Michael Smith: Sheffield Wednesday fans matched Newcastle United's Wembley passion to get Owls into Championship

Tynesider Smith was in the stands to watch the Magpies in February's League Cup final, and back on Monday as part of the Owls side who beat Barnsley in a dramatic finish to the League One play-off final.

And Smith said his team needed those supporters because Barnsley improved after Adam Phillips's 49th-minute red card – so much so, he would rather the midfielder had stayed on the pitch after his clumsy high tackle on Lee Gregory.

It all ended well for Smith, who saw Newcastle bounce back from their League Cup defeat to qualify for a first Champions League campaign in 20 years, and the Owls clinch a spot in the Championship with Josh Windass's diving header in the third added minute of stoppage time.

Smith, who joined from Rotherham United after helping them to automatic promotion from League One last season, was eager to stress the part the fans played not only in the final but the 5-1 win and penalty shoot-out success against Peterborough United in the Hillsborough second leg of the semi-finals.

"The fans were a massive reason I came," said the centre-forward. "The fans in the second leg against Peterborough and selling 44,000 tickets on Monday, it was unbelievable.

"A few months ago I was here watching Newcastle here in the League Cup final and it was just as loud, if not louder.

"They're a special bunch. It's that old cliche and being a footballer I hate using them but they were our 12th man.

"They've been so good all season but they really stuck with us at Shrewsbury away when it was guaranteed we were getting play-offs (rather than the automatic promotion that had seemed to be theirs for the taking for so long). That was a really poignant moment in the season and personally I can't thank them enough."

Barnsley gave as good as they got after Phillips's dismissal opened up what had been a very cagey start to the showpiece game. Harry Isted had to pull off a couple of very good saves to keep them in the contest but the Reds hit the woodwork through Liam Kitching, forced a brilliant save through James Norwood and missed an excellent chance on the counter-attack.

In the Premier League, where possession is such a big part of the game, having a man advantage can be huge. In League One, where the football is less technical, it can be very different.

What Barnsley did well was that being a man down they did not simply sit in and try to hit Wednesday on the counter-attack, although inevitably they did have to resort to that at times, especially in the additional 30 minutes.

"It's always the case when you play against 10 men," said Smith, whose side were perhaps fortunate not to concede a penalty shortly before the red card. "Everyone thinks you can walk over them but it is never the case.

"We would have preferred for them to have 11 men on the pitch (throughout), as mad as it sounds."

With the only goal of the game coming so late on Monday, Smith – who scored penalties in the Peterborough second leg itself and the shoot-out which followed – admitted his mind was drifting towards another spot kick.

"You're always conscious of it because there's a massive clock at either end." he said. "I was thinking about it and which way I was going to go but thankfully Josh managed to get his head on a cross."

It caps off another good season for Smith, who scored 25 goals in all competitions in 2021-22 and had a Football League Trophy win at Wembley to go with Rotherham's promotion.

"As a fan and a footballer, this season’s gone pretty well," he smiled.

"I was watching the first two play-off finals on the television trying to picture myself there but I think our experience stood us in good stead.

"We're not arrogant, just confident. There's a massive difference.

"Leading up to the final it was quiet, lads didn't do any press and we just kept ourselves to ourselves and went about our business.

"I'm so pleased for the group, the manager, all the staff and so many people who put in the work behind the scenes all season."

Chairman Dejphon Chansiri also paid tribute to the Owls supporters after the club sold out its initial ticket allocation inside 60 hours, then a further 6,000 on the Friday before the game, despite problems with the train network making the journey from South Yorkshire to Wembley more difficult.

”Your support has been unrivalled, you have shown the football world just what the badge of Wednesday means,” said Chansiri.

“I have never experienced anything like Wembley but then I have never experienced anything like this season.”