Chelters Posted February 13 Author Share Posted February 13 Sunday 13 February 1994 Coca Cola Cup Semi-Final First Leg Manchester United (away) Having exited the FA Cup in disappointing fashion, the Owls now turned their attention to the League Cup in what was their third semi-final in the competition in four seasons. These were the days when the League Cup still carried a sense of real importance, and a semi-final was a big event indeed. In these early days after the Sky takeover of football, ITV were left with the relative crumbs under the table in the form of the Football League (you may recall Baddiel and Skinner mocking Saint and Greavsie for ‘talking about the Endsleigh League as if it’s important’). What this did mean, however, was that they also had the League Cup and were therefore keen to make the most of the big games, resulting in this game being shown live on ITV on a Sunday afternoon. Wednesday’s opponents Manchester United were, of course, the reigning Premier League champions, although their League Cup record was not actually that great. Their squad was littered with star names such as Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona etc etc. All of the aforementioned were not only great players, they were also in their own ways horrible gits, making the Red Devils not just a team to be feared, but a team to be very much disliked as well. The main team news involved two of the Owls’ stars returning to the starting lineup for the first time in ages, with Chris Waddle and David Hirst replacing Chris Bart-Williams and Gordon Watson respectively. So to the match and....well, there isn’t an awful lot to say. My match reports usually ramble on a bit but this one will be necessarily short as it was a very dull game. United took the lead in the 19th minute when Roland Nilsson’s slip was pounced on by Ryan Giggs. The young winger rounded Kevin Pressman and squeezed it in from a tight angle. Giggs was being hyped up to the rafters by the media at this time and I don’t know about you, but I always thought he was a bit overrated at this point, certainly compared to our own wing wizard. But he turned out to be reasonably decent to be fair...... After this the teams – both of which were in form and capable of showing some real attacking talent – basically cancelled each other out. Hirst had a couple of chances, one being deflected into Peter Schmeichel’s hands, the other being blazed over. The hosts had the odd half chance but nothing to write home about. And, er, that’s about it. The watching public would have been having a nice Sunday afternoon doze through this one, but it was at least nicely set up for the second leg and Wednesday would be thinking they had a real chance of getting to the final again. But, with United midfielder Ince ominously suggesting afterwards ‘we play better away from home’, it would certainly be a tough ask. Final score : Man Utd 1-0 Wednesday Man Utd : Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Kanchelskis, Giggs, Ince Keane, Cantona, Hughes. Unused subs : McClair, Dublin, Sealey Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Bart-Williams 72), Sinton, Hyde, Palmer, Hirst, Bright. Unused subs : Watson, Woods Attendance : 43,294 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 Certainly a game where there was more action off the pitch than on it. Da da da da Not for the first time I have questioned the IQ of people that follow this football team. 30 years on still pertinent ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reesh Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 1 hour ago, mkowl said: Certainly a game where there was more action off the pitch than on it. Da da da da Not for the first time I have questioned the IQ of people that follow this football team. 30 years on still pertinent ! There was more action off the pitch at the Chelsea game, Jason Marriner got bottled in Berlins, but he put his bullshit spin on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 No wonder refs hate us 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted February 13 Share Posted February 13 5 hours ago, Chelters said: Sunday 13 February 1994 Coca Cola Cup Semi-Final First Leg Manchester United (away) Having exited the FA Cup in disappointing fashion, the Owls now turned their attention to the League Cup in what was their third semi-final in the competition in four seasons. These were the days when the League Cup still carried a sense of real importance, and a semi-final was a big event indeed. In these early days after the Sky takeover of football, ITV were left with the relative crumbs under the table in the form of the Football League (you may recall Baddiel and Skinner mocking Saint and Greavsie for ‘talking about the Endsleigh League as if it’s important’). What this did mean, however, was that they also had the League Cup and were therefore keen to make the most of the big games, resulting in this game being shown live on ITV on a Sunday afternoon. Wednesday’s opponents Manchester United were, of course, the reigning Premier League champions, although their League Cup record was not actually that great. Their squad was littered with star names such as Paul Ince, Roy Keane, Mark Hughes, Eric Cantona etc etc. All of the aforementioned were not only great players, they were also in their own ways horrible gits, making the Red Devils not just a team to be feared, but a team to be very much disliked as well. The main team news involved two of the Owls’ stars returning to the starting lineup for the first time in ages, with Chris Waddle and David Hirst replacing Chris Bart-Williams and Gordon Watson respectively. So to the match and....well, there isn’t an awful lot to say. My match reports usually ramble on a bit but this one will be necessarily short as it was a very dull game. United took the lead in the 19th minute when Roland Nilsson’s slip was pounced on by Ryan Giggs. The young winger rounded Kevin Pressman and squeezed it in from a tight angle. Giggs was being hyped up to the rafters by the media at this time and I don’t know about you, but I always thought he was a bit overrated at this point, certainly compared to our own wing wizard. But he turned out to be reasonably decent to be fair...... After this the teams – both of which were in form and capable of showing some real attacking talent – basically cancelled each other out. Hirst had a couple of chances, one being deflected into Peter Schmeichel’s hands, the other being blazed over. The hosts had the odd half chance but nothing to write home about. And, er, that’s about it. The watching public would have been having a nice Sunday afternoon doze through this one, but it was at least nicely set up for the second leg and Wednesday would be thinking they had a real chance of getting to the final again. But, with United midfielder Ince ominously suggesting afterwards ‘we play better away from home’, it would certainly be a tough ask. Final score : Man Utd 1-0 Wednesday Man Utd : Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Kanchelskis, Giggs, Ince Keane, Cantona, Hughes. Unused subs : McClair, Dublin, Sealey Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Waddle (Bart-Williams 72), Sinton, Hyde, Palmer, Hirst, Bright. Unused subs : Watson, Woods Attendance : 43,294 Only 43,000 at it. Ridiculous. 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted February 20 Author Share Posted February 20 30 years ago there was…..no game. But I just want to keep this thread somewhere near the top! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 20 hours ago, Chelters said: 30 years ago there was…..no game. But I just want to keep this thread somewhere near the top! What a day... