"I thought we were in the game all night. Our skill errors let us down all night, our ability to execute was frustrating all night," said Lyon after the match.
"The four points are gone. That's the frustration. We weren't out of our weight against a heavyweight but clearly, it's an ongoing issue our ability to execute under pressure."
Lyon always knew the clash against undefeated Geelong was going to test his team and possibly end the resurgence that it has enjoyed over the past month.
"I thought we were in the game from the first bounce, to be honest", he said.
"But we came out again into a fight and tested ourselves against one of the top two teams in the competition. I didn't think we were out of our depth. "
Lyon could not hide his frustration during the game with footage showing him throwing around the magnets on the whiteboard and leaving the coach's box before the conclusion of the match.
When asked about this he described it as a "non-issue".
Despite Riewoldt being held goalless, the Saints got to within two goals late in the third term with Lyon's men smashing their counterparts in the tackle count (68-45) and also shading the Cats in the clearances (39-35).
Lyon said the Saints skills errors going inside 50 and turnovers inside their own defensive half was the difference.
"I thought our basics let us down - dropped marks, lack of spoils, inability to hit a target at critical times," he said.
"I think there is a lot to like if we can improve our execution and bits and pieces of team discipline."
"It has cost us in bigger games than this. We will keep trying to train it, improve it and filter talent through over the journey that can take us to a level of execution to allow us to win the games we want to win."
The performances on Ben McEvoy, David Armitage and Brett Peake continues to impress the Saints mentor, with ruckman McEvoy in particular earning special praise for his match against Brad Ottens (McEvoy finished with a game-high 37 hit-outs and 15 possessions).
"I think you pick yourself and McEvoy is clearly picking himself. I thought it was a strong performance against a quality ruckman in Brad Ottens," he said.
The St Kilda also coach defended the sides decision to substitute key midfielder Leigh Montagna out of the match during the third quarter, replaced by Raphael Clarke.
Lyon admitted Montagna may have been a little "underdone" after returning from a knee injury and with Jason Blake also struggling with a knee, the pair would benefit from the bye next week before their must-win clash against North Melbourne in round 15.
