The narrow 15-14 loss to the Sharks at Forsyth Barr Stadium was the side's second one-point defeat but any predictions it is a mortal blow to its playoff hopes are well off target.
There is still half the competition to go and although the losses in the past two games to both the Reds and the Sharks were not ideal for the Highlanders, there is still plenty of water to go under the bridge.
The match on Friday night was dominated by the sending off of Highlanders centre Jason Emery, dismissed after he collided with Sharks fullback Willie Le Roux who was flying through the air to catch a high ball.
It was a reckless, rather than cynical, challenge but whatever the debate over the dismissal, the Highlanders had to play for nearly 70 minutes with 14 men.
Emery was cited automatically because of the red card and is likely to miss a couple of weeks, at least.
But more worrying for the Highlanders side was the handling errors which continue to plague its game and hinder its continuity and pace.
The side had more than a dozen handling errors on Friday night and catching the ball is only going to be more difficult when the side heads south to play the Brumbies on Saturday night.
The team is pushing the ball with some 50-50 passes which are not always finding the target.
The side was obviously tired from having to play with 14 men but an inability to hang on to the ball cost it some real opportunities.
With the loss, the Highlanders did not change positions on the table and dropped to seventh.
The side is unlikely to welcome back anyone from injury this week. Ace winger Waisake Naholo is still some way from playing again, after breaking his leg in the first match of the season.
Naholo and his ability to score tries is being missed and the side scored only one try on Friday night.
Hooker Liam Coltman has a toe injury and will be assessed during the week. He looks an unlikely starter in Invercargill.
With Emery bound to be unavailable for the next couple of weeks at least, second five-eighth Rob Thompson will come back into the selection mix, as well as Tei Walden.
Both players turned out in Dunedin club play yesterday.
The Chiefs have skipped clear at the top of the New Zealand conference after a close 28-27 win over the Hurricanes in Wellington.
The home side nearly won the game at the end but fullback Jason Woodward could not hold on to the ball with the tryline open in front of him.
The Sunwolves lifted themselves off the bottom of the table with their first victory of the season, beating an out of sorts Jaguares outfit 36-28 in Tokyo.
The Rebels beat the Cheetahs in Melbourne on Friday night 36-14.
The Waratahs downed the Force 49-13 in Perth, while in South Africa the Lions crushed the Kings 45-10 and the Stormers defeated the Reds 40-22.
In Canberra last night, the Crusaders beat the Brumbies 40-14.
