Sheffield Wednesday v Sunderland: A Dennis Adeniran masterclass, debuts and a worrying sight

Goals from Dennis Adeniran and Sylla Sow saw the Owls pick up a 2-0 victory at S6 against Alex Neil’s side, with Darren Moore ringing the changes for the tie as he made eight changes and handed a debut to Reece James – and in almost every way it was a perfect evening from a Wednesday perspective.

Almost perfect.

Adeni-rocket

The scorer of Wednesday’s opening goal started the game like he had a point to prove, and he certainly did his chances of forcing his way into Moore’s League One starting XI no harm at all.

He played with energy, played with intent, played with desire, and – most importantly – played with real quality.

It wasn’t just his goal, which was an absolute belter, but he chased down so much over the course of the game, and his assist for Sow’s finish showcased the sort of intensity that he can play with.

Adeniran will have had a mildly frustrating start to the season given his lack of game time in the opening couple of games, but if he keeps playing like he did tonight that Moore is going to have a job on keeping him out of the starting XI.

MORE: Wednesday duo snapped up by Premier League outfit for undisclosed fees

Captain Palmer

As he approaches his 350th appearance in Wednesday colours, Liam Palmer was handed the captain’s armband by Moore for the clash against the Black Cats.

He spoke to The Star earlier in the week about important these cup games can be for various reasons, and while some people may not value the competition – ‘Palms’ certainly isn’t one of them.

The long-serving Wednesdayite was as good as anyone on the pitch as the Owls ran out victorious, winning tackles, picking passes, and leading from the back, with his work going forward as important as it was holding off attacks.

Helluva week!

As weeks go, it’s pretty safe to say that young Luke Cook has had a pretty good one.

The 19-year-old only signed for Wednesday’s U21s last week, then went on to score on his debut in their 2-1 win over Swansea City, and then a couple of days later he was making his way onto the hallowed turf at Hillsborough for his senior debut in a win over Sunderland.

He’ll be hoping that there is plenty more to come!

With bated breathe…

It wasn’t all good news, though. Wednesday played well and scored a couple of great goals, but one of the major takeaways from the evening will be whether or not Lee Gregory faces a spell on the sidelines.

Gregory was handed a starting berth by Moore after serving his one-game ban against MK Dons, but was unable to finish the first half as he limped off holding his hamstring.

The pictures on TV seemed to suggest that it may only be a precautionary measure, but – with Wednesday’s luck on the injury front – that won’t stop Wednesdayites worrying about last season’s top scorer.

MORE: Updates to come on Gregory’s injury