward to having the bye, though many of the side would play next week, either for the South team in the inter-island match, or lining up for the All Blacks.
The team had played seven weeks in a row and then had a bye, and then played another seven weeks in a row, so it would have been good to have the bye a couple of weeks ago, Culhane said.
Highlanders captain Jamie Mackintosh said it was a tough night at the office, and his side faced a pretty complete performance from the Crusaders.
He said the Highlanders could not get any momentum going, and the Crusaders looked to attack at every opportunity.
"They tried to hit us around the flanks and then get it wide when they could. If you give them ball then they can make it pretty hard for you," he said.
He was proud of his team for never giving up, but felt the team was always chasing the game, especially in the second half.
Crusaders vice-captain Dan Carter said his side was building nicely and had come back from last week's bye, fresh and eager to make a mark.
