McCarthy believes the occasion got the better of his players and they lacked the required desire expected in a match of this magnitude.
"I think it was a great spectacle. Chiefs thoroughly deserved it from start to finish. I think they showed more desire than us. The moment got the better of us. You know, full stadium, Chiefs support, like we want to see," McCarthy told SuperSport TV.
"And yes, the desire they had. They were first to every ball. For our boys, it's a lesson learnt. That's if you want to be champions, you want to win Nedbank, you want to win the league, that's the kind of performances you have to put in.
"The desire has to be there, not just when it suits us. Today we were well beaten by a better team, so I have no excuses. I can't talk tactical because they got it spot on and our boys just lacked something today."
When asked if their inability to retain possession was cause for their defeat, The City mentor said:
"You know when we talk about BMT, sometimes you don't let the occasion play you, you play the occasion," said the 41-year-old.
"When you're on the pitch, you have to keep your composure, keep calm and that's what I spoke about the whole time, because Chiefs players are used to this. So, I think we lacked that and it showed on the pitch.
"We got rid of the ball too easily. Some players were hiding. We didn't play our normal game and first half, that wasn't the team I'm coaching. There was no buildup, everything was slow. With that said you can't take away from Chiefs, the desire. They played like a team that had everything to lose, so they deserved it."