Sheffield Wednesday 3 Rochdale 0: Lucky 13 as three magnificent first-half strikes see Owls ease through

As far as Sheffield Wednesday are concerned, it was associated with majesty at the expense of poor and managerless Rochdale.

It never rains, but pours when you are propping up the entire English Football League.

On a night when the Kop was closed, with the lower sections of the North Stand and Main Stand being the only home sections open, those Wednesdayites who popped along were afforded a threat among a crowd of 9,045.

While those who did not bother inwardly cursed themselves.

Three exhilarating long-range first-half strikes - from Jaden Brown, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Dennis Adeniran - illuminated a tie which looked an unattractive hard sell beforehand. They arrived with the regularity of London buses.

It extended Wednesday’s unbeaten sequence at Hillsborough to 13 matches in the process.

Rochdale are still yet to beat the Owls in nine matches. They have never so much as scored a goal at S6 either.

For Darren Moore, the impact of Dele-Bashiru - who struck twice on the opening day against Portsmouth and is a technically strong player - and Adeniran, a direct runner capable of eating up the ground with a powerful shot in his locker, will have given him clear food for thought.

Fit and firing, they are two players who have roles to play in Wednesday’s nine-month marathon.

Progression in the competition will also not be sniffed at. It should give fringe players among arguably the strongest squad in League One a window of opportunity and the draw could well open up for Wednesday. Or hand them a marquee tie, conversely.

There were a couple of downers with Ben Heneghan and Dele-Bashiru coming off with knocks in the second period. They did not appear to be too bad and Moore will be touching wood on that count.

A brilliant surge forward inside the first minute from Adeniran, which unfortunately ended with a scuffed shot which was blocked by one-time Sheffield United defender and Dale captain Ethan Ebanks-Landell proved an oasis in a desert in a parched opening twenty minutes.

No worries, there was fun in store.

Regimented behind the ball and defending deep in a low block, the visitors set out to frustrate Wednesday and nick something on the counter.

They performed the first part of the equation well enough and a touch of unease was starting to creep in among the home ranks before Brown did something about it and how.

From the moribund to the magnificent.

Given far too much space following a neat short corner routine, Brown needed no second invitation to let fly with a fine and unstoppable left-footed strike from distance.

It was a picture-book way to register his first goal in Wednesday colours and another stunner - not in keeping with an otherwise forgettable half - doubled the hosts advantage on 36 minutes.

Again it displayed technique of the highest order with Dele-Bashiru - who assisted with the first goal - taking the plaudits on his own with a fantastic right-footed swerving strike from distance which positively hurtled into the net.

A shanked cross from Brown which caught Cieran Slicker out at the near post and hit the woodwork almost added a third soon after and Wednesday suddenly started to enjoy themselves.

Adeniran - who netted in the round one win over Sunderland - then got in on the act with a powerhouse surge and gorgeous long-ranger as the Owls fully announced their intentions to move into the third round with a distinct swagger.

The discourse at the interval surrounded which goal was the technically best strike. The conclusion among Wednesdayites may have been that it was impossible to separate them.

Moore will have been wanting to see the Owls’ ruthless side on the restart and another early goal had the potential to make it ugly for Dale.

Instead, the sight of Heneghan heading off with an injury issue, was rather less welcome with Moore forced into handing some game-time to Michael Ihiekwe which he would have probably wished to avoid.

Wednesday’s penchant for the spectacular never arrived in front of the closed Kop. There was plenty to feast upon earlier - and all this with Michael Smith still to make his entrance for the Owls following his summer move from Rotherham United.

Sheffield Wednesday: Dawson; Iorfa, Heneghan (Ihiekwe 52), McGuinness (Galvin 45); Glover (A Hunt 69), Adeniran, Vaulks, Dele-Bashiru (Byers 70), Brown; Paterson, Sow. Substitutes unused: Stockdale, Gregory, Bannan, Johnson, Bakinson.

Rochdale: Slicker; Graham, Ebanks-Landell, John; Seriki (Odoh 81), Diagouraga, Kelly (Brierley 70), Ball (Malley 81), White; Henderson (Tulloch 70), Rodney (Sinclair 81). Substitutes unused: O’Donnell, Taylor, Nelson, Scanlon.

Referee: B Toner (Blackburn).

Attendance: 9,045.