Yorkshire | Heroic Sheffield Wednesday performance at Portsmouth

Portsmouth 0 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday 

Sheffield Wednesday ended their barren run in emphatic fashion, securing a first win of the season with victory at Portsmouth.

Author | James Whaling

Stadium | Fratton Park

Barry Bannan set the tone inside 12 minutes, the Owls captain curling in a superb 20-yard free-kick that wrong-footed stand-in Pompey keeper Ben Killip. Five minutes into the second half, George Brown capitalised on Conor Shaughnessy’s slip and injury to score his first senior goal on his league debut, doubling the visitors’ lead.

Portsmouth mustered a late rally, Colby Bishop twice going close before Hayden Matthews’ effort from a corner was hooked off the line by Dominic Iorfa. But it was a day when John Mousinho’s side looked strangely subdued, ragged in possession and vulnerable at the back.

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The defeat drops Pompey to 12th, while Wednesday climb to 22nd. Mousinho made just two changes from last weekend’s draw at Southampton, with Killip replacing the injured Nicolas Schmid in goal and Swansea loanee Florian Bianchini starting in place of Josh Murphy, who was in the directors’ box.

Wednesday, by contrast, made eight changes following their shock midweek EFL Cup exit to Grimsby, with Bannan and Iorfa among those restored. The travelling fans had barely finished protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri when Bannan silenced Fratton Park with his free-kick.

Pompey’s best opening of the first half came from Conor Chaplin, whose effort was blocked, while Killip recovered from a shaky start to make a string of saves to keep his side in contention. But when Brown seized on Shaughnessy’s misfortune, any realistic hopes of a comeback were extinguished.

Henrik Pedersen’s side showed the discipline and defensive steel that had been missing in recent weeks, shutting down late pressure to claim a morale-boosting win. For Portsmouth, it was an afternoon that will be quickly forgotten.