Things looked very different for Wednesday, with 11 changes from the young side that took on Accrington Stanley in the Jersey Mike’s, and four from the team who lined up against Oldham Athletic.
There were boosts all over the pitch as Dave Challinor named his first League One XI as Owls boss, with Joe Lumley, Liam Cooper, Sil Swinkels and Billy Mitchell all returning from their various injury lay-offs, and on the bench there was a sight for sore eyes as Louie Barry was back in the mix once again. Jamal Lowe was in a different position to usual as he worked the line as a left wingback.
It was all a bit back and forth in the opening 20 minutes of the clash. Plymouth, in their bright orange kit, looked to cause problems for the Owls, and Xavier Amaechi was their biggest threat. Wednesday were having most of the possession, but the visitors looked the more dangerous. Callum Slattery made an excellent defensive intervention in one break, and Lumley dove to his right to pull off a great save from Ronan Curtis’ rasping long-range effort.
From there, though, the tempo seemed to drop a little. The atmosphere felt a bit flat, and there wasn’t too much happening on the pitch to get fans out of their seats. Barry Bannan broke but was stopped by a strong sliding tackle from Wes Harding, and Lumley made a good stop to keep out Bradley Ibrahim moments later when Tom Cleverley’s men had a break of their own.
Ibrahim was getting into some good positions, and really should’ve given his side the lead before the break. He was found in space on the edge of the six-yard box with the goal gaping, but his swing and a miss meant that the Owls could get the ball clear. His airshot was a big let-off.
Mitchell was proving his worth, showing a bit of attacking prowess as well, but was left walking a bit of a tightrope after a booking shortly before half-time. Thankfully, it didn’t faze him much… More on that shortly.
Wednesday were finishing the half strongly, trying to turn the screw before the ref called time on the opening stanza. Di’Shon Bernard, who appears to be getting closer to his imposing pre-injury self, was left with his head in his hands after seeing his header cleared off the line.
Then came the breakthrough, and it was that man Mitchell. The Pilgrims didn’t deal with a corner into the box, and the Wednesday was on hand to blast it goalwards, watching it nestle in the net via a hefty deflection. 1-0 at the break, and it was advantage Owls.
It was more of the same in the second half, too, with the home side controlling possession and Plymouth trying to hit them on the break. The most threatening break, however, was a Wednesday one. Davis Keillor-Dunn showcased some lovely footwork to slip the ball through an opponent’s legs before finding Lowe on the overlap - he cut inside and got off a shot, but former Owl, Murphy Cooper, was up to the challenge.
On came Barry, replacing Bannan, as Challinor made an attacking switch despite being in the lead. His relationship with Wednesday’s number 11 has borne fruit in the past, and there’s hope that it’ll do so again at S6.
Plymouth were tiring, too, and it felt like the hosts could take advantage… Then they did, twice in quick succession. The second goal came from a regular goalscorer as Keillor-Dunn prodded home from close range to all but seal the three points, but it was the third that really raised the roof.
Picking up the ball just inside the visitors’ half, Bernard drove his way up the pitch before rifling an effort goalwards. Cooper could maybe have done better with it, but Big Dish won’t care… After months of hell on the sidelines, after what he’s been through on his road to recovery, you could see in his celebration what it meant to ripple the back of the net in front of the Kop. It was his first goal since January 2025, and his teammates seemed to enjoy it as much as he did.
Liam Palmer and Harry Gray were introduced shortly afterwards, replacing Lowe and Keillor-Dunn, and five minutes’ injury time were added on. There was to be no further drama, and a 3-0 home win in the first proper game of the Challinor era is exactly what the doctor ordered. Same again against Barnsley, anyone?
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Nice to be back to winning ways.
Billy Mitchell MoM for me. He was everywhere! Great moment for Dish.
Could have been a very different result if they’d taken their chances though. So a lot of improvement still required.
Big Dish a candidate for target man/Paul Warhust redux?