'Real fans' - Henrik Pedersen waxes lyrical about Sheffield Wednesday supporters after Hull defeat
Manager Henrik Pedersen admitted he had difficulty trying to get instructions to his players in Saturday’s 3-1 defeat to Hull City because of the volume coming from the away end.
Almost 2,300 Wednesdayites made the short trip to the MKM Stadium and made themselves heard throughout the afternoon, particularly in the second half.
After taking the lead through Jamal Lowe, Wednesday saw their lead wiped out just a minute later when Matt Crooks tapped home Kyle Joseph’s low centre.
The Tigers then completed the turnaround just before half-time when Dominic Iorfa headed Paddy McNair’s free-kick into his own net, meaning Wednesday went into the break 2-1 down and with work to do.
Despite starting the second half in confident fashion, Wednesday conceded for a third time 13 minutes after the break when a slick move was finished off by Joseph.
From that moment onwards, Wednesday’s supporters did not stop singing, producing the sort of atmosphere you would not expect from a fan base that has not seen its team win since September.
Some supporters even braved the East Yorkshire chill by removing their shirts and swinging them above their heads, a theme that continued as Pedersen and his players went over to the away end to applaud the fans following the full-time whistle.
Pedersen told The Star: “It was a little bit of a challenge for me to get contact with the players sometimes because we couldn't hear anything because they were singing so much. But it was amazing.
“I have said this before: this unconditional love, what they're showing everyone around this club, it is amazing. They were amazing today.
“We always go to the fans to say thank you after the game because we appreciate it so much.
“How they're supporting us... how they support when we are 1-0 up, how they support when we are 1-1, how they support when we are 1-2, how they support when we are 1-3, it's amazing, it's real fans.”