Sea of Semedos can spur Owls to victory

This afternoon’s game at the City Ground has been designated as ‘Semedo Day’ with the Owls’ sell-out 4,300 visiting contingent to show their affection towards their tough-tackling and committed Portuguese midfielder.

Some 2,800 Semedo masks will be issued to supporters on a first-come-first-served basis, with Portugal flags also to be given to fans, with the away end set to be a sea of burgundy and green and not the traditional blue and white.

The novel concept to honour the fans’ favourite has not escaped the attention of Semedo’s colleagues, desperate to provide the travelling hordes with the win they crave.

Buxton said: “He (Semedo) has had a little but of stick, although not too much as Semi is a good bloke.

“Semi gives everything every single game and the fans can see that and they sing his name for long periods of the game sometimes. He is a tough guy to get past as the song says.

“We have said he will be scaring all the locals with these Semedo masks going around! But he is a great player who has done really well for us.

“It is a nice, humorous thing for the fans to do. They will have a good time and it will be a good atmosphere and, hopefully, they will spur us on and we will win the game.”

Wednesday’s momentum following much-needed back-to-back victories over Peterborough and Ipswich has been arrested by dual defeats to Middlesbrough and Blackpool with manager Dave Jones critical of some sloppy defending and wasteful finishing.

Full-back Buxton says the Owls are still looking upwards as opposed to over their shoulders.

He said: “Confidence is okay. We are looking to push up the table, rather than panicking and looking at what is beneath us.

“Everyone knows we can perform a lot better. At times we have performed well and the results have not gone our way. But we cannot go on saying that every week and we have got to pick things up. I think most sportsmen are self-critical but you cannot get too down about things. You have got to do the right things in training and be ready to go again and pick yourselves up.”