Oran Kearney pointed to the fine margins as his Coleraine side fell on the wrong side of a six-goal thriller at The Showgrounds on Saturday.
The Bannsiders were blitzed by a sensational start by Cliftonville, who shot into a two-goal lead inside nine minutes thanks to Rory Hale's quickfire brace.
Lee Lynch had two opportunities to reduced the deficit before Conor McKendry's deflected effort before half-time gave the hosts hope.
