news-engine

'Bumpy games' - Sheffield Wednesday players sent Hillsborough warning as home form objective outlined Sheffield Wednesday have won each of their last two outings at Hillsborough either side of the summer break, providing optimism that times are changing. Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen is determined to make Hillsborough a fortress this season after watching his side start the 2026/27 campaign with a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Saturday afternoon. After Wanderers midfielder Xavier Simons was shown a straight red card 11 minutes into the second half for lashing out at Owls debutant Harry Gray, Wednesday got their noses in front with 70 minutes on the clock when substitute Jamal Lowe’s classy lob beat goalkeeper Jack Bonham. Despite experiencing a couple of hairy moments in the first half, Wednesday were the better side after the break, registering ten shots in comparison to Bolton’s four. With almost 16,000 supporters inside Hillsborough, it was just the sort of start to the season Wednesday had hoped for, setting them up nicely for next Saturday’s League One opener against Leyton Orient at the BetWright Stadium in the capital. Following the clash with the O’s, the Owls will return to S6 for their first home league game of the season against Bradford City a week on Thursday. The win over Bolton marked Wednesday’s second successive victory at Hillsborough, with their first of last season arriving on the final day of the campaign. As a result, Pedersen is keen to turn S6 into a place their League One rivals fear visiting. Pedersen, asked how crucial it is that Wednesday getting into the habit of winning on home soil, told The Star: “Yes, it's everything. It's everything that Hillsborough is a tough, tough place to visit. “We'll do everything to find different ways [of winning] here. And today, I think, was a good example of how we must wait. “There will be bumpy games; everything will not be perfect. But the mentality to keep on top and the culture to keep on going — we are finding a way, keep on going, we are finding a way. “This is the mentality we have to keep on and develop much more than we have now.”