Sheffield Wednesday 7 Bromley 2: Henrik Pedersen's Owls blow Ravens away with ruthless performance
The story of Sheffield Wednesday’s 7-2 demolition of Bromley in League One
Sheffield Wednesday secured the first home win of their League One campaign with an emphatic 7-2 victory over Bromley.
The Owls were utterly dominant from start to finish, refusing to relent as they piled pressure on a lacklustre Ravens side.
Callum Slattery, Mason Burstow and Jamal Lowe had Wednesday three goals to the good at half-time and the hosts kept their feet firmly on the gas after the break.
Louie Barry bagged a brace and Lowe registered his second of the afternoon before Gabriel Otegabyo headed home a seventh.
Bromley pulled two back with a Victor Adeboyejo penalty and an Otegabyo own goal in the dying embers, but they could only prompt sarcastic celebrations from the travelling supporters.
First half
The game got off to a frenetic start, as Wednesday carved out a series of opportunities within the opening five minutes.
Billy Mitchell created the first, stealing possession from the visitors and setting the Owls away on a counter-attack. He squared for Barry, who saw his Bromley stopper Shamal George race off his line to close down the space and save.
George was straight back in the firing line and had to be alert to tip an acrobatic Burstow effort over the ball. Early pressure continued to mount on Bromley, who were looking increasingly like rabbits caught in very bright headlights.
Their rather sizeable defence succumbed in the seventh minute, when Slattery gave the hosts a deserved lead. Barry was the orchestrator, peeling away down the left at pace before slipping into the path of Slattery. There was still plenty for the latter to do, but he found wriggle room in a crowded box and stroked into the bottom corner.
The flow of constant attacks was stemmed yet Wednesday refused to release their grip on the game. With the ball zipping around at pace, the physical Bromley found themselves unable to play the game at close quarters.
Wednesday’s control yielded a second goal just after the half-hour mark, when Bromley’s defence was sliced through. Bannan fed Lowe, who held possession long enough to commit defenders before releasing Burstow. The on-loan Owl had time to look up and pick a spot, opting for the bottom right-hand corner and finding it with precision.
Bromley saw slightly more of the ball as the first half came to a close yet could not do anything of note with it. On the other hand, Wednesday moved with purpose when they ventured into the final third.
Their lead was extended on the stroke of half time, when Slattery rolled the ball into Lowe and watched as the frontman drilled across a helpless George.
Second half
Any fears of a second half slow-down from the Owls were immediately extinguished, as the hosts instead pushed further down on the gas pedal.
Bannan set Barry away and the tricky winger jinked his way in from the right before blasting back across George, taking the goal tally to four.
Goal number five came three minutes later, as Barry secured a quickfire brace. Burstow collected the ball after a goalline scramble and squared to Barry, who rifled into the roof of the net to crush Bromley spirits further.
The visitors continued to look disjointed and continually allowed blue and white shirts to drift into space undetected.
Lowe came agonisingly close to grabbing his second of the afternoon and Wednesday’s sixth, but opened his foot out too far as he looked to fire across George.
Henrik Pedersen’s men did eventually grab their sixth and it was the lively Lowe who got it. He was twice denied by George, although managed to pounce on the goalkeeper’s second parry and essentially deflect the ball into the back of the net.
With confidence flowing through their veins, Wednesday hunted for a seventh and Otegbayo was the man who delivered the final blow. Kieran Morrison whipped in a dangerous cross from the right and his fellow substitute was on-hand to head home.
Salt was rubbed in the Bromley wounds late on when Adeboyejo squandered a golden opportunity to grab a late consolation. He was given a chance to atone from the penalty spot and converted past Joe Lumley, but it was a goal that prompted sarcastic celebrations from the away end.
An own goal from Otegabyo then gave the Ravens a second, although it was not enough to lift the spirits of the London club.