Sheffield Wednesday: Carlos Carvalhal's praise for the '˜gift' of Fernando Forestieri

Carlos Carvalhal paid tribute to 'fantastic' Wednesday forward Fernando Forestieri after their hard-fought victory over Cardiff City.
Fernando Forestieri scored a  late winner....Pic Steve EllisFernando Forestieri scored a  late winner....Pic Steve Ellis
Fernando Forestieri scored a late winner....Pic Steve Ellis

Forestieri, fit-again following a five-match absence due to a knee injury, netted an 84th minute winner at Hillsborough after coming on a second half substitute.

Buoyed after securing the 46th win from his 100th match in charge of the Owls, head coach Carvalhal said: “Fernando was out for a long time but he came on and affected the game.

Fernando Forestieri runs off to celebrate his goalFernando Forestieri runs off to celebrate his goal
Fernando Forestieri runs off to celebrate his goal
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“He scored the goal. He is a player who in defensive parts of the game is very fast to recover his position. That was important.

“Everyone did their jobs to win the game. We had to be efficient. [Neil] Warnock is very clever and knew what he had to do.”

It was Forestieri’s 12th goal of the season and the final scoreline kept Wednesday in the final play-off spot heading into the final four fixtures.

“It is like you receive a gift, a box, and you don’t know what will be inside,” said Carvalhal. “When you open the box, you know.

Sheffield Wednesday's Fernando Forestieri dives in to score the winnerSheffield Wednesday's Fernando Forestieri dives in to score the winner
Sheffield Wednesday's Fernando Forestieri dives in to score the winner
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“Fernando had not played in a long so when he came back and trained well, you do not know. But his reaction was very positive and he gave a good performance.

“We are happy because he is a fantastic player., Not just him, Jordan and Atdhe also influenced the game. They were very important.

“When you open the box, you don’t know if he will be paper or something in these circumstances.”

The result sealed only Wednesday’s second win in their last 14 meetings against Neil Warnock’s teams in all competitions.

Fernando Forestieri has a dance to celebrate his winnerFernando Forestieri has a dance to celebrate his winner
Fernando Forestieri has a dance to celebrate his winner
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Warnock spent nearly eight years in charge of the Owls’ arch rivals Sheffield United.

“Warnock is experienced and knows very well the city and the club,” said Carvalhal. “He knew if it stayed at nil or Cardiff scored that the crowd would be more nervous.

“But our fans were amazing and everyone understood we had to be patient. Everyone is happy. If you had asked me before the game if it would be fantastic with quality football, I would have said ‘no’. The important thing is being efficient in this.”