Soccer AM, David Hirst video calls and Will Vaulks screamers – Did these Sheffield Wednesday fans live the perfect away day?

But for six of them, the Adams Park experience had started 24 hours earlier – and via live national television appearances, video calls from club legends and the sort of win that gets teams promoted, it could well have been the best ever.

Wednesday were chosen as the featured fans on Saturday morning’s episode of Sky Sports flagship magazine programme Soccer AM and took part in the regular features including a volley challenge that saw them fall just one short of top spot on the season leaderboard.

After a response to an advert looking for six Wednesdayites to come down and do the business, Liam Ward and five mates were chosen to represent the Owls and couldn’t believe what was laid on for them – including the warm welcome they received from presenters John ‘Fenners’ Fendley and ex-player Jimmy Bullard.

“They sent us down on the train on the Friday night and paid for the hotel and the lot, took us straight to Wycombe. You can’t argue can you?” he said.

“It was great and they were all dead welcoming; Fenners, Bullard, Tubes. They were all great with us and put us at ease.

“They were all exactly as you see them on the telly. Fenners was saying how he’s got a soft spot for Wednesday and that his first ever interview on camera was with Paolo Di Canio. He was great.

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“Bullard was getting really involved. A couple of the lads might have smelled of beer from the night before and he was joking saying it was making him want one. He was sound, good value.”

Alongside 24-year-old Liam were his brother Adam, 21, Andrew Dodds, 33, and Ryan Parsons, Charlie Mendez and Jamie Glossop, all 23.

They also received good luck messages from Josh Windass and Barry Bannan and a video call from club legend David Hirst.

The Owls fans won £200 in the famous ‘Pro-Am’ feature – with former Brighton & Hove Albion man Dale Stephens taking on shots for every correct answer and boxer Liam Smith shooting for incorrect answers – but lost the lot when Stephens missed a penalty to double their money.

Stephens offered to pay but forgot to stump-up before leaving the studio.

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“I was winding him up because he’d got Fletcher sent off [Steven Fletcher was adjudged to have headbutted Stephens in the Owls’ January 2017 defeat to Brighton],” Liam laughed.

“He was in the Brighton team that we knocked out of the play-offs and knows David Stockdale and all that. He was laughing about it all.”

As for the volley challenge in which Wednesday scored five with the score to beat at six? Will Vaulks ended up as the only Wednesday figure to pile one in the ‘top bins’ on the day. Liam looks on it as an opportunity missed.

“I was annoyed,” he said. “We did a rehearsal before so we knew what we were doing and I scored all three – but only scored one when we were live. Typical Wednesday bottling it when it matters!

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“They put us in a taxi straight to Wycombe afterwards and it was a great game. It was a proper performance and it keeps the run going.

“It was probably the perfect away day all in.”