Goals, tears and general silliness as Sheffield Wednesday’s class of 2016 turns on the style at Hillsborough
On Saturday afternoon 22 people stepped onto a football pitch at Hillsborough, and 11 of them showcased – pretty vehemently - the difference between professional footballers and those that watch them.
Keieren Westwood was playing up front at one point, we had Danny Pudil untying opponents’ laces, Sam Hutchinson scoring a hat-trick, and Carlos Carvalhal in tears as his song echoed around S6 once again.
It’s been 10 years since *that* campaign. Since the Brightons and the Arsenals and the Birminghams. Today, so many of the great players from that side gathered in South Yorkshire to join forces with the SWFC Community Programme to raise money for the incredible Weston Park Cancer Charity.
A dinner the night before raised thousands, with fans and players delving into their pockets for an exceptional cause. Wednesdayites have a penchant for nostalgia, so when you mix the opportunity to relive one of the best seasons in recent memory with the chance to raise money, there’s zero chance of failure.
There was nothing charitable about the performance from the legends, though.
Westwood had said before the game that he’d be fuming with anything less than 15-0, and it became clear within about five minutes that he’d be going home a happy man.
Anybody who has had the chance to play against pros at any point of their life will tell you the difference in levels, but Saturday was a visual embodiment of that very fact. At one stage the community team, who donated £1,000 to take part in the fixture, had 14 players on the pitch - and still couldn’t get near their opponents.
There was tiki-taka, and dropped shoulders, and dainty chips. Stars of days gone by rolled back the years despite a night before that – for some – apparently came to an end at a local establishment at around 4pm. Class is permanent, and all that.
Amongst those playing in front of the goalkeeper were Jack Hunt, Tom Lees, Glenn Loovens and Pudil. Hutchinson – who’d promised that somebody was getting it – at last night’s dinner, started in midfield, with Kieran Lee and Ross Wallace returning alongside stalwart, Liam Palmer. Steven Fletcher and Sam Winnall led the line.
It was 5-0 within about 10 minutes. ‘Hutch’ opened the scoring before Fletcher made it two and three. By half time it was 13-1, and a big second half was going to be needed for the men in black and yellow. Chris Burns’ goal was their only finish as Sam Winnall got in on the act, Hutchinson grabbed his hat-trick and Westwood - after spending about 10 minutes up front - found the back of the net. Jordan Rhodes was also on the scoresheet, too.
The second half didn’t get any better, either. On top of those starting, we saw the likes of Lee Bullen, Giles Coke and JP McGovern get some minutes, and the goals kept flowing.
At one point there were 14 players playing for the Community XI, but they still couldn’t get near the opposition. They did get another couple of goals, with Burns getting another and Liam Mottram finding the net, but the Legends were showing no signs of slowing down.
In the end Fletcher got five, as did Wallace. Winnall and Rhodes secured their hat-tricks, too, while Lee bagged a brace and Pudil and Coke got in on the action as well. Pudil’s was especially nice given how important he’s been in putting together the event as part of the club’s community programme.
24-3 would be the final score, with referee, Harry Gee, possibly giving a pity whistle to call time on the game. Honestly, we’d almost lost count of the goals and had no idea how long had been played.
None of it matters, anyway. What matters is that a lovely day was had by all. Fans saw their former favourites back in blue and white, the players got to don Owls colours again, and the 3,000+ in attendance helped raise loads of money for a brilliant charity.
The Sheffield Wednesday family doing what they do best.
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