The scoreboard read 26-23 to Scotland. It was a 14th straight Championship loss for Wales and a 24th defeat in their last 26 Tests.
They had led for almost the entire contest, taken a 12-point advantage into half-time and still come away empty-handed.
But the head coach saw something else.
"I am bitterly disappointed not to win the game," he said, "But there is massive pride in the group.
"That was a step in the right direction, but we’ve got to be better next time. There was a lot to like in the first-half, with how we attacked the game.
"It’s a difficult one to swallow. It’s about us getting better. I know people don’t like the word, ‘journey’ - but we’re at the start of something. They (Scotland) had 10 (British & Irish) Lions.
“We want to have more Lions the next time it comes around. That doesn’t come overnight. It’s incremental growth.
"It’s not the scoreboards you want, and we’re nowhere near the team we want to be. I’m devastated for the group but we’ve got to keep getting better. There’s large parts of that game where if we keep growing, we’ll be in the fight."
By Tandy’s own pre-match measure of progress, this was significant advancement — if not the victory many craved.
After shipping 102 points against England and France, Wales were sharper in defence, firmer at the set-piece and far more ambitious in attack.
For long stretches they outmuscled and outmanoeuvred a Scotland side now celebrating a fourth consecutive win in this fixture — their best run since 1923-27 — and heading to Dublin with a Triple Crown still possible.
Leading 23-12, several Wales players turned their backs on a Scotland kick-off as they trundled back into position and Finn Russell’s quick take caught them out, allowing Darcy Graham to score a very soft try.
"It was huge," Tandy said of that moment. "You need to make people work for their opportunities. We feel we didn’t do that.
“It gave Scotland energy. It’s another harsh lesson. In high-class games, you can’t knock off."
Wales are next in action in two weeks’ time in Ireland and are now likely to be without fly-half Sam Costelow and loose forward Taine Plumtree for the rest of the tournament following injuries picked up against Scotland.
The Scarlets pair will be sent for scans after injuries to Plumtree’s right shoulder and Costelow’s lower left leg in the defeat.
"They don’t look great," Tandy said. "Sam can’t bear weight and Taine's is a shoulder injury."
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend claimed the win proved his team can cope in Cardiff and played down suggestions they were motivated by showing they could back up their victory over England.
“I think we came over a hurdle today with having to come back against a quality team and how we played in that second half,” said Townsend.
“We probably won't look at the history side of it. We know that was there. We wanted to build on that performance last week.
“Wales had all the momentum in that first half. I was just so proud to see the team staying together, finding solutions, not taking the easy way out. They fought to the end and were desperate to get the win.
“But it was more than that. It was control, it was intelligence. It was obviously a very close victory but one that will do us a lot of good.”
