Wednesday’s frailties as a defensive unit were exposed as we went down to a 3-2 first day defeat at promoted Wigan on Saturday.
The home side also twice struck the woodwork and, to make matters worse, Atdhe Nuhiu was sent off in the dying minutes after receiving a second yellow card.
Wigan were ahead on 11 minutes when Michael Jacobs’ shot from the edge of the box deflected off Joost van Aken and past Cameron Dawson.
We were level eight minutes later, Nuhiu converting from close range at the second attempt, only for Wigan to regain their lead soon afterwards with Jacobs drilling home his second after the Owls defence failed to clear.
The same player almost completed a first-half hat-trick but saw his long-ranger come back off the bar as Wednesday’s midfield and defence continued to struggle to cope with the energy and aggression of the home side.
Wigan did extend their lead on the hour, Gavin Massey being allowed to stride forward to the edge of the penalty box and, when his shot came back off Dawson, Nick Powell was the first to react and turn home the loose ball.
Wednesday had looked better going forward than in defence and we were back in the game on 69 minutes, Fernando Forestieri finishing from inside the penalty area after an excellent feed by Lucas Joao.
Then, within the space of a minute, the home side hit the bar for the second time through James Vaughan, saw Dawson pull off an excellent save from Massey and were then denied a fourth goal from Vaughan when his effort was ruled out for offside.
Liam Palmer missed a good chance for Wednesday and then Nuhiu received that second yellow following an aerial challenge.
There was still time for Steven Fletcher to see his last-gasp effort blocked by home keeper Christian Walton but he was flagged offside anyway as Wednesday’s first league game of the season ended in defeat in Lancashire for the second successive year.
Dawson, Palmer, Lees, van Aken (Joao 60), Pudil, Bannan, Pelupessy (Fletcher 87), Hutchinson, Reach, Forestieri, Nuhiu.