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 30 years ago today the Owls were due to play the second leg of the Coca Cola Cup Semi Final at home to Manchester United. However, Arctic conditions had set in and, despite the best efforts to clear snow from the Hillsborough pitch, the game was called off. Not only were the fans left disappointed, but ITV were left with a big hole to fill in their Wednesday night schedule. The game was rearranged for a week later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holmesfield_owl Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Did Barker take charge of the second leg with Francis absent or have I remembered it all wrong? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 Saturday 26 February 2024 FA Carling Premiership Norwich City (away) After the postponement of the League Cup Semi Final in midweek, Wednesday turned their attention back to league matters with a tricky looking game at Norwich. The hosts were enjoying another good season, in more or less the same place as their visitors in the top half of the table and enjoying an impressive run in Europe. Earlier in the season, the Canaries had come from three goals down to deny the Owls their first win of the season in an exciting 3-3 draw. But this was a different Wednesday side, enjoying a prolonged spell of decent form and much more confident as a result. Wednesday were forced into one change as Chris Bart-Williams came back in for Chris Waddle, who had perhaps returned too early in the first leg of the semi at Old Trafford. David Hirst continued his comeback up front alongside Mark Bright. As far as Norwich were concerned, the danger man was the in-form Chris Sutton, who partnered a certain Efan Ekoku in attack. It was the hosts who were to dominate the first half, in possession terms at least, but without troubling the scoresheet. Sutton and Jeremy Goss had chances, but in general Wednesday managed to keep Norwich at bay, with Andy Pearce in particular dealing well with Sutton. The Owls were better in the second half and almost took the lead within a few minutes of the restart. Andy Sinton made inroads into the Norwich half and, when the ball broke to Hirst, his first time shot crashed off the crossbar. The reward tor the improvement in the second period arrived 15 minutes from time, with Carlton Palmer being the main architect as his run down the left ended with Hirst’s shot being blocked, but substitute Gordon Watson was on hand to slot home his ninth goal of the season. The home side were duly spurred into life and went for an equaliser, but Kevin Pressman kept them at bay with two great saves from Ekoku efforts. With the game deep into injury time Norwich won a corner. Goalkeeper Bryan Gunn lumbered into the area and his presence seemed to cause chaos in the Owls’ defence, and after a bit of goalmouth pinball it was Sutton who fired home to rescue the point. It was probably hard to argue that the Canaries didn’t deserve something from the game, but that was no consolation for Wednesday, who were left frustrated after conceding in the last 10 minutes for the 14th time that season. Was it the psychological hangover from the FA Cup Final Replay the previous season? Who knows, but even this quality of Wednesday side seemed to have a bit of a vulnerability about them that was perhaps the first hairline crack into the decline that was to come. Final score : Norwich 1-1 Wednesday Norwich : Gunn, Culverhouse, Bowen (Butterworth 86), Newman, Polston, Adams, Ullathorne, Goss, Crook, Sutton, Ekoku. Unused subs : Smith, Howie Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams (Poric 75), Sinton, Hyde, Palmer, Hirst, Bright (Watson 59). Unused sub : Key Attendance : 15,193 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 2 Author Share Posted March 2 Wednesday 2 March 1994 Coca Cola Cup Semi Final Second Leg Manchester United (home) After the postponement of the game the previous week due to the snowy conditions at Hillsborough, the second leg of the League Cup semi-final went ahead at the second time of asking with the ITV cameras in attendance, with millions watching on TV in a prime time slot. Would this be the chance for the Owls to show the watching public what they made of by overturning a 1-0 first leg deficit and marching on to Wembley? Well........ Make no mistake, this was a daunting task for Wednesday, with the visitors unbeaten in an impressive 33 games in all competitions as they looked odds on to retain their Premier League title, and possibly win a domestic treble in the bargain. Despite the disappointment of conceding an injury time equaliser in the previous game at Norwich, it was an unchanged side – in fact an unchanged 14 man squad – that were given the task of achieving a fifth Wembley appearance in two years. Wednesday had a reasonable recent record against the Red Devils, and the form over the previous couple of months did give some hope. But then the game started. It took just 10 minutes for United to effectively wrap the tie up. Just four minutes in, the Owls’ defence fell asleep and Roy Keane crossed for Brian McClair to open the scoring – his fifth goal in three starts at Hillsborough. The home crowd had only a few minutes to get over that disappointment when the impressive Keane instigated an attack by releasing Andrei Kanchelskis down the right, he fed Ryan Giggs and the young winger’s cross was met by Kanchelskis, squeezing a header home from a narrow angle. It was not to be the last time the Russian winger would torment Wednesday in his career. To say this had knocked the stuffing out of the team and the crowd was an understatement, but Wednesday managed to gather themselves and have a bit of a go. Graham Hyde followed up his original cross with a driven effort that David Hirst crashed in from virtually on the line for just his second goal of an injury hit season. Sadly, it was to prove a false dawn as the visitors quickly restored their two goal cushion. Mark Hughes capitalised on the Wednesday defence sloppily ceding possession, and his long range effort slipped through Kevin Pressman and into the net. It was an unfortunate moment for the Owls’ keeper, who had been on a great run of form. After that somewhat chaotic first half, there was definitely a feeling that the game was up and so it was to prove as the Mancunians strolled through the second half with the confidence flowing. Wednesday had a few token efforts but never really troubled Peter Schmeichel. It was a bit of a surprise that it took until near the end for United to get a fourth as Hughes turned in McClair’s cross. No doubt this was a very disappointing evening, and the difference between the two sides was perhaps a bit of a wake-up call. Having exited the FA Cup in similar fashion it suddenly felt like an anti-climax of a season after the excitement and success of the previous three. Final score : Wednesday 1-4 Man Utd (agg 1-5) Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Sinton (Watson), Hyde, Palmer, Hirst, Bright. Unused subs : Poric, Key Man Utd : Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Kanchelskis, Giggs, Keane, Ince, McClair, Hughes. Unused subs : Robson, Dublin, Sealey Attendance : 34,878 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 It was provably more lively outside than on the pitch. Though I seem to recall a very heavy police presence prevented a lot, at least around the stadium itself. One of the few times I left a game early, well more the nominated driver did. The 4th