Sheffield United 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday as Owls relegated from Championship
Sheffield United beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 at Bramall Lane, a result that confirmed Sheffield Wednesday’s relegation from the Championship. The match saw sheffield united take a second-minute lead through Bamford and finish with a red card for Blades midfielder Phillips.
Sheffield United take bragging rights
Bamford slotted the Blades into a second-minute lead and Burrows fired in a superb second for Sheff Utd, giving Sheffield United the early platform in the Steel City derby. McNeill pulled a goal back for Sheff Wed with a low strike, but a high challenge that saw Blades midfielder Phillips sent off left the match to its finale at Bramall Lane.
How the goals unfolded
The scoring sequence saw Bamford open the scoring in the second minute, Burrows add a fine second for Sheff Utd, and then McNeill reduce the deficit with a low strike for Sheff Wed. The match finished 2-1 to the Blades, leaving the Owls with the defeat that sealed their drop.
Pedersen reaction at Bramall Lane
Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen spoke after the defeat. He said: "It's so sad that it's happened here (at Bramall Lane). But the bigger picture, it's so sad that a club like Sheffield Wednesday has been relegated in February. " He added: "We have to keep on working. We have to set high standards again tomorrow and the next day. It doesn't matter if we are relegated, we want to give the fans as many good games as possible and get on plus. " On the future he said: "We are all looking forward so everyone can get an idea of what will happen with club in the future. "
Off-pitch turmoil and points
The season’s off-pitch problems were listed among the causes of Wednesday’s fall. The club were docked 12 points for entering administration after former owner Dejphon Chansiri agreed to end his near 11 years at the helm and sell up in October. A further six points were deducted in December for repeated late payment of wages, leaving Wednesday bottom of the Championship on minus seven points. The table, as it stood on 22 February, shows that Sheffield Wednesday, on minus seven points, are relegated; the Owls become the first EFL side to go down in February, a month in which no English Football League club had previously been relegated.
Fall from grace and fan reaction
That combination of poor form and punishments was reflected in results. Wednesday’s first goal in 11 games came against Millwall last Saturday, a match Henrik Pedersen’s young and inexperienced side lost 2-1, their 10th consecutive defeat. The club’s last Championship point had been collected on 29 December in a goalless draw against Blackburn, and the season’s sole league triumph was a 2-0 victory at Portsmouth in September. Dan Fudge, host of the Wednesday Week podcast and YouTube channel, told Nick Wylie from the Sheffield United Way: "If you win it’ll be like kicking a cat. We’ve got bigger things to worry about than bragging rights. " Steve Chu, secretary of the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters’ Trust, said: "From a symbolic viewpoint, it [relegation] happening at Bramall Lane is not something we want, but most fans have been expecting relegation for some time now. One hundred per cent of the blame [for this] lies at Mr Chansiri's door. There's been massive underinvestment in core infrastructure and we're living with the consequences. "
Takeover and future uncertainty
The club’s long-mooted takeover process has also been a major concern. Chansiri’s decision to sell triggered a two-month auction run by Begbies Traynor, which announced its recommended preferred bidders on Christmas Eve. A three-man consortium comprising the former professional gambler James Bord, German AI entrepreneur Felix Roemer and Jordanian businessman Alsharif Faisal Bin Jamil is understood to have paid a multimillion pound deposit and agreed a fee in excess of £30m to take control at Hillsborough. The takeover still needs ratification, with the consortium’s assessment under the mandatory Owners' and Directors' Test believed to be at an early stage; the next wording on the EFL process is unclear in the provided context. A source involved in the due diligence process has said the proposed buyout is in danger of "unravelling. " Begbies Traynor ran the auction and named preferred bidders on Christmas Eve.
As a neutral observer noted after the derby, Wednesday can hold their heads high after the game: no one currently at the club is responsible for the mess the previous owner caused, and they gave their rivals a proper game given the circumstances. The Owls will be playing League One football in August after what was described as the most wretched campaign imaginable, and with the Championship fixtures continuing there is nearly a third of the season to go; "The Championship rumbles on and we will be back in little more than 48 hours for the next instalment, " was how one match summary closed.
