Gibbes saw the 2005, 2007, 2010 and 2012 champions slip to a 25-11 defeat at the Liberty Stadium despite dominating territory and possession for almost the entirety of the second half in Swansea.
An Ashley Beck try and two Sam Davies penalties were all a depleted Ospreys outfit had to show for their efforts as scores from Sean Dougall, Simon Zebo and James Downey saw Munster jump back above Leinster at the top of the table.
But things could have been different had Sam Davies enjoyed a better day with the boot – the young full back missed three successive kicks that would have given the hosts a half-time lead – and the luck of the bounce not favoured Munster after the ball popped loose at a ruck on halfway to allow Zebo a clear run to the line when the Ospreys were on top.
“There were periods where we looked really good and played a lot of positive rugby. That bodes well, but we also made costly mistakes, said Gibbes.
“Against a team like Munster, with the experience they have and the way they attack, you just can’t afford to make those mistakes, because you’ll be opened up.
“We gave them plenty of opportunities to score early on and they took one of them, with the driving lineout try they claimed incredibly disappointing. But if you have a look at where that’s come from it’s our own errors.
“We made some crucial errors at crucial times and we’ve been punished for that. We’re a young group and we’re getting better but there was a little bit of naivety around a few things and they’ve been incredibly costly. The good thing is these things are fixable.”
Scott Baldwin had a try disallowed for a double movement on the hour and Aisea Natoga knocked on with the line at his mercy late on but Beck’s try in the closing stages of the first half at least showed what the Ospreys are capable of.
The Wales centre handed off Munster fly half Ian Keatley before outsprinting Cathal Sheridan, Andrew Conway and Felix Jones on his way to the line after a strong Ospreys lineout had provided the platform on the edge of the 22.
“What was good about that try from a team perspective is that it came from a decent setpiece and a good carry from Duncan (Jones) that shortened up their defence and left Ashley with a one-on-one, which is what we wanted to create all game,” added Gibbes. “That’s a pleasing moment, but there were probably four or five other opportunities out there that we let go.
“Our attack is growing. We’re starting to look like a team that’s trying to get on the front foot, get over the gainline and try and play the ball. Those are positive things.”
