Gregor Townsend said there was "partly frustration but a lot of pride" for injury-hit Scotland after they were beaten 18-11 by Six Nations leaders Wales at Murrayfield.
Scotland lost their entire back three of Tommy Seymour, Blair Kinghorn and try-scorer Darcy Graham in a tight contest, with Stuart Hogg already missing.
Clinical Wales led 15-6 at the break, tries from Josh Adams and Jonathan Davies putting them on course to make it four wins it from four.
Scotland dominated the second half but only had a Graham try to show for their superiority as Wales dug in with their backs to the wall to stand on the verge of a Grand Slam, with Ireland to come in Cardiff on the final weekend.
Head coach Townsend was encouraged by a much-improved performance from his side, but was left to reflect on what might have been after they suffered a third defeat in a row.
"There is partly frustration but a lot of pride, we gave a true picture of what we are capable of," he told BBC Sport.
FULL TIME | A win for Wales. A compelling game of rugby comes to an end as the visitors secure a victory by 7 points. #AsOne pic.twitter.com/8GppgtfESQ
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) 9 March 2019
"The players had to handle some things that went against them, injuries early on and reshuffling the backline and players out of position, but we showed what we were made of in that second half in terms of the rugby we want to play and in our character.
"We had enough pressure in the second half to win. Strong defences will force errors, but we forced a lot of penalties out of Wales.
"I think [there were] five in the 22 that should normally lead to yellow cards with that pressure, but obviously we are very frustrated that didn't happen."
