FLASHBACK: When Sheffield Wednesday, then in great form, last played Charlton Athletic at Hillsborough
On March 19, 2016 the Owls hosted Charlton in the middle of another great run during that incredible rollercoaster of a season under Carlos Carvalhal.
While at the minute things might look a little dreary at S6, the same couldn’t be said of Sheffield Wednesday 2015/16.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe main feature of the campaign – apart from a return to exciting attacking football – was Carvalhal’s side’s tendancy to go on spurts of form.
It appeared as though they would regularly win three or four in a row then go the same period without picking up three points.
When Charlton rocked up at Hillsborough, Wednesday had just ended a run of five games without a win by turning in an impressive display in beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the City Ground (arguably Aiden McGeady’s only good game for the Owls).
The Addicks meanwhile were relegation-threatened and would indeed fail to avoid the drop.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdHowever, Jose Riga’s had put up quite a fight, the first half at least, keeping out a Wednesday side that had been lacking a little midfield impetus, perhaps due to the absence of Barry Bannan who had been sent off the previous week.
Wednesday were however playing some beautiful football, which had been a mark of that first year under Carvalhal.
The manager made a half time change – bringing off Sam Hutchinson who had picked up a knock and a booking – and McGeady, with Alex Lopez and Atdhe Nuhiu coming into the fray.
In front of 29,668, the biggest attendance of the season at Hillsborough at that point, the Owls upped the ante and opened the scoring when Tom Lees headed in a Ross Wallace corner.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdFernando Foresti doubled the advantage when he nodded in after Nuhiu’s header from a superb Jack Hunt cross had hit the post.
And the scoring was complete when Lopez’s strike from outside the box was deflected into his own goal by El-Hadji Ba.
The win kept Wednesday in sixth place and they would go on to win their next two after this. Of course, following that, they would go four without a win before securing their place in the play-off semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Cardiff on the final regular home game of the season.
Sheffield Wednesday team v Charlton, March 19, 2016: Westwood; Hunt, Lees, Loovens, Pudil; Wallace (Matias 83), Lee, Hutchinson (Lopez HT), McGeady (Nuhiu HT); Forestieri, Hooper. Not used: Wildsmith, Palmer, Sasso, Joao.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdCharlton: Pope; Motta, Fanni, Teixeira, Fox; Gudmundsson, Ba (Jackson 78), Diarra (Lookman 83), Suk-Young; Harriott, Ghoochannejhad (Vetokele 68). Substitutes: Mitov, Lennon, Poyet, Makienok.
Attendance: 29,668
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)