Cardiff City 0-2 Sheffield Wednesday: Windass and Rhodes hand Owls victory
- Published
Josh Windass has linked up with Sheffield Wednesday for a second time after signing from Wigan Athletic
Sheffield Wednesday made early inroads into their-12 point deficit in the Championship with a shock 2-0 win over Cardiff City in south Wales.
Garry Monk's side, who are appealing a 12-point deduction for breaching financial rules, took a shock 2-0 lead into the interval.
Josh Windass fired them ahead before Jordan Rhodes scrambled in a second.
Cardiff huffed and puffed but never really looked capable of producing a second-half comeback.
It was certainly a surprising opening day scoreline considering the respective ambitions of the two sides this term.
The clubs entered the new Championship with vastly different expectations, with Cardiff hoping to improve on losing in the play-off semi-finals and Sheffield Wednesday surely just targeting Championship survival in a campaign where they started on -12 points.
The visitors did not create much in a first period of few chances, but they were clinical when they needed to be as they grabbed the lead after just five minutes.
Cardiff, just as they were at Northampton in the Carabao Cup last week in a 3-0 reverse, were the architects of their own misfortune as they gifted the visitors the lead when Leandro Bacuna's misplaced pass allowed Izzy Brown to feed Windass, who raced clear and fired across Alex Smithies into the bottom corner.
The Owls' bright start was underlined as Brown nodded wide as Windass flashed a ball across goal just a minute later.
Cardiff had plenty of possession, but little penetration and they were a little unfortunate when their debutant, Kieffer Moore, was unable to get out of the way of a fierce Junior Hoilett drive that was probably heading in.
Liverpool loanee Sheyi Ojo, who has replaced Nathaniel Mendez-Laing after he was released by the Bluebirds this week, external, also tested the Wednesday defence, but his shot across goal just evaded Cardiff's onrushing forwards.
Cardiff did test Wednesday goalkeeper Cameron Dawson through Will Vaulks' speculative effort from range, but they should have levelled on 30 minutes from Vaulks' teasing corner, but Sean Morrison headed just wide of the upright.
Hoilett also saw a reasonable penalty appeal turned away.
However, it was the Owls who finished the half the stronger side and Alex Smithies had to tip over spectacularly to deny Windass' fierce drive.
That was a let-off but Cardiff did not heed the warning and the paid the price for some statuesque defending on the stroke of half-time as Barry Bannan's free-kick took three unopposed touches off Wednesday heads before Rhodes was able to divert the ball past Smithies from close range.
The Bluebirds switched from a 4-3-3 system to a 4-4-2 with the introduction of Robert Glatzel and also threw Lee Tomlin into the mix, but it was only really at set-pieces they looked likely to get back into things.
Morrison again went close when he diverted Moore's header towards goal, but Dawson tipped the ball away.
The Owls also almost scored a third on the break when sub Elias Kachunga wriggled clear, but Morrison deflected his effort away from goal as they comfortably held on for a welcome win that reduces their arrears to nine points.
Cardiff City manager Neil Harris told BBC Sport Wales
"Not the start I had in mind, not at all. I feel a bit sucker-punched in the sense we dominated possession. We didn't hit the heights we have for the last nine months.
"It's the sort of game that if you aren't going to show the quality you need, you need it to finish 0-0, we needed that clean sheet mentality today.
"We were architects of our own downfall today. We didn't show the consistencies of a quality Championship side, you can't give two goals away like the ones we did. Both goals were really poor from us.
"Are we suffering a hangover from how last season ended? I understand the relevance of the question, but I hope not and I don't sense that we are."
Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk:
"To get off to a winning start is what we were aiming for. It's one of 46 games - we have got the first three points but there are 45 to go.
"We were excellent. We talked about it being a physical game and (there being) a lot of direct play to compete with and to come out on top of. We did it and we finished our moments with quality.
"2-0 is a great position to be in but in any game it's a delicate scoreline - they get one back and it gives them something.
"But the focus was brilliant. I thought we deserved to win."