The Owls were edged out of the Papa John’s Trophy tie against Burton and Darren Moore touched on positives and negatives after the game.
Wednesday were undone by a blistering Brewers start that saw the visitors race into a 2-0 lead.
Moore’s men hit back to make it 2-2 but Burton hit the front from the penalty spot and held on for the win.
The gaffer said: “It was a slow start from us and gave them a 2-0 lead and you can’t do that at any level.
“We did grow into the game and got it back to 2-2 but then we give the penalty away and they are back in front.
“After that it was one-way traffic and we made a right game of it but Burton defended deep with a low block and despite dominating the second half, we couldn’t get a third goal.
“I don’t take too many positives from tonight because there was some sloppiness in our play and I know we can do much better than that. The team we put out tonight was capable of winning the game.
“But on the plus side, there were players who needed the minutes and they will benefit from those minute into the legs.
“It was good to see Mallik and Pato on the scoresheet, I thought Alex looked bright and lively, and for Mallik the plan was always to give him 90 minutes because he needed that time on the pitch.
“I thought he played very well and showed why we pursued him in the summer. There’s much more to come from him but I saw a lot of good things tonight.”