Wednesday’s hopes of further reducing our pre-season points deficit rarely looked likely in a shocking 1-0 home defeat to Luton at Hillsborough this afternoon.
We were desperately disappointing in the first half, marginally better after the break but, overall, it was a totally lacklustre and lifeless display and we also finished the game with 10 men after Joost van Aken was sent off for a high tackle.
The defeat, which leaves us without a home league win in four games this season, also sees us still on minus four points – nine behind the current safety points total – and desperately in need of at least a victory and a draw from our upcoming trips to Rotherham and Wycombe.
We could easily have found ourselves a goal down in the first minute against Luton, Danny Hylton rounding Cameron Dawson but Aden Flint rescuing the situation with a header off the line from Hylton’s shot.
Wednesday had enough of the ball in the first half but it was Luton who created all the chances, Tom Lockyer shooting wide when we failed to clear a corner and then Pelly-Ruddock Mpanzu missing a great chance for the visitors, firing past Dawson but wide of his left-hand post when set free in the box.
There was a little more energy from the Owls in the second period and we thought we had levelled on 68 minutes when Flint headed powerfully home from Barry Bannan’s corner, only for the goal to be ruled out for a foul by another Wednesday player.
Three minutes later van Aken was shown a straight red card when he lunged in with a dangerous tackle on Mpanzu and worse followed soon afterwards when Mpanzu drilled home the winner from 15 yards.
We had decent claims for a penalty turned down with three minutes remaining when Kadeem Harris looked to be pulled back by Martin Cranie in the box but the visitors then went close to adding to their single goal, Ryan Tunnicliffe surging forward and firing against a post from the edge of the box in added time.
Dawson, Odubajo, Flint, Van Aken, Harris, Bannan, Pelupessy (Rhodes 80), Reach, Marriott (Borner 75), Kachunga, Paterson (Windass 64). Unused subs: Wildsmith, Palmer, Dele-Bashiru, Hunt.