It was an absolute rout at Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon as the Owls kickstarted their 2026/27 campaign properly with a 7-2 thumping of the Ravens that put down a marker for the levels they can reach.
The game was all but over in the first half, but Wednesday came out swinging once again in the second as they eventually went 7-0 up. Two needless goals were conceded late on - which Pedersen was not happy about - but it didn’t take the shine off an excellent afternoon at S6.
Here’s some of what the two managers had to say:
Henrik Pedersen
“I enjoyed the beginning of the game a lot, how we put the discipline and the intensity in all the basic things to win a battle like this today… We were strong in the duels, we were strong in the second ball, we were strong in the fight in the second ball, and we were strong when we came on the ball.
“We knew there would be a lot of long balls, but how we handled this situation with such big discipline, with so much power to take the strength out of them, I’m really happy for this.
“How much we created on the ball today in our build-up, how much dynamic there was in our game on the ball, and how many players we had in the box many times through the game, it also makes me very happy.
“And then, of course, I’m not happy with the two goals we conceded. It’s not necessary when you’re 7-0 up. For me, it’s good to see that we get more and more discipline. We get more and more balance.”
Andy Woodman
“Horrific… I don’t have the words for it. I thought it was terrible. I’ve been here five-and-a-half years and I’ve never seen a team put out such a bad performance. We took a team to Newcastle and we didn’t play as bad as that. There was so much wrong from the word go.
“It’s not shape and systems and all that stuff. It was just bravery, people not doing their jobs, and just a real lack of, I wouldn’t say effort, a lack of just commitment to doing their jobs and being disciplined.
“We were wide open. I don’t know why we were wide open because that was how we set up. And they just came for us like a knife through butter.
“There were so many things that were so bad. We’ve got to just lick our wounds and just hope that’s a one-off performance and hopefully just gives us a little bit of a reality check of going back to what we are.
“We were nowhere near what we’ve been and what we have been in the past. We’re in tomorrow, we’ll be working tomorrow, working Monday, and the reaction has to be good.”
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