‘Greatest Comeback Ever’

Everybody wrote Sheffield Wednesday off after their 4-0 loss in the first leg of the English Football League play-offs, but the Owls proved everyone wrong with an unbelievable 5-1 win on the night after extra time for an aggregate score of 5-5. This was the first time in the English Football League play-offs that a team had ever overcome a first-leg deficit of more than two goals. Wednesday’s players had been inspired by watching other great comebacks in the days leading up to the game, and they had the fans behind them, which gave them the belief that anything was possible. Goalkeeper Cameron Dawson said that the team had had some honest conversations after the first leg and that the staff had built on those conversations each day to give the players more belief. Wednesday also published a statement earlier in the week to condemn a racist post directed at their boss Darren Moore on social media in the aftermath of the defeat at Peterborough. The players said that the comeback was for Moore, and former Owls boss Brian Laws said that his heart went out to him. Former Sheffield Wednesday and Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison said it was “the greatest comeback I have ever seen”. On the other side, former Peterborough striker Francis Green wondered whether Posh boss Darren Ferguson’s decision to tighten up defensively when the side trailed 2-0 at the break had ultimately been decisive in handing Wednesday more momentum. Moore said that his side’s effort “had not sunk in yet” and that he would celebrate their remarkable success with some sweets. There is no questioning the extraordinary scale of Wednesday’s comeback, but whether it is the best play-off match ever is probably down to which team you support – however, Moore acknowledged “they’ll be showing this one for years to come”.