Higgins acknowledged that the booing of his players from some home fans at half-time was justified and reflected on his team selection for the game.
“Should I have made changes from Friday night [a 1-1 home draw with Bohemians] to freshen the team up? Probably, in hindsight. You always have to self-reflect. You have to look at yourself.
“The boos were absolutely justified. Of course they were. The minimum requirement that supporters want to see is players fighting for their club and we didn’t do that in the first half.
“It has happened too many times and we have missed another big opportunity.”
Derry sit two points behind leaders Shelbourne in the standings, level on points with Shamrock Rovers and two points ahead of St Patrick’s Athletic and Galway United.
Higgins’ charges have won one, drawn five and lost three of their last nine league outings, accumulating just eight points out of a possible 27, and are winless in their last five.
The Brandywell club face away trips to Dundalk and St Pat’s in their next two games, followed by a concluding and potentially decisive home game against Shels.
“It’s a hard one to take but what do you do? You’ve got to keep going, keep fighting, and certainly show more fight than what we did in the first half,” added Higgins.
“It’s been an awful long time since the club won the league. We were and still are in the best position we have been in for a long time in terms of trying to win one so that will be our focus.
“We’ll probably have to win all three games I would imagine now to win it.”