Owls 1-0 West Ham United

"The Owls welcomed our visitors West Ham in the FA Cup third round to Hillsborough today. We were still unbeaten in all competitions at home and looked to build on that record against the Hammers.

The first half started well for both sides but Wednesday had the better amount of possession and clear cut chances.

Wednesday came close earlier on when Tavernier flashed the ball just wide of the mark. Moments later a nice bit of fancy footwork found Jermaine Johnson in front of goal one on one but the Jamaican could only placed the ball wide of the target.

West Ham had a few spells in the Wednesday half but the Owls defence were strong and resisted the Hammers pressure.

Wednesday nearly went ahead again when Danny Batth rose to head the ball just past the near post, as the Wolves loanee looked to build on his first Owls goal against Preston a couple of weeks ago.

The half ended with neither side being able to boss the game but Wednesday finished the half the brighter of the two teams and showed quality against a top championship side.

The second half couldn't have started any worse for the Owls as West Ham were awarded an early penalty. Sam Baldock stepped up for the visitors but was denied by a superb acrobatic save from Nicky Weaver.

The half went on with both sides on the front foot and looking to take the lead. Wednesday continued to apply pressure and came close to scoring, only being denied by the post.

The Hammers went down the other end and after some sloppy defending also struck the post. The tie was just getting into full flow with both teams attacking. Julian Bennett had to be stretchered off and was down for some time.

The deadlock was finally broken on the 87th minute when Ryan Lowe slid a nice ball through to O'Grady who ran just inside the area and superbly finished from a tight angle. Wednesday had deserved there lead and looked comfortable.

The fourth official indicated a minimum of 11 minutes stoppage time, which has to be a record. West Ham continued to pressure the Owls and Wednesday sat back and never looked like conceding. Wednesday held on and recorded a fantastic win over higher league opposition. After a world class penalty save from Weaver and a world class finish from O'Grady, Wednesday ensured they would be in the hat for the fourth round."

Up the Owls!
Shez