went in as we walked back to the car. I mean it was disappointing to fall at that hurdle, but the acceptance was Man U were moving ahead of everyone. Hindsight probably suggests it was peak Wednesday and some cracks were showing. The failure to build on that squad was the issue, but also that other non matchday revenue sources that Man U and external funding eg Blackburn were exerting influence on the pitch and our ability to compete The failure on the Charterhouse side and that the money was spent on the South Stand not the team is probably underestimated in its impact as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 1 hour ago, mkowl said: Hindsight probably suggests it was peak Wednesday and some cracks were showing. Never really thought of it this way before, and I think you're probably right. As you say we didn't really continue to supplement what we had, with better.. Then of course, the manager went too a little later which then started the spiral of bad decision after bad decision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted March 2 Share Posted March 2 1 hour ago, HoylandOwl said: Never really thought of it this way before, and I think you're probably right. As you say we didn't really continue to supplement what we had, with better.. Then of course, the manager went too a little later which then started the spiral of bad decision after bad decision I mean it didn't probably feel like it at the time, but my Dad always said we were the typical yo yo team. But we had - aside from the 1990 blip - been on an upward trajectory for 15 years or more so the presumption was all would be good, even if a drop off was likely. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrolMong Posted March 3 Share Posted March 3 That game stood out for two reasons. One, the absolute pasting that Man Utd fans took all over Sheffield. And I mean pastings. Any sign of a Mancunian accent and they were at best chased, and at worse, given a hefty clip. It was known before hand in terms of what was going to happen to them. Two, this was my first intro to the monster that was Roy Keane. He ran the show, to the extent that Carlton Palmer did not want any part of that battle. Keane went through Palmer and Hyde like they were under 10’s. Immense display. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastCraigsOwl Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Has anyone seen Brian McClair recently? What a fucking ticket. I don't know how to upload pics on here but if you Google him, you'll see what I mean! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarrySpeakup Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted March 4 Share Posted March 4 Islands inthe stream... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 5 Author Share Posted March 5 Saturday 5 March 1994 FA Carling Premiership Newcastle United (home) After the disappointment of the defeat to Manchester United in midweek ending the dreams of Wembley for the season, Wednesday faced a visit from the Geordies. The visitors were riding high in 4th place, having continued their momentum from promotion the previous season, due in no small part to the goals of Andy Cole (who had not decided to become Andrew at this point). The Owls had of course succumbed to a 4-2 defeat at St James’s Park earlier in the season in a televised Sky game, a game that they really could have won. Wednesday made one change from the Coca Cola Cup Semi, with David Hirst unfortunately struggling again with injury, giving Gordon Watson another chance up front. There was a also a return on the bench for forgotten man Phil King. Newcastle lined up with future Owls Pavel Srnicek (RIP) and Steve Watson, with Peter Beardsley partnering that man Cole up front. There was exciting news in the programme as well, as it was revealed that John Hemmingham had finally released a single, ‘Wednesday Blues’ by the Derby Daze, featuring everyone’s favourite bugler alongside Tango. I can confirm that it’s on Spotify if anyone wants to remind themselves of it, in fact I’m listening to it whilst I’m writing this. At least I think I am, it might be my phone malfunctioning. Anyway, onto the game and the Owls were looking much more like it as they took the game to their opponents. In fact, they could have been two up in the first five minutes as first Mark Bright flashed a left foot shot wide, and then Watson managed to air kick after Andy Sinton had set him up following a jinking run. Later in the half Watson hit a firm shot at Srnicek before Carlton Palmer agonisingly headed against the post following another Sinton run. For their part Newcastle managed a header from Beardsley that was saved by Kevin Pressman but that was pretty much the sum of their first half efforts. The second period saw much of the same as Wednesday continued to press. First King, who had come on in an unfamiliar midfield role when Graham Hyde was forced off in the first half, swung a ball out to Sinton and his cross was met by Palmer for another header, this time straight at Srnicek. Then Sinton was agonisingly close to meeting Bright’s centre after some dithering in the Magpies defence. It looked like it was just going to be one of those days, but it turned out to be even more one of those days when it all went pear-shaped in the final few minutes. In the 88th minute Andy Pearce hauled down Cole and was duly sent off. The resulting free kick was swung in by Beardsley, as Wednesday tried to clear their lines the ball ricocheted off Ruel Fox and was swept home by the lurking Cole to steal all three points. It was a totally undeserved victory for Newcastle, but another game in which Wednesday had continued their worrying trait of conceding late on. Not only that but, having been in great form over the winter, this now meant it was five without a win in all competitions, with away games at Southampton and Manchester United (again) to come. Final score : Wednesday 0-1 Newcastle Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Sinton, Palmer, Hyde (King 23), Watson, Bright (Jemson 80). Unused sub : Key Newcastle : Srnicek, Robinson, Beresford, Howey (Elliot 48), Nielson, Fox, Sellars, Lee, Watson, Beardsley, Cole. Unused subs : Mathie, Hooper Attendance : 33,224 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted March 5 Share Posted March 5 I was there, I know that much. But really don't remember much about that game at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 12 Author Share Posted March 12 Saturday 12 March 1994 FA Carling Premiership Southampton (away) Having hit a spell of iffy form, the Owls travelled down to the south coast hoping to kickstart the run-in with a trip to struggling Southampton. It wasn't the worst place for Wednesday to go, having remained unbeaten at The Dell since 1970. Let's be honest, the old Southampton ground wasn't exactly the best ground in the world, but it certainly had a weird charm and atmosphere about it that's missing in a lot of modern football stadiums. This game saw the first time the travelling fans had been housed in a little stand rather than an open terrace that involved looking up at the pitch if you stood near the front. Wednesday's injuries problems continued to bite, resulting in Phil King starting for the first time since early on in the season, continuing in the midfield role that he had filled when coming on as sub in the previous match against Newcastle. The Saints lined up with the dangerous Matt Le Tissier and the equally fearsome - but for different reasons - Iain Dowie. It was the hosts who started brightly with Craig Maskell - already a tormentor of