The bright yellow clad visitors had a stern test ahead of them and the home side made their intentions known straight from the kick off.
A ball through the middle met by an out rushing Stephen Bywater, preventing Jay Rodriguez from a one-on-one opportunity. Barely 4mins were on the clock when the Saints forced a corner after making Wednesday chase the ball with short, crisp passing. The corner, which was earned with a Paul Corry tackle on De Ridder, was played short and Wednesday did well to push the play back towards the home keeper. The away fans find fine voice as a move between Corry, Jose Semedo and Chris Maguire end with Kieran Lee being upended and a free kick is awarded. Daniel Seaborne was the culprit. The free kick quickly faded to nothing as a layoff by Maguire to Michail Antonio was intercepted - by referee Mark Halsey! A Guly Do Prado effort from 25yards fires over the bar after good work between Rodriguez and Frazer Richardson. 'Hark now Hear' bellows from the away fans and a Madine won free-kick, for a foul by Maya Yoshida, is unconvincingly collected by the keeper - Paulo Gazzaniga. The Owls are doing well defensively and cutting out any Saints attack comfortably. Bywater gets called into action when a mix-up between Miguel Llera & Mark Beevers allows Jay Rodriguez through on goal, hammering the ball away. The game then sparks into life as chances go begging for both sides, starting with Maguire failing to make clean contact with a cross from Antonio. At the other end, Southamptons £7m signing Rodriguez, heads just wide after De Ridder beat Kieran Lee and crosses the ball. The hard working Gary Madine forces a corner but the target, Beevers is out jumped and the ball gets cleared, Lee pumps the ball back in and Antonio loops the ball over the keeper only to see the effort go wide. Another chance goes begging for Wednesday when Antonios sublime control, from a Semedo long pass ends with the nippy winger lobbing the out rushing keeper only to see the ball land on the roof of the net. A near post save by Bywater from a Do Prado effort comes just before a Richardson cross/shot lands on top of the net as Southampton start putting the pressure on Wednesday. Richard Chaplow then gains an assist by putting the ball at Rodriguez's feet, with his first touch making space, he fires the ball home after 29mins. Almost immediately a good chance goes begging again when a Madine header lands on top of the goal again, after he'd beaten Yoshida to the ball. A near 40 yard drilled pass by 17year old Ward-Prowse doesn't get taken advantage of as Richardson does nothing with the received ball. Barely 38mins in and the home crowd enjoy a spate of 'ole ole' passing and the patience releases Brazilian Do Prado who heads against the post after a De Ridder cross. The half closes with Southampton keeping possession and Wednesday needlessly fouling as a mark of frustration creeps in.
HT. Paul Corry isn't really in the game and in my opinion needs replacing. Madine has had a high work rate & sounds hungry for the ball. A half time sub takes place as Lee makes way for Mattock.
The second half starts brightly for Wednesday with good high pressure and chances to whip the ball into the box, but far from panicked - the Saints are able to withstand the pressure. A Michail Antonio run sees him beat Chaplow out wide before a perfectly timed interception by Yoshida halts the attack. After 50mins, a Seaborne foul on Maguire gives Wednesday a good chance to level the score. Corry puts a decent ball into the box and Maguires header is deflected wide for a corner. Jos Hooiveld clears the ball in as far as Nejc Pecnik who fires a vicious volley just over the bar. A spell of home pressure then sees a De Ridder corner cleared and a Do Prado shot blocked by Mattock. Then Seaborne delivers a good cross, which Mark Beevers does well to head wide - beating Rodriguez to the ball. Good play between Maguire and Pecnik sees the Slovenian put through on goal 1-on-1, only for the keeper to make the save and concede a corner. This sees a spate of three corners in quick succession follow, ending with Gazzaniga claiming the high ball. A period of Southampton possession play followed and neat passing kept the Owls at bay, culminating with a 35yard strike by Do Prado flying wide. In the 62nd minute Wednesday made their final 2 changes, Chris O'Grady replacing Maguire and Jermaine Johnson replacing Corry. The Jamaican pacey midfielder then had the beating of Do Prado and was shouldered off the ball by De Ridder, only for O'Grady to help his teammate out with a perfect slide tackle taking the ball away. Young substitute Reeves made a quick impact after coming on the field in the 71st minute, firing an effort just wide. In the 78th minute a double tackle by Mattock, the first outside of the box, resulted in a penalty and Jay Rodriguez fired home - with Bywater making a solid contact on the ball but being undone by the spin. 2-0 Southampton. The final 10mins saw the Saints control the ball but were almost undone when a 20yard JJ shot was tipped wide by the keeper. The last minute of the 2 added on, saw JJ turn in the box beating his marker, firing a low shot but seeing the keeper come out on top again and the referee ended the tie before Wednesday could amount another attack.
Attendance: 9,980
Owls Man of the Match: Antonio
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