Sheff Wed show 'togetherness' amid protests at owner

The relationship between Sheffield Wednesday supporters and owner Dejphon Chansiri may be fractured, but for Owls boss Henrik Pedersen the "togetherness" of his young players was a source of pride as they produced a Carabao Cup upset against Leeds on Tuesday.

Wednesday fans have been showing their discontent with the Thai businessman following a summer of turmoil during which the club has failed to pay wages on time for a third successive month, and been hit with sanctions from the EFL.

There were visible protests against Chansiri during Wednesday's Championship opener against Leicester, and that continued for the Leeds match as thousands of supporters opted to boycott the game.

Instead, many chose to follow the action at watch-a-longs at pubs and clubs, and they were treated to a display full of guts and desire by a youthful Wednesday side.

The Owls' difficult summer meant they started the season with just 12 senior players, and against Leeds they fielded a side featuring four 20-year-olds and five teenagers and an average age of 21.

But there were no signs of a gulf in class between them and their Premier League opponents as Sheffield Wednesday won 3-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

"Really, really proud," Pedersen told Sky Sports after the match. "How they stayed together, I'm just proud.

"They stepped up so much in a game like this, nobody could see that, so big respect to our boys."

For ex-England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, covering the game for BBC Radio 5 live, the sense of togetherness extended to the supporters as well.

"There's an incredible story going on at the club at the moment," he said.

"A lot of supporters decided not to come to the stadium but actually stood in solidarity with the ones who did.

"They finally took a stand and didn't want the owner, and club to be run the way it was.

"The supporters are standing together, the players are standing together and that performance tonight was the epitome of togetherness.

Owls fans are hoping for Chansiri to sell the club, but there is a fear among supporters that may not happen anytime soon.

Consequently they have taken to making visible and vocal protests against the ownership.

In their opening Championship game against Leicester, a banner declaring 'Enough is Enough' was displayed, while two weeks ago fans held a mock funeral procession with a coffin that they said symbolised "the death of the football club".

The Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Trust urged fans on their website, external to boycott the match and instead donate the ticket money to Sheffield Children's Hospital Charity.

"I cannot imagine many Sheffield Wednesday against Leeds games which have ever been played in a Hillsborough stadium like this," BBC Radio 5 live commentator Alistair Bruce-Ball, covering the game at Hillsborough, said before kick-off.

"The protest being made this evening was by not coming to this game.

"I'm pretty sure the Leeds fans, about 3,000 of them, may well outnumber the home support.

"The North stand [was] closed tonight, as is the East stand. The only place you will find the home fans is in the lower tier of the south stand."

BBC Radio Sheffield reporter Rob Staton said a lot of fans have been "torn" on the protest.

"If fans don't come to this, they can't go to the away games, and it's at the away games where the bigger protests are happening," he added.

"A lot of people have bought tickets for this game that don't even come as they just want the points for the away games."