Ten-man Sheffield Wednesday were forced to settle for a point following a 1-1 draw at home to Blackpool.
New manager Dave Challinor was watching on from the stands after it was announced on the morning of the match that the former Stockport County boss would be Henrik Pederson’s replacement. It seemed like the perfect start to the post-Pederson era when Wrexham loanee Davis Keillor-Dunn drilled home from distance to break the deadlock on 26 minutes.
The Owls suffered an unfortunate blow five minutes ahead of the interval after Sil Swinkels was shown a first career red for bringing down Tom Bloxham as he was through on goal.
Blackpool later capitalised on this advantage, with former Wednesday loanee Jerry Yates poking home at close range in the 81st minute.
Matt Hamshaw named three changes to the starting XI in the interim manager’s final game in charge, Reece James and Billy Mitchell not being named in the match-day squad, while Harry Gray was dropped to the bench.
The trio made way for returns for captain Liam Palmer, youngster Jaden Heskey and Swinkels.
It was the visitors who registered the early chances. Andy Lyons latched onto the end of an out-swinging corner and Dale Taylor letting fly from outside the area following a dazzling run, though neither effort troubled Ashley Maynard-Brewer.
Wednesday responded quickly, with Davis Keillor-Dunn bundling his way into the penalty area but seeing his two efforts blocked, while Barry Bannan’s lofted cross from the right was later nodded narrowly over by Mason Burstow.
The hosts eventually broke the deadlock when Keillor-Dunn intercepted Leighton Clarkson’s poor ball on the halfway line before driving to the edge of the Blackpool area and drilling low and hard into Bailey Peacock-Farrell’s bottom right corner.
But things took a turn for the worse on 40 minutes when Swinkels went bundling into Bloxham to deny him a one-on-one with Maynard-Brewer, causing the referee to hand him his marching orders.
A man up but still a goal down, The Tangerines manager, Ian Evatt, made a change of personnel at the break to try and do something about the latter – Lyons making way for Josh Bowler.
And it was looking good for his side after organising the first chance of the second period when Jordan Williams fired in a driven cross that was met by Hayden Coulson, whose first-time effort was guided narrowly wide from eight yards.
Evatt evidently remained unconvinced by his side’s performance, with the former Bolton Wanderers boss making all four of his remaining substitutions at once.
And this tactical risk ended up paying off, with Blackpool drawing the game back level with nine minutes left of the 90.
Albie Morgan floated the ball into the area from a central position, allowing Yates to stick a leg out and poke past Peacock-Farrell from inside the area against his former club.
Both sides had one final chance left in the game, with Burstow going for glory from the halfway line to force a last-ditch fingertip save out of the Blackpool number 1, while centre-half Olly Casey rattled the bar in the final minute after a thunderous effort from 25 yards.
After sharing the spoils, both sides will now turn their attention to Emirates FA Cup action where the Owls will travel to League Two outfit Oldham Athletic to compete for a spot in the competition’s second round.
The Tangerines will be looking to do the same when they head south to face National League opposition Hornchurch.
Lineups:
WEDNESDAY: Maynard-Brewer, Palmer, Lowe, Valery, Slattery, Bannan, Heskey, Swinkels, Weaver, Burstow, Keillor-Dunn
BLACKPOOL: Peacock-Farrell, Lyons, Ashworth, Casey, Clarkson, Morgan, Bloxham, Coulson, Anderson, Taylor, Williams
Attendance: 30,674
Image Credit: Press Association
