Sheffield Wednesday boss Darren Moore on a late winner, battling the weather and more minutes in the legs

Darren Moore expressed his pleasure in seeing his Sheffield Wednesday players come on strong in the final 15 minutes of their late win over Mansfield Town in the Papa Johns Trophy.
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The Owls have been criticised for their failure to perform in the late stages of games in recent weeks but after allowing Oxford take a late win at Hillsborough on Saturday, the Wednesday boss said his side got what they deserved thanks to Florian Kamberi’s late, late winner.

League Two Mansfield, managed by former Sheffield United boss Nigel Clough, were on a run of nine without a win entering the match and like Wednesday made a raft of changes on a night low in quality save for the attacking efforts of Theo Corbeanu.

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Lewis Wing nodded home to give the Owls the lead before another ex-Blade, Stephen Quinn, equalised for the Stags, but it was a night that will probably be better remembered for shocking weather conditions that soaked a sold-out away end and had a major impact on the action, Moore admitted.

“I was really pleased tonight,” he said. “It was a wonderful pitch, a perfect pitch out there, to credit Mansfield.

“But there were swirling conditions and obviously the rain is coming down, which makes it really difficult for both teams. But both teams tried to get the ball down to play under difficult circumstances.

“We got our just rewards in the end on a difficult night.”

The win was their second in two EFL Trophy matches this season and offered minutes for fringe players not used all that often by Moore so far.

Lewis Wing grabbed Sheffield Wednesday's first goal in a 2-1 EFL Trophy win over Mansfield Town.Lewis Wing grabbed Sheffield Wednesday's first goal in a 2-1 EFL Trophy win over Mansfield Town.
Lewis Wing grabbed Sheffield Wednesday's first goal in a 2-1 EFL Trophy win over Mansfield Town.
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Though much of the match wasn’t easy on the eye and the Owls struggled, Moore was pleased with aspects, particularly the late stages.

He said: “We used the ball well at times, we exploited the space at times but that final contact in the opposition box could have been a bit better.

“We made a lot of changes and it was important for me to give minutes to a lot of those players tonight and they got that.

“I was really pleased for the outcome of it and I’m pleased the players stuck to their guns. In the last 15 minutes we got stronger and stronger and I’m pleased to see us get that winning goal late on.”