Sheffield Wednesday 0 Preston North End 1: Xisco Munoz's Owls find their way - only to lose it again

For perhaps the first time since he took as manager, we got a glimpse of the football Xisco Munoz wants Sheffield Wednesday to play.

Set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, passes began to not just find their target but have an effect. The Owls zipped the ball around quickly, players switched positions, Barry Bannan came into the game and he and others showed off their skills. Momo Diaby knitting things together neatly from the base of midfield.

It was a far cry from the groans when a move broke down as Bambo Diaby tried to play out from the back in the 13th minute.

A minute later Musaba's lovely bit of skill ended with the ball falling to, or rather jumping at, Bannan, whose shot ballooned.

Whether it was the half-time break or Liam Lindsay's diving header shortly after it, the Owls never quite regained the same zip, try as they might to play the same way.

The applause ringing in the home players ears as they came off at the interval was replaced by howls of frustration then full-time boos as Wednesday started the season with a third straight Championship defeat, this time 1-0.

Common-sense always told you this cosmopolitan side, quickly brought together by a coach parachuted in when pre-season was already underway, would take time to gel.

The first-half performance was a step forward, but the closing stages felt like a lapse into old bad habits as the Owls began to rely on Callum Paterson long throw-ins and supporters howled their frustration at a pass back to goalkeeper Devis Vasquez when so many players were camped in Preston's final third.

Rather than pointing tactical instructions, Munoz was reduced to technical-area cheerleader as his team tried to claw its way back from conceding a set-piece goal.

"Bambo, what's the score?" the away fans taunted their former centre-back Diaby in the second half.

A sweeping move down the right in the 18th minute was one of Saturday's first signs that things were coning together, the fit-again George Byers finding Bannan out wide, who in turn fed the impressive Anthony Musaba – another drawn over to the right – only for the move to break down.

Likewise, Momo Diaby's pass to Musaba did not match the lovely turn which made space for it, and Andrew Hughes blocked successive shots from Bannan and Juan Delgado.

But this was more like the football we had been expecting when the Spaniard arrived at Hillsborough.

Bannan struggled to find space in the hole initially, but had by no got the measure of things. He played a nice pass down the line for Liam Palmer, only for the cross to be cut out. His straight pass over Lee Gregory's shoulder was as good as the control which brought it down, only for the striker to shoot at Freddie Woodman.

An exquisite backheel and a lovely outside-of-the-boot pass shortly after only reinforced the impression that the Owls' most influential player for years was in the mood.

Will Keane could not produce a similarly deft touch when picked out by former Barnsley player Brad Potts, and Palmer swept up. That, and Keane touching a Kian Best cross wide, was all Preston had to offer once Wednesday got a foothold.

Duane Holmes had a very quiet full Championship debut after his move from Huddersfield Town.

One thing immediately noticeable about this new-look Wednesday team is the hulking physique of it, reminiscent of Munoz's Watford.

So it was particularly galling that they conceded from a free-kick. Best's delivery was excellent and Lindsay's diving header took height out of the equation but Akin Famewo, a central defender at left-back, will be angry he lost his man.

With just 50 minutes in, Wednesday were never really the same again.

A knock forced Momo Diaby off and Bannan dropped into his position to accommodate Michael Smith as a second centre-forward. Neither winger lasted the 90 minutes as they get up to Championship speed – no easy task.

A deflection stopped Alan Browne's free-kick putting Preston in front.

Delgado craned his neck muscles to redivert a good Famewo cross on the run, but could not beat Woodman from so far out, just as Gregory shot on the turn from Palmer's delivery could not find the target.

Sheffield Wednesday: Vasquez; Palmer, Iorfa, B. Diaby, Famewo; Byers, M Diaby (Smith 65); Delgado (Paterson 72), Bannan, Musaba (Gassama 72); Gregory (Fletcher 76).

Unused substitutes: Dawson, Ihiekwe, Bakinson, Vaulks, Windass.

Preston North End: Woodman; Storey, Lindsay, Hughes; Potts, Browne, Ledson, Best (Whatmough 76); Holmes (Woodburn 76), Frokjaer-Jensen (Mawene 88); Keane.

Unused substitutes: Cunningham, Bauer, Cornell, Rodriguez-Gentile, Taylor, Leigh.

Referee: J Simpson (Lancashire).