the Owls this season having scored two for Swindon at Hillsborough - forcing a great save from Kevin Pressman with a curling effort. Shortly afterwards, Pressman was called into action again making a flying save from a Le Tisser free kick. Wednesday got themselves into the game a bit more as the half wore on, with Andy Sinton having the best effort from an angled drive saved by Dave Beasant, but the first half ended goalless. Gordon Watson came close to scoring before the Owls took the lead with a great goal midway through the second half. A short corner routine saw Watson's deflected effort saved by Beasant. Andy Pearce got the ball out to Chris Bart-Williams, who brilliantly danced around three Southampton defenders in the box before firing into the bottom corner. It was a superbly taken goal that would have been shown again and again if someone like Ryan Giggs had scored it. The Saints pressed for an equaliser and got Wednesday on the back foot, and in the 77th minute the seemingly inevitable happened as defender Ken Monkou scored with a powerful header. It almost got worse when Nicky Banger forced a save from Pressman in the last minute as the Owls' brittle confidence at the end of games continued to show. It was another frustrating result having taken the lead against a struggling team, and the feeling that the season was drifting away continued, but in isolation it wasn't a disastrous result in a tough game. Final score : Southampton 1-1 Wednesday Southampton : Beasant, Kenna, Benali, Wood (Banger 77), Monkou, Maddison, Charlton, Maskell (Allen 62), Magilton, Le Tissier, Dowie. Unused sub : Andrews Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Pearce, Walker, King, Bart-Williams, Sinton, Palmer, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Poric, Jemson, Key Attendance : 16,391 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 Used to love trips to the Dell... Usually preceded by a trip to Winchester to a boozer run by someone who used to live near us in Hoyland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 2 hours ago, HoylandOwl said: Used to love trips to the Dell... Usually preceded by a trip to Winchester to a boozer run by someone who used to live near us in Hoyland. Village Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 7 minutes ago, Andyben said: Village Yep, it lost a few idiots while we were down there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Wednesday 16 March 1994 FA Carling Premiership Manchester United (away) Having hit a bit of a sticky patch, a second trip to Old Trafford in relatively quick succession was pretty much the last thing that Wednesday needed. The hosts were of course reigning champions and were still on track for a domestic treble, having recently beaten the Owls to Wembley in the League Cup semi-finals. One thing that always stuck out about this Man U team was their incredible ability to suffer virtually no injuries (often the hallmark of a successful team) and, true to form, they had a full squad to choose from for this game. This was in stark contrast to Wednesday who were missing several key players. With Phil King continuing in midfield, the Owls drafted in Adem Poric for a rare start in midfield, and Julian Watts for his first appearance of the season. This meant an unusual 5-4-1 formation as Trevor Francis presumably wanted to try and stifle the in-form opponents. No disrespect to Poric and Watts, but they were not exactly the players you wanted filling gaps in the teamsheet for a game such as this, and it was to prove a very difficult - and often rainswept - night. Wednesday actually started the game reasonably well, but things started to go wrong in the seventh minute when Roland Nilsson was crunched by a certain Eric Cantona, Whether this was part of the cause or not we will never know, but within 15 minutes of that incident the Owls found themselves three goals down. Ryan Giggs opened the scoring with a calm finish, Mark Hughes added the second with what Kevin Pressman later described as 'the hardest shot I've ever faced' and Paul Ince got the third from an Andrei Kanchelskis pass. A few minutes after that third goal, Nilsson finally succumbed and had to be replaced by Gordon Watson, meaning a reversion to a more familiar formation. But the damage was obviously done and the home side were able to cruise through the rest of the game. It was four by half time with Cantona scoring after leaving the visiting defence in his wake in typical fashion. As you would expect, the second half was a bit of a non-event. Wednesday had one decent effort when Watson's drive was turned over by Peter Schmeichel. There was time for one more goal for Cantona, an effort off the post from an Ince assist. No doubt Wednesday were sick of the sight of United, having now been beaten four times by them in the season, and left Old Trafford feeling totally deflated and now carrying another injury to Nilsson. The injuries were at least a bit of an excuse but the gulf in class was even more obvious than it had been a couple of weeks earlier. Final score : Man Utd 5-0 Wednesday Man Utd : Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Kanchelskis (Robson 71), Giggs (McClair 45), Ince, Keane, Cantona, Hughes. Unused sub : Sealey Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson (Watson 24), Coleman, Watts, Pearce, Walker, Bart-Williams, Sinton, Poric, King, Bright. Unused subs : Jemson, Woods Attendance : 43,669 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 It was probably a later game but in the early days of Sky doing the Soccer Special programme, a similar scoreline arose and the nodding head suggested we played like training ground dummies. Unfair on this squad but you can see in hindsight now how football was going to go. The top clubs with money would be dominant. You look at our players missing and the calibre of the replacements and this result was not a surprise. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 2 hours ago, mkowl said: It was probably a later game but in the early days of Sky doing the Soccer Special programme, a similar scoreline arose and the nodding head suggested we played like training ground dummies. Unfair on this squad but you can see in hindsight now how football was going to go. The top clubs with money would be dominant. You look at our players missing and the calibre of the replacements and this result was not a surprise. What do you expect when some mug decided developing the south stand for three games at Euro 96 was more important than the playing squad... