And that’s no comment on the opposition’s performance, they had some good moments… It was quite literally Wednesday against Sunderland’s U21s - who fielded a whole host of teenagers.
For some it’ll always be the LDV Vans Trophy, for others it’s the Johnstone’s Paint. For many Wednesdayites it’s still known as the Pizza Cup after the three years it spent sponsored by Papa Johns…
Whatever you call it, there’s no doubt that the EFL Trophy is one that’s been hugely diluted over the years. It’s a competition where an extra point is given for a penalty shootout win and where U21 teams from the Premier League travel to teams in League One and League Two. In the early stages especially, it’s hard to take it too seriously.
But silverware is silverware, I suppose, and Henrik Pedersen showed no sign of throwing in the towel despite the Owls’ young opponents tonight. While there was plenty of youth out there in blue and white, there were a number of experienced heads as well - both in the XI and on the bench.
The first half was a pretty frantic one. There were chances at both ends, with Joe Cowan doing well to keep out a bouncing Callum Slattery header, and Connal Trueman pulling off an excellent stop down to his left.
Jaden Heskey was the man to break the deadlock, though, after some nice play from Jarvis Thornton and Sean Fusire saw the ball land at the midfielder’s feet. The Manchester City man calmly dinked it over the ‘keeper to get his first senior goal, and it was 1-0.
The Black Cats’ kids had their chances, and none of them were better than the one that fell to 31-year-old Alan Browne not long before half-time. A nice move left him with space in the box, but he blazed it into an empty Kop…
Wednesday went in at the break a goal to the good, and though the visitors probably should’ve had a goal, the home side were good value for their lead. Liam Palmer was excellent, as was Billy Mitchell, and Slattery was bombing about like it was a competitive league fixture. No complaints.
With the second half came a raft of changes. Mitchell went off for Barry Bannan, Denny Oliver made his debut in place of Slattery and Jamal Lowe went up front as Mason Burstow left the field. Meanwhile, Reece James took over for Ricardo Santos, with Palmer moving centrally.
The home side nearly doubled their lead within minutes, too, and Lowe would’ve added to his tally for the season had it not been for an excellent Cowan save from close range.
Chances weren’t quite as regular as the Owls shot towards the Kop, but there were still a few opportunities that came Wednesday’s way. Joel Akpobi, in his second start, showed some nice footwork but couldn’t trouble the ‘keeper, while Fusire looked really sharp down the right side after returning from international duty with Zimbabwe.
The visitors did actually have the ball in the net after we entered into the final 20 minutes, with Trey Samuel-Ogunsuyi on hand to fire past Trueman, however it was rightly ruled out for offside. A let-off for Wednesday after a nice bit of play from the visiting side.
Pedersen’s final change saw Sam Duruh take the place of Thornton, who looked to have picked up a late knock… With just under 15 minutes to go, Wednesday were very much in the driving seat.
Then came the killer blow. There was some fortune in the way that the ball found Bannan in the Sunderland box, but no fortune in the way that he finished it… He pulled back that reliable left foot of his before firing past Cowan with a blistering effort that nestled inside the side-netting. 2-0, game over, and goal number 38 in appearance number 487 for the Owls’ number 10.
It’s not the priority, not by any stretch, but a couple of goals and a clean sheet will be welcomed by Wednesday. Most Wednesdayites - myself included - don’t have an EFL Trophy win on their list of desires for the current campaign… But we’ll all change our tune if it ends up with another trip to Wembley.
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