Sheffield Wednesday Vs Southampton maintain Saints’ play-off charge with 3-1 win

In the latest sheffield wednesday vs southampton meeting at Hillsborough on Saturday, Southampton beat Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 to extend an unbeaten league run to eight matches and keep their push for a play-off place alive, the visitors remaining seven-th placed and four points behind sixth-placed Wrexham.

Match overview at Hillsborough

Southampton took control in the first half with goals from full-backs James Bree and Ryan Manning, and sealed the win with Taylor Harwood-Bellis late in the second half as the Saints left Hillsborough with a 3-1 victory in the Sky Bet Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday Vs Southampton: key moments

Early on Cyle Larin fashioned a chance that emergency loan goalkeeper Seny Dieng saved, getting down to keep the shot out. Brighton-born Leo Scienza supplied the delivery that led to James Bree's 17th-minute finish — Bree poked home from around seven yards after a corner was initially cleared then recycled by Scienza, his third goal in four games. Manning doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time with a left-foot free-kick curled in from the right-hand side after Liam Palmer had upended Kuryu Matsuki on the right corner of the box; one account in the provided context said the strike probably should have been stopped by the wall.

Second-half swings and set-piece finish

Sheffield Wednesday pulled a goal back on 57 minutes when captain Liam Palmer kept the ball alive from a corner, Jamal Lowe flicked it on and Jerry Yates nodded in a diving header from about seven yards. One version in the provided context described that strike as only the hosts' third goal of 2026; another described it as Yates's first goal for the club. Southampton restored a two-goal cushion on 71 minutes from another Scienza corner when Taylor Harwood-Bellis hammered home from the chaos inside the box.

Wednesday’s week worsens

The result compounded a difficult spell for Sheffield Wednesday. The hosts are League One-bound and suffered their 12th league defeat in a row. On the previous Sunday they became the earliest ever relegated side from the English Football League after defeat at Sheffield United in the Steel City derby, and a proposed takeover collapsed in midweek. This was Wednesday's first home match since relegation was confirmed at Bramall Lane.

Eckert’s turnaround for Southampton

Southampton’s unbeaten run — described in the provided context as eight matches in the league and as eight matches unbeaten in all competitions going into this fixture — has underlined a dramatic transformation under head coach Tonda Eckert. The 33-year-old German took over the club at the start of November when they were 20th in the table; despite a wobble either side of Christmas, the run of positive results has seen the seventh-placed Saints latch on to the coat-tails of the play-off contenders and remain close to Wrexham in sixth.

Late drama and closing notes

Wednesday pressed late and had chances — Ingelsson saw a shot blocked and Palmer forced a fine save from Daniel Peretz in the final seconds, while Yates later missed an open-goal chance in injury time. At one point Yates set up Jamal Lowe but Peretz got down well to deny the effort. Post-match remarks in the provided context noted it was the team's third game in six days and that players were tired after getting back late from Norwich in midweek. After the opportunity to rate players closed, the score displayed represented the average from all submissions by users.

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