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 19 minutes ago, Andyben said: What do you expect when some mug decided developing the south stand for three games at Euro 96 was more important than the playing squad... I am glad you have come round to knowing I was right 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted March 16 Share Posted March 16 3 minutes ago, mkowl said: I am glad you have come round to knowing I was right Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 16 Author Share Posted March 16 Comes to something when reading about this game is better than reading about today’s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted March 17 Share Posted March 17 18 hours ago, mkowl said: I am glad you have come round to knowing I was right @Andyben Rohl now on board with my view I see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 20 Author Share Posted March 20 Sunday 20 March 1994 FA Carling Premiership Blackburn Rovers (home) Following the midweek mauling at Old Trafford, the Owls faced second-placed Blackburn at a bad time, with injuries and a poor run of form both indicating a likely away win. The Sky cameras had finally found their way to S6 for the first time this season but with the spotlight, as usual, seemingly more on the opposition. With the news that Nigel Pearson and David Hirst were out for the season, Wednesday were in desperate need of reinforcements and were grateful to welcome Carlton Palmer back to the starting lineup and go back to two up front with the reintroduction of Gordon Watson. More surprisingly, after months out, John Sheridan was also able to return to the midfield. Unsurprisingly Julian Watts and Adem Poric were relegated back to the reserves, and Phil King dropped to the bench. Thankfully Roland Nilsson was passed fit after being forced off in the week by an aggressive Cantona challenge, although it seemed he probably was still carrying a knock. Blackburn were still in with a shot of the title, albeit seven points behind, and with the pairing of Alan Shearer and Mike Newell scoring plenty of goals, it was easy to see another poor Wednesday performance. Although possession had been fairly even in the early stages, it was Rovers who took the lead after 19 minutes. Stuart Ripley (a future Owls loanee of course) beat Simon Coleman down the right and squared for Jason Wilcox to slot home. Blackburn had a couple of other good chances, with Shearer being denied by the offside flag and WIlcox's deflected effort being tipped over by Kevin Pressman. Wednesday kept plugging away though and levelled three minutes before the break. Andy Sinton's corner found Coleman and his header was nudged in by Watson. It looked like it might have been a Chris Bart-Williams goal with a touch a couple of yards out, but it turned out that there was no touch there after all. The visitors pressed in the second half with the Owls visibly tiring, perhaps no surprise with the various injuries. Pressman saved well from David Batty (a poor man's Carlton I always thought), Wilcox missed when it looked easier to score and Nilsson cleared from almost on the line. As the game approached the closing stages, sub Nigel Jemson could have twice won it : firstly as his header was cleared off the line and then another header looping off the top of the bar. The game then swung the other way as David May, of all people, rattled the post with a powerful shot. And then in the 90th minute the inevitable happened as once again Wednesday fell to their habit of conceding late goals, Newell stooping to head home from close range after Pressman parried a shot. It was a good result for Rovers, and an important one as they tried to keep pace with Man United. For Wednesday, it was a 6th defeat in a winless run of 8 games, as the season really started to peter out. The promise of some players returning from injuries was a least a crumb of comfort and some promise for a better run-in. Final score : Wednesday 1-2 Blackburn Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Coleman, Palmer, Walker, Bart-Williams, Hyde, Sheridan (King 76), Watson (Jemson 55), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Blackburn : Flowers, Berg, Le Saux, May, Hendry, Ripley, Wilcox, Batty, Sherwood, Shearer, Newell. Unused subs : Marker, Warhurst, Mimms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted March 31 Author Share Posted March 31 Wednesday 30 March 1994 FA Carling Premiership Chelsea (home) After a run of eight games without a win, including exits from both cups, Wednesday's season had taken a definite turn for the worse over the previous few weeks. The first game of that run saw a defeat to Chelsea in an FA Cup replay, and it was the West Londoners making another visit to Hillsborough. This was not the petro-rouble fueled Chelsea that was to follow around a decade later. This version was a more run-of-the-mill Premiership outfit, neither one thing nor the other and sat in the bottom of the table. In truth, their overall standing in the English game at this point was probably no higher than that of Wednesday's. The recent form had seen the Owls slip back to 10th in the table, so hopes of a European place were also pretty much dead, so it was really just pride to play for over the rest of the season. In particular it was important to get some impressive performances going in front of the home fans. Wednesday were hit with yet more injury news before the game as Andy Sinton was ruled out with a foot fracture. There was better news, however, with Nigel Worthington and Ryan Jones able to return to the starting line up. Andy Pearce was also back in defence, John Sheridan continued his recovery in midfield and there was a bit of a surprise with Michael Williams coming in on the wing. The changes seemed to have the desired effect as the Owls came out of the traps with some energy and took the game to their opponents. It took just six minutes to take the lead as Jones's free kick was only parried by Dimitri Kharine and, in the ensuing passage of play, Carlton Palmer crossed for Chris Bart-Williams to slot home. Wednesday were the better side but had to survive a scare when a back-heel from the visitors' player-manager Glenn Hoddle led to Darren Barnard striking the outside of the post. But the lead was doubled after 27 minutes : Sheridan was the architect as he tricked his way past Hoddle and set up Palmer to burst through and lash into the net. It was no less than Wednesday deserved and a breath of fresh air after recent performances. There were further chances for Jones and Sheridan as the half drew to a close and Chelsea were reeling. In typical Wednesday fashion, they managed to make it a bit more difficult than it should have been as, midway through the second half, the visitors pulled one back as Craig Burley crossed for John Spencer to head home at the near post. Thankfully an equaliser never came and the game was wrapped up with five minutes to go. Frank Sinclair needlessly shoved Mark Bright under a high ball, allowing Sheridan to slot home a penalty in front of the Kop in typically cool fashion. It was a good performance and result, and a positive way to end a bad run of results, and good to get a few players back from injury. There was a hectic Easter period to come with games against both Everton and Swindon to come within 5 days as the Owls hoped to kick-start the run-in. Final score : Wednesday 3-1 Chelsea Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Williams (Watson), Jones, Sheridan, Palmer, Bart-Williams (Hyde), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Chelsea : Kharine, Clarke, Barnard, Kjeldbjerg, Sinclair, Donaghy, Burley, Peacock, Hoddle (Hopkin), Wise, Spencer. Unused subs : Duberry, Hitchcock Attendance : 20,433 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted March 31 Share Posted March 31 14 minutes ago, Chelters said: Attendance : 20,433 #chansiriout 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted April 2 Author Share Posted April 2 Saturday 2 April 1994 FA Carling Premiership Everton (home) Having shaken off a winless run of 8 games with a midweek victory over Chelsea, the Owls faced old foes Everton at Hillsborough. The Toffees had been a real bogey side in the 80s but, since returning to the top flight in 1991, Wednesday had had the better of it against the Merseysiders, and had been comfortable 2-0 victors in the reverse fixture on Boxing Day. The visitors were on a poor run and looking nervously over their shoulders, just four points above the relegation zone and with a real danger of going down. Manager MIke Walker had been appointed from Norwich in January but had not settled well at