Henrik Pedersen was disappointed by the way that Sheffield Wednesday gave themselves a ‘mountain to climb’ against Sheffield United.

The Owls had the worst possible start at Bramall Lane as they looked to try and get a result against their bitter rivals, with Patrick Bamford scoring the opening goal inside two minutes.

Harrison Burrows got the second before Charlie McNeill pulled one back in the second half, though there wasn’t enough in the tank for the visitors as they tried in vain to get something from the tie. Kalvin Phillips and Gabriel Otegbayo both saw red in the clash, too, with the game ending 2-1.

Henrik Pedersen’s Sheffield Wednesday reaction

Speaking after the final whistle, after Wednesday’s relegation to League One had been mathematically confirmed, Pedersen spoke of his annoyance at the way his side started the game, but praised the way his side responded in the second stanza.

“Of course I’m disappointed right now,” he told Sky Sports. “But I’m disappointed because yes, we gave everything, but we gave ourselves such a bad beginning of the game. Sheffield United away is a big mountain to climb, but how we came back into the game through the first half and into the beginning of the second half, it was a better team…

“It was a picture of our team, of how hard they are working after. How they were working after 1-0 and 2-0, nobody gave up and everyone kept going together. They stood up together, and that bit makes me proud.”

Wednesday are up against Norwich City next, travelling there for a midweek tie in a few days’ time, and now all that’s left to play for is pride - and trying not to become the first English Football League team to finish a season on minus points.