Owls march past Millers, despite early scare

The Owls reached the second round of the League Cup after a comfortable but not convincing 3-1 win at local rivals Rotherham United.

Brian Laws had dropped Lee Bullen to the bench and hauled Steve Watson back into defence, with Kenny Lunt moving into midfield, after a woeful defensive display saw Wednesday trounced 4-1 at Ipswich on the opening day last weekend. New signing Francis Jeffers sat out with a calf injury but Deon Burton returning from a knee strain to face his former employers. Wade Small took duty on the left wing after Chris Brunt's midweek departure to West Bromwich Albion.

Burton had asked questions of home keeper Andy Warrington in the early exchanges with his outside of the boot left foot poke from a few yards out, despite suspicions of a shove inside the box from former Owl Graham Coughlan.

Wednesday looked nervous at the back throughout the first half, showing the hosts too much respect on the ball, while Rotherham showed superior physical presence in a lot of 50-50 balls.

The Owls looked as though they were destined to go ahead when Marcus Tudgay's header from only a few yards out came back out after hitting the inside of the post. Coughlan's hard challenge on Tudgay during the play saw the Wednesday forward hobble off with what looked like a shoulder injury just minutes before the break. Deon Burton was also guilty of blowing a great chance when his first time close range shot was saved by Warrington.

By that stage Rotherham had taken the lead. But not before Grant had denied a well struck Stephen Brogan effort on goal. On 34 minutes a well worked set-piece by The Millers saw Danny Harrison roam free at the far post to drill home a low shot passed the hopeless Grant from only a few yards out. Jermaine Johnson appeared to be the marker caught ball watching as Harrison broke away in the box.

Wednesday looked shaky for the next ten minutes as the home side continued to make the two divison gap between the clubs hard to believe.

Perhaps undeservedly The Owls levelled matters right on half-time. Johnson showed clever foot work and layed the ball off nicely for Glenn Whelan to drive home low into Warrington's right hand corner, albeit with a slight deflection through a melee of Millers defenders.

The second half saw The Millers run out of adrenalin and Wednesday take the initiative.

It was 2-1 just four minutes into the second period when Burton made up for his first half blunder with a typical poachers effort from close range, after Small's ferociously driven effort was only palmed away by Warrington.

The result was all but in the bag with a third Wednesday goal in the 55th minute. Small cut inside on the left wing before curling what appeared to be a wonderfully crafted chip over the keeper into the far corner. Small's reaction to the strike suggested it was meant as a cross. Not that he, or Wednesday, really cared.

Grant proved his worth between the sticks with a couple of further invaluable saves, but by that stage Rotherham had run out of ideas and Wednesday could've gone on to win by more. Substitute Leon Clarke, who scored a consolation goal at Ipswich, fluffed a one on one with Warrington in the late stages of the game.

Wednesday will now face Hartlepool United at home in the Second Round of the competition. It will be the first time the two sides have meant since that famous day in Cardiff two years ago.

Ratings v Rotherham: Grant 9 Had no chance with their goal but pulled off a couple of top draw saves to keep us in it. Simek 6 Generally not up to the level he has previously set. Didn't get forward much. Watson 7 Made some vital interceptions at the back but missed a woeful chance before half-time. Wood 6 Better 2nd half performance after being out of sorts in the first half. Still, not at his best. Spurr 6 A steady but not spectacular performance. Pushed forward occasionally. Johnson 7 Below par for most of the first half but played a vital role in Whelan's goal. Better 2nd half. Whelan 8 Great strike, even if it did take a deflection. Proved how valuable he is to the side. Lunt 6 Didn't offer much going forward but yet defensively Wednesday were still left short. Small 7 Looked lively in the 2nd half and scored a flukey goal. Average in the 1st half. Burton 7 Pounced well to score the 2nd goal after missing good 1st half chances. Better in 2nd half. Tudgay 6 Hobbled off injured before half-time but should've given us the lead from a few yards out. Clarke 6 Didn't have a lot of impact and missed a one-on-one late on in the game. The Gaffer 7 Perhaps some strong words at half-time, but what ever was said seemed to work. The Owls looked a lot more up for it in the second period. Lacked attacking options from the bench. The Support 10 There looked more away fans than home fans. The Officials 8 Stamped out the early derby exchanges with a couple of cautions, but didn't go card crazy. Was consistent throughout and kept the game flowing. Possibly missed a penalty call when Small was brought down. Overall: There would have been a lot of '5' ratings had it not been for a much improved second half showing. By that stage it would've been 2-0 to The Millers had it not been for a world class Lee Grant save. After Whelan's goal Wednesday never looked back. Rotherham ran out of adrenalin and steam and The Owls coasted to victory.

Laws verdict: "The Ipswich game was a total nightmare and then selling Brunty was obviously another blow. But this win just showed what character, nerve and steel we have." "I've had a few sleepless nights in the past few days but I'll sleep better now. Losing to Ipswich and then losing Brunty has ensured a lot of negativity around the place." "Even some of my staff said to me tonight that we could fall victim to an upset, but I told them not to worry."