26/04 - 20:00
At Playmaker, we are aiming to cover the upcoming playoff finals in as much detail as possible. With the Championship, League One and League Two showpieces happening this Bank Holiday weekend, we will have a pre-match preview for each, as well as a Q & A with a supporter from each club.
On Monday afternoon, Sheffield Wednesday take on Barnsley at Wembley and, ahead of the South Yorkshire derby, we were grateful to The Wednesday ’Til I Die Podcast to give us the lowdown on Sheffield Wednesday's season and how they are feeling for the final...
PM) First of all, we have to start with the playoff semi-final second-leg win against Peterborough United. From losing the first-leg 4-0 at Posh to a 98th minute equaliser at Hillsborough, going behind again in extra-time but then coming through on penalties. Simply, how does it rank as a night/match/moment for you as a Wednesday fan?
WTID) That night was incredible. I don’t think any other game will ever top it. The atmosphere. The performance. The fact that we came back from four goals down after everyone had written us off. It was one of those ‘I was there moments’ that will live long in the memory of every Wednesday fan for many years to come.
PM) The energy in the ground that night, on the pitch and in the stands, must give you immense confidence heading to Wembley, regardless of who the opposition was/is?
WTID) To come back in the way that we did and the fans coming together gives us immense confidence. Almost feel unbeatable. That being said, it’s just another game and trying not to get ahead of ourselves. We did that earlier this season and look where that got us.
PM) Before getting into the opposition, will there be any concern from those two legs against Peterborough? Given that the first-leg, away from home, didn’t go to plan (putting it politely) and that had followed on from the end of the season in which you missed out on automatic promotion, despite collecting 96 points; or is that just in the past now and ready to be put aside?
WTID) I think we have to forget about it. We went two goals down in unfortunate circumstances. A mistake and a deflection. We chased the game and then they did us on the counter. We were poor that day but everyone has forgotten about it. The 5-1 win is now fresh in our memory and we just have to try and recreate that as best as we can. We’ve been to Wembley before. We know what it’s like. Some of the players have also been before. Hopefully we can use that experience to our advantage.
PM) Your South Yorkshire rivals, Barnsley, are the opponents at Wembley on Monday. The Tykes inflicted the defeat that ended Wednesday’s record-breaking 23-match unbeaten run in March. Will that be in the minds of many Wednesday supporters? What went wrong in that 4-2 defeat at Oakwell and has anything major/important changed since then.
WTID) The start at Oakwell was poor. Mistakes again meant we went 2 goals down early on. We did well to get the game back to 2-2 and I honestly thought there was only one winner. If Flint had put his header away to make it 3-2 then it’s a different story. Another mistake and a poor clearance and it’s 3-2 to them and 4-2 was just us chasing the game. The game at Hillsborough; we were well beaten but we’re a different side since then. We have to be wary of them; they’re a good team. But I don’t fear them.
PM) Finishing on 96 points and then pulling off one of the all-time great EFL playoff miracles to reach the final would usually be viewed as a good campaign but promotion seems to be imperative this season for the club. How would you rate the season as a whole, as well as Darren Moore’s performance as manager, regardless of the outcome on Monday? Or will Monday be what informs everything?
WTID) The season has been a rollercoaster. Lots of records broken but as of yet the season isn’t over and we’ve not reached our objective. I'm a huge Darren Moore fan. What he’s done when the club looked down and out when he arrived is nothing short of a miracle. I get the frustrations from fans but after last week and what happened at Hillsborough I think we’re all united in giving Moore at least another season if we don’t finish the job on Monday. We just want to get out of this league so much and fingers crossed we can do that.
PM) Sheffield Wednesday have now spent two seasons in the third-tier and many would agree that is a level, or even two, below the club’s size and reputation. On a larger and more macro scale for the club, how important is victory over The Tykes this weekend?
WTID) The novelty has worn off. Going to the smaller grounds has been great and we’ve sold out everywhere we’ve gone but we want to be able to take big followings to some of the bigger teams in the championship and pit ourselves against the better sides. We’re in League One for a reason but we all feel we should be back in the Championship where we belong.
