Madine happy to have supply line restored

Stoke City midfielder Marshall snubbed loan offers to play in the Championship after being impressed by Owls manager Gary Megson and the Wednesday set-up when he played at Hillsborough during a pre-season friendly for the Premier League club.

His debut on Saturday in a 2-1 win over Notts County helped settle the Owls nerves after two successive away defeats, and no-one was happier at 20-year-old Marshall’s arrival than striker Madine.

The pair played together at Carlisle United last season, with Marshall on loan from Stoke, before the striker’s January switch to Hillsborough.

Madine is hoping the creative skills of Marshall can help boost his own goals tally, after finally opening his account on Saturday with a second-half winner.

“Ben’s good on the ball, takes people on and puts great balls in the box. He’s a striker’s dream to play with.

“Ben was one of our best players at Carlisle, a very good player. I actually put in a good word before he came, our coaches thought he might have gone to the league above. He’s got that ability.”

Whether the duo play in tomorrow night’s Carling Cup second round at Blackburn Rovers remains to be seen.

With just two fit strikers at his disposal – Clinton Morrison the other – Megson will want to keep both fresh for Saturday’s League One match against Scunthorpe United at Hillsborough.

Salford-born Marshall had his season curtailed last year when he broke his leg playing for Carlisle against Brentford in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final at Wembley.