Sheffield Wednesday: Cameron Dawson throws his support behind Owls team-mate Sam Winnall after Everton disappointment

Winnall missed a series of chances either side of half-time as Wednesday slipped to a 2-0 defeat at Hillsborough after a first half double from Sheffield-born Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The 28-year-old, one of eight changes made by Owls chief Garry Monk, was subbed off with 25 minutes to go.

Goalkeeper Dawson told The Star: "Sam was flowing with confidence coming into the game.

"He kept getting himself in the right positions but unfortunately it didn't happen for him.

"He has been great for us since the manager has come in. He came on against Huddersfield and changed the game and he was really good at the weekend.

"He will keep going and will not get too down over that. He will try and take his next chance."

England Under-21 international Calvert-Lewin scored twice in four minutes to dump Wednesday out of the competition.

Dawson, handed his second start of the season in between the sticks, said: "I thought we started really well and had a chance or two.

"We got caught with two absolute sucker-punches.

"When you are playing a Premier League team you are climbing an uphill battle anyway and when you go 2-0 down, it is tough to come back from.

"The lads hung in there and fought hard and were unlucky not to score in the end. We had a few good chances ourselves but the better team won.

"They were very clinical with their chances. If you give good teams a sniff, they will punish you. We have to be tighter and stronger as a unit."

Everton boss Marco Silva, under pressure following an underwhelming start to the Premier League season, fielded a strong side, including England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, Lucas Digne, Fabian Delph, Yerry Mina, Richarlison and Alex Iwobi.

"That was one of the strongest teams they could have played,” said Dawson. “They have got some top, top players and are a really big club.

“It was always going to be tough but I thought the lads handled it really well.

“There were a lot of positives and we will go again Saturday.”

The defeat was the first of Monk’s fledgling Owls career in his third match.

Dawson said: "He has been great with all of the lads. I think he has had a chat with most of the lads now and told us what he expects from us, what we need to do as players and as a team about how we need to go about things.

"For me, it is a case of going in, working hard and seeing what that brings. I will go back in, do what I do and hopefully I will get another chance soon."