With the 2010-11 season now down to the last home game against Exeter City to go Owls Blogger, Ricky Charlesworth, takes a look back at the highs and lows, on a month-by-month basis, of an eventful first season back in the third tier.

In the fourth and final part of his review Ricky takes us through March, April & May 2011 as well as revealing his player of the season and result of the season.

MARCH

League Record – Played 7 – 4 PTS

The backlog of winter fixtures finally caught up with the Owls, as they played seven games in March, reaping just a paltry four points. The only victory of the month was a tight 3-2 win at Oldham, with Chris Sedgwick grabbing a brace.  

Those three points were sandwiched between three home defeats, to Plymouth (2-4), Notts County (0-1) and Peterborough (1-4).  

On the road, Southampton beat the Owls 2-0 in front of the TV cameras, whilst a 1-1 draw at Dagenham stopped the rot temporarily, until Wednesday were hammered at home by Brentford (1-3) to round off a poor month.


APRIL/MAY

League Record – Played 8 – 14 PTS

The final month (and a bit) of the season brought Wednesday some more stability as they looked to round off a rollercoaster campaign. They certainly found some consistency with back-to-back home wins over Colchester (2-1) and Tranmere (4-0). The latter game was a resounding win for the Owls and also their joint-highest margin of victory at Hillsborough all season.  

Arguably the toughest task of Wednesday’s campaign was a trip to champions-in-waiting Brighton. The game proved to be one step too far for the Owls as the hosts ran out 2-0 winners at the Withdean. 

Wednesday bounced back from that reverse down south to go on a four-game unbeaten run. A 2-0 win over Hartlepool at home was followed by a respectable point away at strugglers Walsall (1-1). The Owls then took it upon themselves to relegate Swindon after a 3-1 stroll at home, before putting Bristol Rovers to the same fate in a 1-1 draw away at the Memorial stadium.  

The final game of the season saw Exeter come from behind in front of an expectant, large S6 crowd, to grab a 2-1 win after the Owls had taken the lead. The result meant the season ended on a sour note for Wednesday, but ultimately it summed up the campaign: good in stages, but let down by leaking too many goals.  

Let’s hope for a productive summer off the field allowing for a more consistent season next time out.


PLAYER OF THE SEASON

Neil Mellor: for anybody to score 20 goals in a season is an incredible achievement and even more so when you compare the Owls miserly league position. 

Let’s hope Mellor is around next season as the player has stated in the past that he would welcome a permanent move to s6. As long as a deal can be struck with Mellor’s parent club Preston, then that possibility remains intact.


RESULT OF THE SEASON 

MK DONS 1-4 OWLS

A comprehensive victory coupled with a superb performance ensured this win in Buckinghamshire was the undoubted “result of the season” for Wednesday. 

With the Dons set to enter the end of season lottery of the play-offs, this result was made even more remarkable. Neil Mellor’s hat-trick sealed a brilliant away win for the Owls after suffering the loss of an early goal.  

Another factor in the reason why this result was so good is that rookie keeper Aaron Jameson made his debut after Nicky Weaver pulled out through injury.  

Mellor’s trio of goals were well taken and especially having come from behind, this game will be a rare highlight when looking back on the 2010/11 season.

Ricky.

 

To read the August & September review click here, for October & November click here and for December, January & February click here