Rory Gallagher insisted he had “no issue” with the overturning of a Hawkeye decision which wiped out Derry’s half-time lead against Galway.
Derry thought they held a 0-4 to 0-3 lead into the second half but officials corrected a Hawkeye error during the break and added on Shane Walsh’s ’45’.
Two Damian Comer goals put Galway into a first All-Ireland final since 2001.
After the game the GAA confirmed that Hawkeye will not be used during Sunday’s Dublin v Kerry semi-final.
Derry appeared rattled at the start of the second half by the controversy but manager Rory Gallagher played down the significance of the moment.
“I have no issue with that… Galway were the better team and good luck to them,” he said.
“There are mistakes made and we made more mistakes as a management team and as players than any of the officials made.
“It was a phenomenal kick by Shane Walsh into a slight breeze and he had hardly had a kick of it.
“He came out in the second half and kicked frees off his left foot and despite it not being a great game, it was phenomenal quality from him and Damian Comer.”
Derry have enjoyed a summer to remember, which began with beating All-Ireland champions Tyrone in Omagh, a win over Monaghan and an extra-time Ulster Final victory over Donegal to land a first Ulster SFC title in 24 years.
Oak Leaf fans travelled in huge numbers to Croke Park to see if they could win their first All-Ireland semi-final since 2004 but they were unable to build on a promising start and Galway were emphatic winners.
Gallagher admitted: “I’d be disappointed we didn’t attack the way I feel we can”.
“I know Galway probably defended better against us, and defended deeper than some teams have and with more physicality, but we had an awful lot of possession in the first 20 minutes.
“When we went three points up we played some brilliant football but we stopped with those incisions and as a collective I don’t think we weren’t all joined up the way we should have been, or we can be.
“It’s devastating, it’s very disappointing and very difficult to take for all the personalities and individuals.
“But fortunately it’s a team sport and we can support each other and there is a great deal of friendship and love and such and we help each other through the good times and bad times.”
Time to regroup
Gallagher said: “There were going to be two results today – we were either going to win or lose and we have lost”.
“We haven’t played well as we would have liked but we have loved every minute of it, it’s been a sensational period, full of a lot of highs, today is very much a low.
“If we had won we wouldn’t have been the All-Ireland champions and in losing we have got to regroup and understand why we haven’t been good enough.”
Gallagher vowed Derry will come back stronger from this steep learning curve.
Oak Leaf fans will be hoping their breakthrough year mirrors Donegal in 2011 when under Jim McGuinness and Gallagher, the county ended a long wait for an Ulster title and then came back in 2012 and won the All-Ireland.
“The challenge now is to grind it out again,” added Gallagher.
“I have no doubt the boys will. We love playing, we love hanging about, we love training so why would we not do it again?”
