The Latics lost 2-1, though had a goal disallowed for offside late on.
Maloney, who was suspended for the tie, said afterwards: "Devastated to get beat. We were good today. In that second half, I was very happy with how we played - I thought we were brilliant. Considering the gulf between the two teams, we tried to go toe-to-toe in that second half and we're disappointed the game isn't still going on. We were good and the players have to take full credit for that.
"I don't think there was loads of chances. The goalkeeper didn't have loads to do. The second half we had to be more aggressive and change how we pressed but the players were the one with the real intent and belief in what they were doing. I think second half the level of belief in the players was completely different. We created a lot of opportunities and got in good areas. I would much rather lose playing like we did in the second half then have another half like we did the first. The word proud definitely comes to mind."
On the fans, he said: "I thought the atmosphere at the game was completely different (than recently). How we played in that second half, I want to have that feeling in the stadium more. I want to have the feeling in the club. I hope the support can see we're not too far away from having a decent side. We have a lot of young lads but today was good, really good.
"I think it's the level of performance that we showed, especially in the second half. We have to replicate that and the feeling we had around the stadium. I know it has been a really difficult season for the supporters but I hope today is one of those moments we can look back on and the fans started to believe we were moving forward."