Goodison, with his first big signing Brett Angell (who had scored prolifically for Southend) not exactly hitting the heights either. To make matters worse, they were saddled with a distinctly dodgy away kit of 'salmon and navy stripes', not particularly de rigeur back in those days. Wednesday were unchanged from the Chelsea win and were at it from the off, scoring after just 11 minutes, Ryan Jones ending a bit of penalty area pinball with a drilled low shot past Neville Southall's left hand and into the bottom corner. This was clearly the last thing Everton needed and their lack of confidence was pounced on by a resurgent Owls side. Carlton Palmer had a powerful effort brilliantly saved by Southall and Mark Bright's volley was cleared off the line by Graham Stuart. As the half drew to a close Angell fluffed a chance for an equaliser for the visitors, and Wednesday took full advantage. Chris Bart-Williams gathered a high ball, twisted and turned and struck a low shot into the near post with Southall completely deceived. It wasn't a great moment for the Everton stopper and his frustration was beginning to show. The start of the second half saw a quieter period in the game, but it came to life again with four goals in the last 15 minutes. First Wednesday added a third as Nigel Worthington scored his first of the season with an angled drive, again Southall should have done better as he tried to save with his foot. Everton then scored straight from the restart as half-time substitute Tony Cottee scored from close range. This didn't spur Everton on though, and it was the Owls who were to continue to dominate. Into the last ten minutes, Bart-Williams found space on the right and found Bright in the box to turn and volley a fourth. With 3 minutes to go Bart-Williams again tormented the Toffees' defence down the right, this time hitting a high cross that eluded Southall and gave Bright the simple task of heading into the empty net for his 20th goal of the season. Eight goals in two games had seen Wednesday rise to third highest scorers in the division, and ended any lingering fears of a late season collapse. Sadly, qualification for Europe was out of reach so it was a case of trying to finish the season on a high. For Everton the dark clouds were gathering, but they were to pull off a famous escape on the last day of the season against Wimbledon. Final score : Wednesday 5-1 Everton Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Williams (Watson 74), Jones, Palmer, Sheridan (King 64), Bart-Williams, Bright. Unused sub : Woods Everton : Southall, Jackson, Unsworth, Snodin, Watson, Moore (Cottee 45), Stuart, Limpar, Horne, Ebbrell, Angell (Rowett 79). Unused sub : Kearton. Attendance : 24,096 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted April 2 Share Posted April 2 I mean getting any positive result v Everton after various run ins in the 80s where we invariably came 2nd was good. That was probably our best ever performance on home territory against them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoylandOwl Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 I bloody hated Everton for ages because of the FA Cup semi and.. Graeme Sharp who always used to score against us. Or it felt like it. I don’t mind em so much now. But hate Arsenal, and that won’t leave me. 🤣 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fOWLmouth Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 44 minutes ago, HoylandOwl said: I bloody hated Everton for ages because of the FA Cup semi and.. Graeme Sharp who always used to score against us. Or it felt like it. I don’t mind em so much now. But hate Arsenal, and that won’t leave me. 🤣 Don’t like either of them.It would give me a certain amount of pleasure to see Everton relegated this season but I think they’ll stay up,again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Owl Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 I'll never forget Dads words for this match. We went to this game with him and a school friend of his. Sat in the leppings lane end in the lower tier and were at the side Neville Southall was warming up. Oh no, not Nev in goal his words were. Both adults then went on a memory trip of what a fantastic goalkeeper Neville Southall was and one of, if not, the best goalkeeper in the 80s. He didn't play that well, but neither did the Everton team. Even with Mike Walker in, they were struggling and looked a side low on confidence. 5-1 flattered them from memory. We should have scored a lot more Remember one fan in that end telling Southall to give up and get his crutchets after we made it 2-0. Also the 'Down with United' chants we sang at them. I was certain they would be relegated and couldn't believe it when they survived. Then I saw the Match of the Day highlights and Hans Segers' goalkeeping masterclass 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owling_Wolf Posted April 3 Share Posted April 3 5 hours ago, Kiwi Owl said: I'll never forget Dads words for this match. We went to this game with him and a school friend of his. Sat in the leppings lane end in the lower tier and were at the side Neville Southall was warming up. Oh no, not Nev in goal his words were. Both adults then went on a memory trip of what a fantastic goalkeeper Neville Southall was and one of, if not, the best goalkeeper in the 80s. He didn't play that well, but neither did the Everton team. Even with Mike Walker in, they were struggling and looked a side low on confidence. 5-1 flattered them from memory. We should have scored a lot more Remember one fan in that end telling Southall to give up and get his crutchets after we made it 2-0. Also the 'Down with United' chants we sang at them. I was certain they would be relegated and couldn't believe it when they survived. Then I saw the Match of the Day highlights and Hans Segers' goalkeeping masterclass Southall had been a fantastic keeper, deffo the best for a good while. Obviously not in that game! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted April 4 Author Share Posted April 4 Monday 4 April 1994 FA Carling Premiership Swindon Town (away) Wednesday's hectic Easter schedule continued with an Easter Monday game just two days after the convincing win over Everton (imagine Klopp's reaction to that). It was a trek down to deepest, darkest Wiltshire for a game against strugglers Swindon. The hosts had found their rise to the top flight predictably tough and were languishing at the foot of the table, with their defence a particular problem. They had shown some spirit though, not least in a 3-3 draw at Hillsborough over the Christmas period. The game kicked off at a rather inconvenient 8pm as it had been selected by Sky, presumably the story being Swindon's relatively faint hopes of staying up, as there was certainly not much to excite the neutral viewer in terms of the Owls' finish to the season. The Robins were definitely starting to enter the last chance saloon, and this would have seen as a must-win game for them. Wednesday had the unusual luxury of naming the same side for the third game running, although whether this was a good idea with 3 games in 5 days remained to be seen. The hosts, for their part, had brought in experienced players such as Brian Kilcline (still probably near the top of the hirsute footballers league) and Lawrie Sanchez to try and stay up. Swindon started on the front foot and were clearly going for it early on. Kilcline, Sanchez and Luc Nijholt were all denied by Kevin Pressman, the last one a particularly good save. The Owls were struggling to get a foothold in the game, with the desperation of