Sheffield Wednesday get injury boost they have been waiting for as Owls youngsters remain unbeaten
Di’Shon Bernard started for Sheffield Wednesday’s Under-21s on Sunday as they drew 2-2 with Charlton Athletic at Hillsborough.
It was 582 days in the making.
But after a serious knee injury, multiple rounds of surgery, setbacks, hard graft at Middlewood Road, blood, sweat and tears, Di’Shon Bernard finally made his return for Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday afternoon.
The centre-back started for the Owls’ Under-21s at Hillsborough as they drew 2-2 with Charlton Athletic, marking a landmark moment on his road towards a return to first-team action.
The former Manchester United defender, who had not played since Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in February last year, stored 45 minutes under his belt, just as manager Henrik Pedersen confirmed was the plan on Friday afternoon.
Starting alongside Ernie Weaver in the heart of the Owls’ back four, the Jamaican international, who sported the captain’s armband, came through the first half unscathed.
Widely regarded as the best centre-back on the Owls’ books, Bernard, who was joined in the starting line-up by the likes of Connal Trueman, Sean Fusire, Jarvis Thornton, Jaden Heskey, Will Grainger and Weaver, was calm and composed in possession, completing several passes that allowed Wednesday to progress up the pitch.
As well as offering a sense of calm in possession, the defender also made a couple of important defensive contributions to thwart Charlton attacks prior to his pre-planned exit at the interval. From high up in the Grandstand, it looked as though it was a successful outing for the defender.
As for the game itself, Wednesday, under the watchful eye of new U21s boss Mark Burton, whose appointment was confirmed just moments before kick-off, started brightly, taking the game to the visitors, with the pace of Samuel Duruh and Joel Akpobi causing plenty of problems.
And it was via those two that Wednesday drew first blood, breaking the deadlock with 13 minutes on the clock. After some great work by Akpobi, the ball landed at the feet of Duruh inside the penalty area and he stroked home an excellent finish into the top corner.
However, the Owls’ lead was short lived as Charlton hit back seven minutes later. A low cross from the left from Joshua Edwards wasn’t dealt with and Ellis McMillan was on hand to stroke home an accurate effort into the bottom corner.
Following Charlton’s leveller, the contest had an open theme to it, and it was Wednesday who came closest to scoring the third goal of the game when Heskey’s powerful effort from inside the penalty area was saved onto the post by Addicks goalkeeper George Hardy.
Charlton were the next to threaten, but Weaver produced an excellent block in the nick of time to send Shia-Lee Burnham’s effort behind for a corner as half-time loomed.
Wednesday were dealt a blow on the stroke of half-time, losing goalscorer Duruh, who was forced off through injury. The striker, who had carried a real threat, using his pace to stretch the Charlton defence, hobbled off after being on the receiving end of a strong challenge. He was replaced by Deny Oliver at half-time.
Kalien Hatfield also came on at the break, replacing Bernard, who completed the opening 45 minutes without any apparent issues. Thornton took over as captain for the second half.
As well as the visit of the Addicks marking an important juncture in Bernard’s recovery, it also saw Fusire get some valuable minutes into his legs after a recent stint on the sidelines. The Zimbabwe international had not featured since the Owls’ 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers in the first round of the Carabao Cup last month.
After starting at right-back, the Owls academy graduate got 60 minutes under his belt before being replaced by Charlie Liddell, who later had the Owls’ best chance since half-time when he saw a powerful effort saved by Hardy.
But with 15 minutes remaining, Wednesday did get their noses back in front when Will McPartland fired in an excellent second. After coming inside off the right flank and dancing his way into the penalty area, he pulled the trigger, smashing a brilliant right-footed effort beyond Hardy.
But just as they did in the first half, Charlton hit back relatively swiftly. After Heskey was guilty of bringing down Addicks substitute Samuel Washington-Amoah inside the penalty area, Ethan Brown was presented with the opportunity to level proceedings from the spot.
After seeing his effort expertly saved by Trueman, Brown tucked away the rebound, squeezing the ball between goalkeeper and post to score the fourth goal of the game.
That was the final contribution to an entertaining contest, meaning Wednesday’s U21s remain unbeaten this season.