Nkoane and his team were eliminated from the Nedbank Cup on Sunday after being beaten 2-0 by Sundowns at Lucas Moripe Stadium.
Defender Wayne Arendse and striker Phakamani Mahlambi scored the goals for The Brazilians to keep their dream of winning another cup this season alive.
However, despite losing against Sundowns, Nkoane believes his team matched the top-flight side pound for pound in almost all aspects of the game.
"In terms of pound to pound I think we matched them because they were superior in certain moments and we were superior in certain moments," Nkoane said.
"We knew they were going change the team and the guys to play are not match-fit. Analysing Sundowns from the games I have seen, preparing my team I knew their defence especially the centre-backs are slow and ageing.
"The midfielders, I knew the absence of [Hlompho] Kekana they will miss the javelin [passes] which was a plus for us. I knew [Tiyani] Mabunda can't play long, 'Vieira' [Sammy Seabi] can't play long. It worked in our favour.
"But our best was not enough. However, overall I was impressed with the performance of the boys."