Sheffield Wednesday found wanting by Oxford United side also consigned to League One
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY head coach Henrik Pedersen criticised his team’s first-half performance as they sank to a heavy defeat at fellow relegated club, Oxford United.
The hosts’ relegation had been confirmed earlier in the afternoon when Charlton beat Hull, following on from West Brom’s goalless draw against Ipswich, meaning that United’s two-year stay in the second tier was over.
With one match of the season to go, Wednesday still have only one victory to their name and were comprehensively outplayed by Oxford.
Will Lankshear put Matt Bloomfield’s team into a sixth-minute lead then took his tally for the season to 12 with a curling 25-yard shot into the top corner in the 27th minute.
Former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Will Vaulks made it 3-0 in the 66th minute and while substitute Will Grainger pulled one back for the Owls on 72 minutes, Oxford restored their three-goal advantage a minute later through Myles Peart-Harris.
“In the last two months we have brought so many good performances where we have put it all on the pitch," said Pedersen. “But today was not a performance of how we want to be at Sheffield Wednesday.
“The Middlesbrough game was still in their body, and when you are tired in the body, the mind suffers too.
"Normally our mentality is our fundamental but today we were tired in the head and we lost the connection between each other.
“We need each other to make a good performance but today, especially in the first half, it was too much where we didn’t have the energy to bring the connection together. We were not the team we want to be.
“Second half was much better than first but the total package was not enough.
“Of course, when you concede four goals it’s difficult to win football matches, and today we didn’t deserve it.”
Oxford United: Cumming, ter Avest (Long 63), Helik, Brown, Spencer, Brannagan (Peart-Harris 19), Vaulks, Mills (Romeny 77), Donley (Konak 63), Emakhu (Harris 77), Lankshear. Unused substitutes: Ingram, Jeon, Makosso, McDonnell.
Sheffield Wednesday: Charles, Palmer, Iorfa, M Lowe (Moses 90), Fusire (Maltby 46), Heskey, Chalobah (Thornton 77), Adaramola, McNeill (Grainger 66), Yates (Kobacki 77), J Lowe. Unused substitutes: M Cooper, Nakamba, McGhee, Emery.
Referee: Robert Madley (West Yorkshire).