Sheffield Wednesday ended their pre-season with their first defeat of the summer as Rangers deservedly beat them 2-0 at Hillsborough on Sunday.
The Owls, playing in last seasons away kit with no sign of any of the 3 new kits for the forthcoming season as yet, were slow and predictable in the first half. The visitors didn’t offer much more of a threat they had enjoyed the better of the 1st half and took the lead a couple of minutes before the break when Josh Windass slip the ball past Westwood, much to the delight of their 7,000+ fans in the North Stand.
Carlos Carvalhal’s side were better after the restart and should have levelled the scores when Rhodes was denied by Foderingham from close range. The SPL side responded by doubling their lead before the hour mark when veteran striker Kenny Miller fired home.
The home side continued to play with more tempo than they had done in the first half though that wasn’t saying much and they never really threatened altering the result in the last half hour of the game.
Westwood went off with a head injury midway through the 2nd-half but is expected to be fit. Glenn Loovens played in the second half and Kieran Lee didn’t feature as he is carried an injury. Carvalhal revealed post-match that the Owls have a behind closed doors game lined up with Lincoln in midweek in which it is hoped the likes of Loovens, Lee, Abdi and Hutchinson will feature along with a mix of youngsters as they look for match fitness with the season opener on the horizon.
While it is unwise to ever read too much into friendlies, it was disappointing to see Wednesday defeated in their only home fixture of pre-season against a side that have hardly pulled up any trees in recent months. The Owls will certainly need to be much better if they are to get a positive result at Preston when the season kicks off next Saturday.