Sheffield Wednesday lost to Millwall - but this is why it served as ideal preparation for Sheffield United
Bang in the centre of the pre-match narrative before Sheffield Wednesday hosted Millwall was a 5ft 7in midfielder.
Barry Bannan was heading back to Hillsborough in another club’s colours, with his mere presence likely to sprinkle salt in a rather huge gaping wound.
However, it was Millwall’s giants rather than their nifty new midfielder who were prominent characters in the story of their 2-1 win.
In fact, it spoke volumes for the limited role Bannan played that “physical monsters” dominated Pedersen’a post-match analysis.
It could have been a mismatch - quite literally men against boys - but Wednesday were not bullied.
“It gives the boys confidence we can match teams like Millwall from the physical side for the coming games, that they can match in the duels. [They are] one of the strongest teams physically but this is necessary. It’s strong from our young guys.”
The wait is over
Tucked beneath Bannan talk in the build-up was Wednesday’s agonising wait for a goal.
When Jamal Lowe prodded the Owls into the lead on the hour mark, it ended a drought spanning over 900 minutes.
The lead was evaporated by a Cole McGhee own goal 13 minutes later - and made obsolete by a Macauley Langstaff winner within 15 minutes - but it may have enabled the Owls to clear a mental hurdle.
“We were part of the game until the end,” said Pedersen. “We gave two s**t goals way away in two minutes.
"How we came back into the game and again tried to play forward to create something, the belief was in the game until the end. I have big respect.
“Of course, it’s given the boys confidence. There’s a difference between a possibility and a chance.
"Today, it was not just possibilities. We score a goal, we create something when win the ball but we also create something in the build-up.”
Fighting to delay relegation
Wednesday’s fate has essentially been sealed for a long time. Those from the outside could perhaps be forgiven for paying less attention to the Owls, but ‘outside’ is the key word there.
Next week, there is a chance Wednesday could be relegated by their Steel City rivals Sheffield United.
Wednesday are going to be relegated but no one on either side of the Steel City rivalry needs to be told why there is a desperation to keep the reaper at bay for another week.
As far as preparation goes, 90 minutes of blood and thunder against Millwall was ideal.
“I think it’s similar [to the derby] for sure,” Pedersen said. “It was very good training today to compete against this physical monster team. They are so strong.
"I have the biggest respect for this Millwall team for the simple basic things. They are so organised. It’s not only physical, there are so many ideas behind it. That’s why they’re so difficult to play. This goes hand-in-hand with the physical power. That’s why they’re one of the top teams in the Championship.
“As I said to the boys, if we can match a team like Millwall in so many faces, we also have a chance to get points in this league and win games.
"But we need more intensity. We need more duels. We need to keep on this verticality when we win the ball. We need to keep this discipline for our offensive position. We still need to improve, improve, improve.
"But the boys’ discipline, I know I’ve said it before, but I have big respect for how our young and senior players handle this difficult situation.”
So much of Wednesday’s season has been about hanging on. A lot of effort has gone into damage limitation but next week, Wednesday must shield themselves from damage entirely.
"I think today we were back on track to show who we want to be,” Pedersen said. “For us, it’s about how often we can show who we want to be to compete in as many games as possible.”
Sheffield Wednesday: M. Cooper, Palmer, Otegbayo, McGhee (L. Cooper 75), Adaramola; Ingelsson, Heskey, McNeill, Kobacki (Ndala 73); Lowe, Yates.
Unused substitutes: Stretch, Emery, Johnson, Fernandes, Thornton, Nakamba, Ugbo.
Millwall: Crocombe, Crama, Taylor, J. Cooper, Doughty; De Norre (Watson 61), Mitchell; Azeez, Bannan (Langstaff 61), Neghli; Coburn (Ivanovic 78).
Unused substitutes: Patterson, Sturge, Leonard, Mazou-Sacko, Cundle, Ballo.
Referee: Ed Duckworth (Lancashire)