the hosts and perhaps an element of tiredness creeping in. But, as the half went on, Wednesday did manage to start playing some football, with their best chance being a fierce drive from Chris Bart-Williams that clipped the bar. The half ended goalless with a sense that Swindon may have missed their best opportunity to seize control of the game. This proved to be the case as proceedings swung towards Wednesday in the second half. Midway through the half John Sheridan sent a pass through to substitute Gordon Watson, the ensuing collision with home goalkeeper Nicky Hammond resulted in the latter having to leave the field and be replaced by future Owls loanee Paul Heald. Swindon missed a great chance to go in front when Jan Aage Fjortoft headed over, and in the next phase of play the Owls took the lead. A deep cross from Nigel Worthington was headed back towards goal by Mark Bright and, with the ball looking to head just wide, Watson nipped in to stab the ball over the line for his 11th of the season. It was a good return for the often reserve striker in comparison to his minutes on the field over the course of the season. The hosts huffed and puffed but the goal had clearly knocked them and Wednesday were to see the game out without too much difficulty. It was far from a swashbuckling performance by the Owls, more of a solid and steady away performance. It capped an impressive Easter period with three wins and nine goals scored and lifted Wednesday to 6th in the table. For the hosts, it was a damaging defeat that left them 11 points from safety with just 5 games left and staring down the barrel. Final score : Swindon 0-1 Wednesday Swindon : Hammond (Heald 67), Whitbread (Horlock 43), Bodin, Kilcline, Taylor, Summerbee, Moncur, Nijholt, Sanchez, Fjortoft. Unused sub : McAvennie Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Williams (Watson 56), Jones, Sheridan, Palmer, Bart-Williams, Bright (Coleman 83). Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 13,727 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto_Man Posted April 4 Share Posted April 4 I went to the Swindon game, god it was turgid, they were absolutely terrible though. Highlight was giving grief to the fossils that were Kilcline and Horlock Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted April 9 Author Share Posted April 9 Saturday 9 April 1994 FA Carling Premiership Queens Park Rangers (home) After a successful Easter period, the Owls looked to continue their recent upswing in form against a slightly troubled Queens Park Rangers side. The Rs had been the top placed London side in the country the previous season, finishing a creditable fifth, and were still operating in the top half of the table. But two heavy defeats prior to this game, and some boardroom shenanigans in the background, had put a bit of a different complexion on their season. On the benches it was a battle of the two Messrs Francis, with former Bristol Rovers - and future Spurs - boss Gerry lining up against our own Tricky Trev. The Rangers' boss was one of those men who found a hairstyle at some point in his 20s or 30s and thought 'right I'm sticking with that' as the spiky mullet he wore throughout his career still seems to be his preferred choice to this day. He had actually been touted for the England manager's job at around this time but lost out to Terry Venables. On the pitch Wednesday made one change to the team that had won the previous three matches, with Gordon Watson deservedly getting a place ahead of Michael Williams. The visitors lined up with some familiar names in their lineup, including Ian Holloway and 15-goal Les Ferdinand. Having scored five in their previous home game, Wednesday's confidence was up and it showed as they streaked into a three goal lead within half an hour. With just 7 minutes on the clock, Watson found a bit of space in the right edge of the penalty area. His cross-cum-shot took a deflection of a QPR defender and rolled invitingly across the 6-yard box for Mark Bright to finish neatly with his left foot. Before Wednesday added their second there was one scare as Ferdinand beat the Owls' offside trap only to skew his resulting effort nearer the corner flag than the goal, resulting in much merriment from the onlooking Kop. The second goal then duly arrived as Bright took down a high ball in the box and, as he prepared to shoot, was tugged back by Karl Ready. Despite the rather futile protestations of the away defenders it was a definite penalty (that's one of those things where you get a free shot from 12 yards out in case you've forgotten what they are) and was duly slotted home by the ever dependable John Sheridan.t Before long it was three as first Nigel Worthington put a defender on his backside with a stepover, his cross was collected by Carlton Palmer whose shot was only parried by Tony Roberts, leaving Bright the simple task of blasting in from close range for his 22nd of the season. 3-0 up and cruising at half time, expectations were high for another five goal blast at least but it wasn't to be as Wednesday understandably struggled to keep up the intensity in the second half and the game petered out. Bright had a volley saved by Roberts but the closest to a goal was a cracking effort from the edge of the area by Ryan Jones that crashed off the bar. True to form, the Owls conceded a late goal that was thankfully meaningless on this occasion as half-time substitute Devon White scored with a surprisingly deft finish (I say surprisingly as he was not usually the most subtle of footballers). Most worryingly Des Walker was stretchered off with 20 minutes to go with a suspected broken leg, yet another injury concern in a season littered with them. Thankfully though it just turned out to be heavy bruising. Despite the rather flat second half this was another impressive win for Wednesday and cemented them in 6th place. Four straight wins had even suddenly opened up an outside chance of Europe, although it would take some permutations of teams above them winning cups both domestic and European for that to happen. Final score : Wednesday 3-1 QPR Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker (Coleman 71), Bart-Williams, Jones, Sheridan, Palmer, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Jemson, Woods QPR : Roberts, Bardsley, Wilson, Ready, Yates, Impey, Meaker (White 45), Holloway, Barker, Allen, Ferdinand. Unused subs : Wilkins, Stejskal Attendance : 22,437 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 Saturday 16 April 2024 FA Carling Premiership Coventry City (away) With an outside chance of Europe still on the cards, Wednesday's late season form - coupled with scoring more than a few goals as well - meant that the entertainment value was still high enough going into the last few games of the season. Unfortunately, up next were the distinctly un-entertaining Coventry City. Not only had they ground out a completely forgettable 0-0 at Hillsborough back in November, but they had also become Wednesday's bogey team, with just 1 win in the last 13 league fixtures. The Owls squad had been buoyed by deserved international recognition for the first time for Kevin Pressman and Chris Bart-Williams, both of whom had been called up to an England training camp, and Ryan Jones, called up into the Wales squad. With the injury situation easing (or at least not getting any worse) it was a pretty settled side that travelled to Highfield Road. But, with depressing predictability, the Owls fell completely flat in a first half that was one of their worst 45 minute spells of the season. Pressman was the busier of the two keepers (former Hillsborough scorer Steve Ogrizovic being the other) and it was no real surprise when the Sky Blues went in front on 26 minutes. However, there was more than an air of controversy about it as Roland Nilsson's offending tackle on Peter Ndlovu looked distinctly outside the area. The referee was convinced though, and Ndlovu confidently slotted the spot kick into the bottom corner. Just before half time Pressman made a magnificent save, tipping Sean Flynn's header onto the bar. And just after the interval, Flynn was again denied as Pressman saved at his feet. This gave the Owls the opportunity to grab an equaliser and it was an excellent goal. A free kick from 25 yards was teed up for Jones, and he curled the ball beautifully into the top corner. Unfortunately, it was hard for the watching public on Match of the Day to appreciate that evening as the goal was missed by the official cameraman going off for a piss...er, sorry, I mean 'technical issues'. What had been a pretty poor game improved towards the end with Pressman making a couple more good saves and John Sheridan going close with a shot that whistled just wide. In truth though, a point was probably the most Wednesday deserved in a bit of a disjointed performance. Once again the Owls had failed to down the frustrating Sky Blues - who for once were mid-table rather than struggling at the bottom - and that faint hope of Europe became that bit fainter. Final score : Coventry 1-1 Wednesday Coventry : Ogrizovic, Borrows, Morgan, Atherton, Babb, Darby, Jenkinson, Rennie, Boland, Flynn, Ndlovu. Unused subs : Pickering, Quinn, Gould Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson (Coleman 89), Worthington, Pearce, Walker, Palmer, Jones, Sheridan, Hyde, Bart-Williams (Watson 53), Bright. Unused sub : Woods Attendance : 13,013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theman Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 On 03/04/2024 at 15:26, Owling_Wolf said: Southall had been a fantastic keeper, deffo the best for a good while. Obviously not in that game! Have visions of Varadi wheeling away arms raised…..no goal said Nev….. we battered them and lost 1-0…..unbelievable keeping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBO Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 33 minutes ago, Chelters said: Saturday 16 April 2024 FA Carling Premiership Coventry City (away) Now I am confused🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelters Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 10 minutes ago, JBO said: Now I am confused🤪 Long day…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyben Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 ...long match. Imagine the size of the board being held up by the 4th official Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkowl Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 9 hours ago, JBO said: Now I am confused🤪 I remember it like it was yesterday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otto_Man Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 On 09/04/2024 at 07:09, Chelters said: Saturday 9 April 1994 FA Carling Premiership Queens Park Rangers (home) After a successful Easter period, the Owls looked to continue their recent upswing in form against a slightly troubled Queens Park Rangers side. The Rs had been the top placed London side in the country the previous season, finishing a creditable fifth, and were still operating in the top half of the table. But two heavy defeats prior to this game, and some boardroom shenanigans in the background, had put a bit of a different complexion on their season. On the benches it was a battle of the two Messrs Francis, with former Bristol Rovers - and future Spurs - boss Gerry lining up against our own Tricky Trev. The Rangers' boss was one of those men who found a hairstyle at some point in his 20s or 30s and thought 'right I'm sticking with that' as the spiky mullet he wore throughout his career still seems to be his preferred choice to this day. He had actually been touted for the England manager's job at around this time but lost out to Terry Venables. On the pitch Wednesday made one change to the team that had won the previous three matches, with Gordon Watson deservedly getting a place ahead of Michael Williams. The visitors lined up with some familiar names in their lineup, including Ian Holloway and 15-goal Les Ferdinand. Having scored five in their previous home game, Wednesday's confidence was up and it showed as they streaked into a three goal lead within half an hour. With just 7 minutes on the clock, Watson found a bit of space in the right edge of the penalty area. His cross-cum-shot took a deflection of a QPR defender and rolled invitingly across the 6-yard box for Mark Bright to finish neatly with his left foot. Before Wednesday added their second there was one scare as Ferdinand beat the Owls' offside trap only to skew his resulting effort nearer the corner flag than the goal, resulting in much merriment from the onlooking Kop. The second goal then duly arrived as Bright took down a high ball in the box and, as he prepared to shoot, was tugged back by Karl Ready. Despite the rather futile protestations of the away defenders it was a definite penalty (that's one of those things where you get a free shot from 12 yards out in case you've forgotten what they are) and was duly slotted home by the ever dependable John Sheridan.t Before long it was three as first Nigel Worthington put a defender on his backside with a stepover, his cross was collected by Carlton Palmer whose shot was only parried by Tony Roberts, leaving Bright the simple task of blasting in from close range for his 22nd of the season. 3-0 up and cruising at half time, expectations were high for another five goal blast at least but it wasn't to be as Wednesday understandably struggled to keep up the intensity in the second half and the game petered out. Bright had a volley saved by Roberts but the closest to a goal was a cracking effort from the edge of the area by Ryan Jones that crashed off the bar. True to form, the Owls conceded a late goal that was thankfully meaningless on this occasion as half-time substitute Devon White scored with a surprisingly deft finish (I say surprisingly as he was not usually the most subtle of footballers). Most worryingly Des Walker was stretchered off with 20 minutes to go with a suspected broken leg, yet another injury concern in a season littered with them. Thankfully though it just turned out to be heavy bruising. Despite the rather flat second half this was another impressive win for Wednesday and cemented them in 6th place. Four straight wins had even suddenly opened up an outside chance of Europe, although it would take some permutations of teams above them winning cups both domestic and European for that to happen. Final score : Wednesday 3-1 QPR Wednesday : Pressman, Nilsson, Worthington, Pearce, Walker (Coleman 71), Bart-Williams, Jones, Sheridan, Palmer, Watson, Bright. Unused subs : Jemson, Woods QPR : Roberts, Bardsley, Wilson, Ready, Yates, Impey, Meaker (White 45), Holloway, Barker, Allen, Ferdinand. Unused subs : Wilkins, Stejskal Attendance : 22,437 Made (what was to 16 year old me) an absolute fortune at this game, but nearly got my head kicked in. Had 3-1 and Bright to score first at 33's so stood up and cheered on the kop when they scored at the end. Had also had a cheeky bet on Miinehoma in the national so went home over £100 up which was a lot to me back then. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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