Two sloppy errors and a failure to convert dominant attacking play into a goal glut again came to haunt Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday as they were punched in the gut by Coventry City.

Danny Röhl’s opening gambit in his post-match Coventry City press conference provided three words all Sheffield Wednesday supporters can no doubt resonate with after such a result - ‘football is horrible’.

Ellis Simms ate up the opportunity presented to him by a James Beadle handling error late on in the clash to score his second in a 2-1 win in a game the Owls had the better of almost throughout. Wednesday launched 22 shots at goal on an afternoon opposition boss Frank Lampard admitted their dominance.

And speaking after the match, Owls boss Röhl spoke openly about his frustration around how things had played out - it’s not the first Hillsborough clash that has ended with the home side scratching their heads at a lost opportunity this season. And while Beadle’s late error will take the bulk of the conversation outside Middlewood Road in the coming days, the German coach was equally disappointed with 16th-minute Simms’ opener.

“Football is horrible sometimes,” Röhl said. “In seven days to have two such late setbacks is hard to take. I think today except from the two conceded goals we did everything right; front foot, high intensity, the shots we get, we created a lot of opportunities, set pieces, ball possession. On the pitch, from the bench I cannot complain or blame something.

“What I can do is be disappointed about the first goal, again no pressure on the ball... And then I think after the goal my team carried on, it felt like nothing happened, we created chances, moments, opportunities. Second half Coventry had one header and one long shot which was blocked. That was it. We cannot speak about our defence, we can speak about individual mistakes that cost us too many points.

“When I see what we have to invest to score and how we have to play, today I felt we were always in a flow. We had good timing we broke lines. A lot of good things. Even when Coventry dropped deeper and deeper we found solutions. But it is about results and in the end we did not get the result we deserved today.”

Wednesday remain part of the play-off conversation with 13 matches to go with a three-point gap on the top six. But there was a sense in Röhl’s post-match press conference that something a line was being drawn on encouraging performances. Results are first and foremost, particularly in matches they have so much success in.

“Two weeks ago I sat here after the Luton game and I heard the same,” he said when asked about the quality of Wednesday’s football in the match. “Today we played nearly 90 minutes with the same rhythm. We play entertaining football, everybody says it is nice to watch. But it is about results. Especially now it is about results. Today I am really sad for my team. To invest after Wednesday, everything that is in the body, against a team who are on a good run.”

On the Coventry winner and the need to support the 20-year-old Beadle heading into the business end of the season, Wednesday boss Röhl was predictably upbeat.

“We dominate them again and again,” he said. “They had their moment - it was not a chance - but this happens in football. If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it is most times a goal. If elsewhere you make a mistake there is always a teammate to protect you. It is so hard to take.

“You can imagine how he sits at the moment in the changing room. But it is football. We cannot point the finger to him now and say this or this. The first conceded goal is at a minimum the same disappointment because we spoke about this in the week, about what we have to do.”