It may still be early days in the 2026/27 campaign, but such are the expectations at S6 that sluggish performances had started to outweigh the solid results. After three League One draws in a row, pressure has been building on Henrik Pedersen - and it felt like he needed a big result.
No smile was bigger than his at the final whistle.
There were changes for the hosts, and the big one came as a blow… Joe Lumley picked up a rib injury in the week, and will be assessed in the coming days - Ashley Maynard-Brewer came in to replace him.
Elsewhere, Davis Keillor-Dunn got a deserved start after his star turn vs Huddersfield Town, and Jaden Heskey also came into the XI. Kieran Morrison and Billy Mitchell were replaced, and the bench saw a welcome return for Max Lowe after his time out injured.
They started bright. After criticisms over the attacking nature of their play, the Owls were popping the ball around nicely in the opening stages of the tie, and it didn’t take them long to fashion their first chance.
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Keillor-Dunn, who was playing more centrally this afternoon, was found by Callum Slattery after a nice Wednesday break, and while he caught his shot nicely, it was a tight angle and Josef Bursik was up to the challenge.
With 15 minutes on the clock there was only one team in it. Harry Gray saw a couple of efforts miss the target, and Pedersen’s side were playing with so much more intent, so much more vigour, than we’ve seen in recent league fixtures. They were zipping the ball about nicely, and the visitors couldn’t seem to keep up with the pace of their play.
Then, all of a sudden, the momentum left them. For some reason the intensity dropped, and the visitors started to have a bit of joy. Onlookers, concerned by recent performances, feared the worst. Would it be a case of missed opportunities coming back to bite them?
No, was the answer to that question.
Because in the 38th minute Barry Bannan got a seven-minute three-goal blitz underway that started with his composed finish from inside the box and ended with Harry Gray slamming the ball past Bursik for a third. DKD, who picked up where he left off at the Accu, sandwiched a goal in between, finishing with aplomb after a deft touch on the halfway line sent him free.
Wednesdayites wanted more goals, and goals is what they got. The Owls went in three goals to the good at half-time, having had 10 shots - six on target - and made nine key passes. Better? Not half.
Unsurprisingly there were no changes from the Wednesday manager at the break, with the Dane eager for his side to keep up their onslaught. It took them a little bit to settle back in - even then, though, they didn’t look in any danger. Reece James was booked after bringing down an attacker on the break, but the freekick was fizzed over.
11 minutes in and it was four. Reece James - who had been a threat all afternoon - found some space down the left and whipped in a dangerous cross into the box. A defensive leap was too short, and it landed at the feet of Slattery… He made no mistake from close range, slotting home with a controlled first-time finish.
Then came the substitutes, but not before Heskey became the second Wednesday player in the book. With the job done, the Owls boss opted to rest some legs. Gabriel Otegbayo replaced Liam Cooper, Billy Mitchell took Bannan’s place, and Al-Hamadi made his return as Jamal Lowe made way.
With the game winding down, Pedersen looked to his bench once again, and the crowd rose to its feet for two reasons. Di’Shon Bernard left the field after a first successful Hillsborough outing since his injury, and Max Lowe completed his own personal comeback.
In truth, Wednesday maybe dropped down a gear heading into the final, though Gray was still trying his best to make things happen as he jinked his way up and down the left side. A standing ovation was his reward as he was replaced by Morrison as another remarkable attendance of 30,477 was announced.
The Liverpool loanee had a strike saved from the edge of the box, with Wednesday’s high press still causing the visitors problems even after the slight dip in intensity. The winger was to make his mark, too, with an excellent driving run opening up the Wimbledon defence before finding Keillor-Dunn, whose calm finish wrapped things up. 5-0.
Wednesday needed a performance today. And a performance they delivered… A clean sheet, too. Are you not entertained?
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If people are not entertained by that then they must be a right bundle of laughs. I have always thought that patience is required some fans have short memories. Anyway there is plenty of quality in that side and great character. We can look forward to more of these performances to come yeah there will be bad performances and times when we will have to grind results out. But we will looking upwards from now on people just need to keep perspective and we'll be right.
Wanna revisit your first paragraph Joe?!!?