With 87 minutes on the clock Wednesday looked dead and buried, but a flurry of late drama saw Henrik Pedersen’s side fight their way back to earn a 2-2 draw in West Yorkshire.
There were no big surprises in terms of the Owl’s XI, with Ricardo Santos missing out after picking up a small groin injury, and Di’Shon Bernard stepping into the backline for his first league appearance in 610 days. Kieran Morrison and Harry Gray started out wide, with the hope being that their youth exuberance would give the visitors a bright attacking outlet.
It was a big game for both sides as they sought to climb back into League One’s top two, and - as has become standard - there was a sold out away end present as Wednesdayites sought to roar their side on to victory.
The early stages were untidy, with neither team really able to take full control of the tie. Possession was turned over on a regular basis, and there were unforced errors from both sets of players. Wednesday, in their yellow change strip, were certainly the side under the most pressure, though.
Some of the Owls’ passing left a lot to be desired, and a break from the hosts should’ve led to them taking the lead with just over 12 minutes on the clock… Joe Lumley, however, had other ideas.
The visiting side were caught on the hop, and a low cross into the box found Joe Taylor with the goal gaping… He couldn’t believe it as he saw Lumley fling his huge frame to the right, somehow getting a strong hand on it to keep the scores level. You won’t see many better saves this season.
It was a stop that saw a bit of a momentum shift as Wednesday started to get a bit of a foothold in the game, but it didn’t last long and Lumley was again called into action Derensili Sanches Fernandes. Callum Slattery went into the book shortly afterwards for a late challenge, meaning that his next yellow card will result in a one-game ban.
Gray was scythed down by Archie Collins, who also picked up a booking, and there was certainly a bit of bite to the clash at the Accu Stadium. Billy Mitchell impressed as he battled away in the centre of the park, and Barry Bannan picked out some nice passes, but as the half-time whistle was blown it was obvious that the visitors needed more in the attacking third.
Pedersen didn’t wait to make any changes. After a toothless first half, the Dane opted to take out Morrison, replacing him with Davis Keillor-Dunn… They could’ve done with a bright start.
What they got, however, was the worst start imaginable. Some calamitous stuff at the back saw the ball fall to Joe Taylor, and he remained calm under pressure to beat Liam Cooper before firing past Lumley. It took less than a minute.
Fans will have been hoping for an immediate reaction, but were left wanting. Wednesday, despite having plenty of possession, just weren’t able to show any sort of threat. It took almost an hour for them to have a shot on goal, and that - from Callum Slattery - went wide of the mark.
Lumley was booked for remonstrating, and the groans of Wednesdayites could be heard loud and clear as the away side consistently gave the ball away… A break after a missed Huddersfield opportunity saw Gray have the Owls’ first shot on target, but Matthew Young wasn’t overly troubled by it. Nor was he worried by Keillor-Dunn’s off-target effort just afterwards.
And then came what should’ve been the killer blow. Fernandes had been a handful all afternoon, and after some more sloppy Owls defending he found himself some space in the box and fired low past Lumley to make it 2-0. There was never going to be any coming back from that with the lack of chances the visitors had been creating…
Gabriel Otegbayo came on for Bernard, with a full 90 still out of his reach, while Jaden Heskey took the place of Mitchell. Huddersfield had this one in the bag, they thought, with Young doing well to keep out a close-range effort from Jamal Lowe as we approached the final 10 minutes.
But this is Sheffield Wednesday, and drama follows them around…
Mason Burstow was introduced in place of Slattery, and Wednesday did try to make a late push. They got one back after a dangerous Heskey cross was turned into his own net by Ibane Bowat, and all of a sudden the visitors looked a threat… It's a pity it took so long, and surely it was too little too late?
Not for Wednesday. They continued to push, continued to probe. Then came the moment… Cooper, a man so used to putting his body on the line, went up for a header in the opposition’s after Lumley had also made his way up for the corner… Marcus Harness’ foot was high, and caught the Owls defender square in the face. Penalty? Edward Duckworth thought so, after taking a bit of time to think about it.
The away end held their breath, and up stepped Jamal Lowe to slot home from the spot. 2-2, somehow, and Wednesday were taking a point back to South Yorkshire. It wasn’t pretty, it wasn’t even very good, but it showed plenty of character once again.
Wednesday need to show more quality, and it’s frustrating to see them take so long to show any real attacking impetus, but there’s no doubting the spirit in this group after another battle on the road. Down to 7th, and in desperate need of a 90-minute performance, but the Owls’ unbeaten run now stretches to eight.
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