Loovens so proud as Owls focus on play-offs

The Dutchman led his side superbly as they almost produced a huge third round shock at the home of the Premier League champions on Sunday.

Wednesday, who sit 10th in the Championship, led 1-0 until the 66th minute and it then remained level until England midfielder James Milner struck his second in the first minute of stoppage time to break Owls hearts.

It was hard for them to digest the dramatic, late 2-1 loss in the immediate aftermath of the absorbing contest at the Etihad Stadium but, nevertheless, Loovens emerged immensely proud.

The centre-half told The Yorkshire Post: “It says it all that we are disappointed not getting anything away at the champions.

“I think we frustrated them at times by making spaces very small and very compact and they didn’t really get through.

“We got in front with a great goal and in the second half they changed it around a bit with (David) Silva and (Samir) Nasri coming on.

“They looked a bit more dangerous but I still think we looked tight and made it difficult for them.

“And, of course, we should be positive after that. We’d won our last two games in the Championship and given a good performance like this we should take it all into next week when we head to Nottingham Forest.

“There is a lot there for us to now build on in the league and that’s the aim.”

The highlight of the game at City was Atdhe Nuhiu’s stunning 14th-minute opener.

The rangy forward, who stands 6ft 4in, had not scored since September until getting the winner at Wigan a week ago.

He quickly followed up with a memorable strike that left City in tatters, latching on to Stevie Lee’s cross following a super long ball by Kieran Lee that clinically exposed £32m defender Eliaquim Mangala.

Loovens, 31, admitted: “We’re delighted with Atdhe.

“He’s got back on the scoresheet for us. He got a bit of criticism earlier on for not scoring enough goals but I think we’ve provided him now with a bit better quality.

“It shows if you do provide him with the right sort of balls he will stick it in the net.

“It was a terrific team effort. We intercepted the pass, countered with pace straight away, set it up well, got a good cross in and it shows if you put your mind to it you can make it a hard game against anyone.”

The ex-Cardiff and Celtic defender believes Manuel Pellegrini’s side showed a great deal of respect to the Owls.

They needed to bring on stellar reinforcements in Silva and Nasri as, despite their array of international stars, they continued to struggle breaking down the visitors’ well-organised and committed rearguard effort.

“The FA Cup is important for everyone and it is important for them (City) as well,” added Loovens, who joined the Owls from Spanish side Real Zaragoza at the start of last season.

“When they are one-nil down they have to give it a real go and, of course, it showed the respect they had for us by making those substitutions.”

Asked if it was mental tiredness which eventually saw his side switch off when Milner pounced for his second late on, he said: “No. It’s everything.

“They make you work really hard from side to side, taking a lot of energy out of your legs.

“But I think we coped well and we can be proud of the team effort and take a lot of positives out of this game.

“We are disappointed not to get anything from it, but it was a great experience for us.

“Everyone wants to play against the best and we’ve done that.

“Now we have a lot to take back into the Championship where we have another big game on Saturday and we need to take another three points.”

The impressive recent run of Stuart Gray’s side has raised hopes that they can push on and reach the play-offs this season.

Having not won a league game since September, their campaign looked in jeopardy until a 2-1 victory against Wigan on November 29 started their revival.

Owls have won four of their last six Championship fixtures and are just six points behind Brentford, who occupy the final play-off place.

Conversely, struggling Forest have slipped to 11th, November 29 starting a meagre run that has seen Stuart Pearce’s side fail to win in seven games, the latest setback being Saturday’s FA Cup exit at League One Rochdale, showing just how pivotal this weekend is for both sides.

Leeds-born Milner, meanwhile, revealed how City eventually broke down the Owls.

“The manager changed it at half-time and asked me to go through the middle and it seemed to work, so good decision from him,” said the England player.

“We didn’t play well at all but the FA Cup is about getting results and we managed to do that.”