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Sheffield Wednesday 1 Bolton Wanderers 0: Old favourite sets up win for the new Owls Sheffield Wednesday are revamping their badge, ground, their training ground and their team in what is being branded the "rebirth" of one of English football's most historic clubs. Harry Gray on the left, Callum Slattery in the hole and right-winger Jordi Liongola all showed they can be new heroes for the Owls but as so many time in the past, their inspiration came from Barry Bannan. You could argue it was Xavier Simons who did most to help the Owls to a 1-0 victory over Bolton Wanderers which followed an upward path after a poor start, but it was Bannan's through-ball that turned their good work into a goal, brilliantly taken by Jamal Lowe, a striker Wednesday will hope can also be reborn in League One. Being more direct is part of the plan in League One, and Bannan played a lovely straight ball to release the substitute in the 70th minute to produce an exquisite lob in off the post. When Bannan left in January it was a sign of how desperate things had become at Hillsborough. We always knew he would be back, but for it to be so soon and as a player was yet another shot in the arm. Liam Palmer took over the captaincy In his absence but with the versatile defender on the bench, Bannan even had the armband strapped around his bicep. It just feels right. In the final analysis, Lowe's goal was all that separated the Owls from a team they swapped places with in the league ladder this summer. With the passing pedestrian and sloppy, Wednesday were reliant in attack on brilliance from Gray and Slattery. Fortunately there is a fair amount of that, supplemented by a promising debut when Liongola went forward. But with Liam Cooper injured and Ricardo Santos only on the bench, the Owls looked haphazard defensively early on and most vulnerable down the right where they had a defender from this summer's World Cup in Yan Valery. In fairness, he did end the first half with some brilliant defensive work after Thierry Gale initially accelerated past him, only to come off injured late in the second. Who knows if he will be seen in blue-and-white stripes again. Played in hot conditions – we had a first-half hydration break greeted by loud boos – at low intensity in front of three sides of the ground with the North Stand shut, the first competitive match of the season had a very friendly feel, especially before the break. Against a Wednesday XI featuring five debutants and two returning figures in Bannan and Joe Lumley, Bolton made the early running. The hydration breaks were not the only unpopular hangover from the World Cup, the Trotters' first attack of note coming down the side Liongola would have been on had he not been ordered to the sideline when he went down injured, only to jump up and refuse treatment as soon as the game was stopped. Gale pulled the ball back for Luca Stephenson, who shot wide. Ruben Rodrigues scuffed his shot when the ball came in from that side again, after ten minutes. The Portuguese had the first half's only shot on target in the 18th minute but it did not trouble Lumley, who gathered the free-kick in comfortably. Sam Dalby headed a right-wing cross over in the 29th after the hydration break – valid in the heat and at least not the three-minute advert break we had to sit through at the World Cup. Wednesday grew into the first half, but not enough. Slattery, one of the summer signings, looked very promising in the hole, and had his team's first shot wide when Gray, on loan from Leeds United, cut inside to feed him. Mason Burstow – a Bolton loanee last season – overhit his 23rd-minute cross from the Owls' most promising moment so far. Liongola gave the ball away to former Owl Akin Famewo but at least quickly won the ball, a foul and the first yellow card shown by Elliot Bell, who looked like he too was still getting up to speed. Famewo then had to head a Liongola-bound cross dinked by Gray, whose control of the ball with his shoulder was exquisite. Gray and Max Lowe linked well late in the half, only for the defender to get over-excited and balloon his shot. Wednesday had already started the second half well, with Max Lowe, bombing forward, just not quite able to stretch to a Liongola cross, then linking with Bannan only for Gray to prove unable to thread two precise efforts towards goal. But the narrative turned when Gray pulled Xavier Simons' short in the 57th minute and the former Hull City man threw a punch. He was shown a straight red card. Henrik Pedersen shifted Slattery into central midfield and Gray into the hole to try to take advantage, former Hull and Sheffield United forward Louie Barry entering the fray. Even before that, Gray had a shot blocked. Slattery produced a lovely turn but like Max Lowe, over-egged his shot. His namesake's goal gave the scoreline a realistic look and even with 20 minutes to play, it felt like that was that. Jack Bornham touched a Gabriel Otegbayo effort around the post, Slattery got underneath a shot and Stephenson defended well to stop Barry having a chance of scoring the second. The new Wednesday's season is up and running with an old favourite leading the way. Sheffield Wednesday: Lumley; Valery (Palmer 85), Swinkels, Otegbayo, M Lowe; Thornton (Barry 62), Bannan (Fusire 78); Liongoala, Slattery, Gray (Grainger 78); Burstow (J Lowe 62). Unused substitutes: Santos, McNeill, Trueman, Weaver. Bolton Wanderers: Bonham; Stephenson, Forino (Toal 72), Davies (Watson 72), Famewo; Sheehan, Simons; Larrazabal (Conway 62), Rodrigues (McAtee 72), Gale (Dong 72); Dalby. Unused substitutes: Harrington, Christie, Warren, Ritchie. Referee: E Bell (Bootle).