Sheffield Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen salutes display v 'monster' Millwall and explains Joel Ndala decision

Jamal Lowe’s close-range finish on the hour mark had the Hillsborough faithful dreaming of an upset victory over Alex Neil’s promotion-chasers.

However, a Cole McGhee own goal and a Macauley Langstaff finish turned the game on its head.

Wednesday may have been on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat but Pedersen was the pleased by the manner in which the Owls stood up to a physical Millwall side.

Henrik Pedersen hails Owls

He said: “A tough, tough opponent today - a physical monster opponent. How much physical power they can bring into the game, we knew it was the top team from the league.

“We know they are physically strong - the vertical play, second ball, set-pieces, maybe the best in the league.

“How we managed this game, how we defended, how we pressed, how we protected our own goal and all the set-pieces, for me, maybe this is the basics. But how when we won the ball, this threat forward, we had many more runs forward in front of the ball, many more situations where we become higher up on the pitch.

“We also create chances and scored a goal. It was very positive. How we managed this game offensively today was strong.

“We know Millwall, with the physical power, it’s a fantastic pressing team and how we played a little bit more direct, how we won a lot of second balls, against them, I think it was a strong performance from four senior players and seven young guys.”

Joel Ndala decision explained

There may well have been some raised eyebrows when winger Ndala was dropped from the starting XI and Pedersen explained why he missed out.

Pedersen said: “Joel was late to the meeting today. Then, you’re on the bench. Joel, he never normally does this, he’s always on time.

“But these are the rules. He’s learning, he’s a good boy, he’ll be ready again to go from Monday. There is no stress, it’s how it is, he knows.”

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