Sheffield Wednesday endured an afternoon to forget after they were thrashed 4-0 by Sunderland.
The Owls started brightly in the opening ten minutes, but were hit with a sucker-punch when Sunderland netted the opener from a well worked free-kick.
The floodgates very quickly opened after that, with Sheffield Wednesday conceding another two goals in the next 13 minutes.
The hosts then added a fourth just minutes into the second half, leaving Danny Rohl’s side unable to even claim a consolation.
It was a huge surprise for Wednesday, who had started the campaign in such high spirits following their own 4-0 win over Plymouth Argyle.
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Josh Windass criticised in Sheffield Wednesday defeat
It was a poor display all-round from the travelling players, but one man who will be criticised for his mistake is Josh Windass.
The midfielder lost possession in the middle which allowed Sunderland to claim their second on 15 minutes.
Windass was slammed by Sky Sports journalist Laura Hunter, who said: “What on earth was Josh Windass thinking? The half-hearted flick, in that area of the pitch, was criminal enough, but to then stand by and watch the goal unfold is unforgivable. Really poor from one of Wednesday’s most experienced players.”
Windass then went onto play Luke O’Nien onside for the Black Cats’ third, to which Hunter responded: “More inexcusable, or lazy, play from Windass, as he plays O’Nien on for Sunderland’s third. This is a complete shambles from a Wednesday perspective, as Danny Rohl looks utterly perplexed in the away dugout. He’s prowling the touchline.”
Was it bad play or just unlucky?
It was certainly an off-day for Windass, who really impressed during last week’s win over Plymouth.
While he did make some mistakes, Sunderland’s second was arguably bad luck for the 30-year-old.
The way Rohl wants this team to play means that they are going to have to take big risks, and that was exactly what Windass did. But he wasn’t to predict where the deflection would land and it just so happened to be right at Eliezer Mayenda’s feet.
Wednesday are praised for their tactics when it works, but it was always going to be a lot tougher as they faced harder opposition, and this is a big reality check for Rohl.