'Very, very high level' - Henrik Pedersen makes honest admission about Sheffield Wednesday undroppable
Max Lowe returned to the starting XI for Sheffield Wednesday’s draw at Watford and did not put a foot wrong.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen was delighted to welcome Max Lowe back into the starting XI for Tuesday night’s 1-1 draw with Watford at Vicarage Road after his recent absence.
Lowe missed the 3-2 defeat to Preston North End at Hillsborough at the end of last month because of a hamstring injury and was named on the bench for last Saturday’s abandoned Championship tussle against Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
However, after Pedersen confirmed he was fully fit to return to the starting XI for the trip to Hertfordshire, it was no surprise to see him slot back into the back-three and take up residency on the left of it, meaning he joined forces with Dominic Iorfa, who was also recalled to the starting line-up, and Liam Cooper in defence.
Although Wednesday were denied a rare victory and clean sheet right at the death, seeing Vivaldo Semedo score a last-gasp equaliser to cancel out Charlie McNeill’s first half opener, they dealt with practically everything Watford threw at them, with Lowe the pick of the bunch at the back.
The former Sheffield United man, who crossed the Steel City divide ahead of the start of last season, completed seven clearances, made seven successful recoveries and produced two interceptions. He also won all five of his attempted ground duels.
Pedersen praises Lowe
After producing such a solid showing at the back, Lowe, who donned the captain’s armband during the second half after Barry Bannan was forced off at the break with a groin issue, Pedersen was only too happy to heap praise on his performance.
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"He has a very, very high level," Pedersen told The Star. "I think today him, Harry [Amass] and Svante [Ingelsson], in the first half, they did really well on the left side; I also think that our right side was really strong in the first half with Yan [Valery], with Dominic and with Charlie.
"I think Max played a really, really good game. He was tired in the end, very tired, after he had not played for two games. We could see he missed a little bit of energy in the end, but he played a really, really good game. Really good."