Ulster had chances to secure a valuable victory against another of the league's high flyers but in the end had to be content to leave Galway with their unbeaten record in tact.
McLaughlin's reaction was understandably mixed, with the Ulster boss suggesting that a side further down the road in their development would have come away with a win, while admitting that there were still plenty of positives to take from a draw.
"A great team would have polished the game off with that scrum up at the top end," McLaughlin told the Belfast Telegraph.
"But we just aren't quite there at the minute. We still have a few things to work on in and around that area.
"We've got to be more ruthless, more clinical and take our opportunities. We did have opportunities to kill the game off and get ahead, but we gave away a penalty or we lost a line-out or a scrum and that put us under a bit of pressure.
"But we sat down at the start of the season and said that when we go away from home we want to try and get something from every game.
"And I suppose in the end a draw is a fair result. So I was pleased to be going home with two points, but maybe disappointed that it's not four."
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