Sheffield Wednesday 1 Sunderland 2: Owls' groundhog year continues as they make their own bad luck

They missed chances, and then they gifted chances. So far, 2025 is becoming a groundhog year for Danny Rohl's side.

Hillsborough regulars would not have been in the least bit surprised to watch their side make all the best chances in the first 35 minutes against Sunderland, then concede.

They got themselves back into it through Callum Paterson, then waved the Black Cats through again.

It all added up to another miserable day at Hillsborough, and a 2-1 defeat.

Rohl had called pre-match for his side to do the easy things perfectly but once again, they got them badly wrong. Good performances or not, they are doomed not to make the Championship play-offs.

Fortune laughed in their face, denied an early penalty, suffering when referee Will Finnie and his linesman failed to spot Eliezer Mayenda controlling the ball with his arm before scoring the first of his two goals, then losing even their makeshift centre-back Max Lowe to injury, leaving Michael Ihiekwe as the last man standing, and losing Paterson quickly after he found the net.

This on top of being without Michael Smith, Stuart Armstrong and Yan Valery after a week which saw illness run through the camp.

But the hard luck stories only went so far.

It was not bad luck Wednesday's players could not hit a barn door when the score was 0-0, or that Lowe was so weak in allowing Mayenda to get his shot off.

Sunderland had their spells in an entertaining first half, but it was only the Owls who should have scored.

With full debutant Ryo Hatsuse and Pol Valentin extremely lively getting forward from full-back and Djiedi Gassma dangerous when he joined up off the wing, the home side created plenty of chances. Again. And missed plenty of chances. Again.

Gassama could not keep his volley down when he swung at a Barry Bannan delivery, Josh Windass blazed a Valentin cross over, Paterson headed one over, and was unable to beat his namesake Anthony when he climbed highest to head a corner.

And when Wednesday appealed for an early handball in the box, Finnie waved play on.

James Beadle spilt a Mayenda shot on the turn but with no one near enough to capitalise, and Patrick Roberts had a far-post volley deflect off target.

Then, when former Leeds United and Rotherham United defender Leo Hjelde played a ball forward, Mayenda took his dubious touch and outmuscled Lowe.

When he got treatment immediately after, you wondered if he was just trying to hide his embarrassment but he went down again soon after and had to be replaced by Liam Palmer, causing the Owls to switch to a back three.

Jobe Bellingham had a shot deflected over a minute after the goal.

Rohl reacted at half-time as he usually does, swapping Windass and Paterson over.

It took just three minutes to pay off, Svante Ingelsson winning the ball high up near the left touchline and dinked a cross the Scot leapt high too and just just the right amount of forehead on to score his 50th goal this side of Hadrian's Wall.

Soon after he had a shot from a tightish angle touched wide.

So inevitably, he soon went off injured.

When Hatsuse put a cross over, Windass failed to get a clean touch on it.

Perhaps Sunderladn sensed their opportunity, but soon Inglesson was having to cut out a dangerous Romain Mundle pull-back after he raced to the byline.

Two minutes later the Owls were caught napping, Gassama losing the ball cheaply, not enough pressure on Trai Hume's cross, and Mayenda losing Ihiekwe from it to restore his side's lead.

James Beadle denied him a hat-trick when Charles' foul right on the edge of the area served up an 84th-minute free-kick.

Wednesday had their late chances. a curled Gassama shot, another Luke O'Nien threw himself in front of and a Barry Bannan effort which ricocheted about.

But there was no conviction about them.

Maybe they knew it was not going to be their night, but that was down to them, not fate.

Sheffield Wednesday: Beadle; Valentín, Ihiekwe, M Lowe (Palmer 42), Hatsuse (Johnson 84); S Charles, Ingelsson (Cissoko 84); Paterson (Ugbo 59), Bannan, Gassama; Windass (J Lowe 84).

Unused substitutes: Chalobah, Iorfa, Kobacki, P Charles.

Sunderland: Patterson; Hume, Mepham, O'Nien, Hjelde; Neil; Roberts (Rigg 84), Bellingham, Browne (Isidor 73), Mundle (Cirkin 84); Mayenda (Jones 90+4).

Unused substitutes: Abdul Samed, Moore, Seelt, Aleksic, Ogunsuyi.

Referee: W Finnie (Bedfordshire).