Sheffield Wednesday opened their League One campaign with three points at Leyton Orient, with Callum Slattery and Jamal Lowe scoring in a 2-1 victory at Brisbane Road.
It was an uneven afternoon rather than a complete performance. Wednesday started brightly, lost their way after Tyler Onyango's early injury, then found a much stronger level after the break.
There is plenty still to improve, but an opening-day away win is a good place to start.
Line-up
Matthew Hamshaw named a 3-4-2-1, with Joe Lumley behind a back three of Liam Palmer, Gabriel Otegbayo and Sil Swinkels.
Jordi Liongola and Max Lowe started in the wide roles, Tyler Onyango partnered Barry Bannan centrally, while Callum Slattery and Harry Gray supported Jamal Lowe.
Wednesday XI: Lumley; Palmer, Otegbayo, Swinkels; Liongola, Onyango, Bannan, M. Lowe; Slattery, Gray; J. Lowe.
Match review
Wednesday started with some purpose.
Bannan had an early effort blocked, Slattery headed narrowly wide and Liongola found himself in a good position inside the area, but the shape of the game changed quickly when Onyango went down injured.
He was unable to continue and Jarvis Thornton replaced him after 14 minutes.
That disruption seemed to unsettle Wednesday more than it did Orient.
Yusuf Akhamrich began finding space and forced Lumley into a save, while Idris El Mizouni also threatened on the break. The home side were starting to look more comfortable when Wednesday suddenly took the lead.
Slattery chased Nathan Baxter as the Orient goalkeeper prepared to clear and got himself in the way of the kick. The ball cannoned off the Wednesday midfielder and into the net.
There was no pretending it was anything other than fortunate, but Slattery still had to make the run.
That willingness to keep moving and keep pressing became one of the defining features of his afternoon.
The lead lasted only seven minutes.
After a stoppage for treatment to Swinkels, Orient worked the ball back into Wednesday's area. Fin Stevens delivered, Jaze Kabia made contact and Joseph Olowu reacted quickest to make it 1-1.
There was frustration from Wednesday supporters about the circumstances surrounding the restart, but the more immediate problem was that Wednesday still had the delivery to defend and failed to deal with it.
Orient had the better of the rest of the half.
Akhamrich curled a free-kick narrowly wide and later tested Lumley again, while Wednesday were giving away too many fouls and struggling to build anything sustained at the other end.
Swinkels and Otegbayo both went into the book and the game began to feel increasingly scrappy.
Half-time probably came at a good moment.
Louie Barry replaced Liongola for the second half and Wednesday immediately looked more purposeful going forward.
Orient nearly struck first, though.
El Mizouni caught a superb effort from distance and watched it crash against the post with Lumley beaten.
For a moment it looked as though the first-half pattern might continue.
Instead, the game began to swing in Wednesday's favour.
Barry gave them a more direct threat and Slattery started finding better positions higher up the pitch. Jamal Lowe, who had struggled to influence the game for much of the first hour, suddenly became far more involved.
Thornton released him on the break and Lowe shot narrowly wide.
Soon afterwards he met a Slattery cross and forced Baxter into a save.
Then came the decisive moment.
Lowe drove into the area and was brought down by James Morris. He took the penalty himself and calmly sent Baxter the wrong way to restore Wednesday's lead.
Two competitive games, two goals.
From there, Wednesday produced their best spell of the afternoon.
Slattery released Gray into the area and Baxter saved again. Lowe then had the ball in the net only to see the offside flag go up.
Orient suddenly looked stretched every time Wednesday went forward.
Then Bannan somehow failed to make it 3-1.
He beat Baxter to the ball, took the goalkeeper completely out of the picture and was left with an open goal.
He missed.
It was an extraordinary chance to waste and one Wednesday would have regretted badly had Orient found an equaliser.
They nearly did.
Armando Dobra found himself with a clear opportunity inside the area late on but dragged his effort wide.
That was the moment when the game could still have turned.
Instead, Wednesday finally began to manage it.
Liam Cooper and Mason Burstow were introduced in the closing stages, adding experience at the back and more physical presence further forward.
Nine minutes of stoppage time sounded ominous, but Wednesday handled them better than might have been expected.
Barry was still carrying a threat at the other end and forced Baxter into another save, while Orient never managed to create the sustained late pressure the scoreline threatened.
When the final whistle arrived, Wednesday had done enough.
The final numbers support the result.
Orient edged possession 51.5% to 48.5%, but Wednesday finished with 15 shots to 10, five on target to three and 25 touches in the opposition box to 19.
They also had seven corners to five and completed more passes in the final third.
This was not a game Wednesday controlled through possession. It was one they gradually learned to attack more effectively.
Slattery was at the centre of much of that.
His goal was fortunate, but his performance was not. He covered ground relentlessly, kept appearing in useful positions and was involved in several of Wednesday's best second-half attacks.
Barry's impact was more immediate. Wednesday simply looked more threatening once he came on.
Swinkels also had another encouraging afternoon, particularly in the air, while Lumley made the important saves when Orient were on top. Otegbayo had a difficult opening but settled considerably as the game developed.
Jamal Lowe probably summed up the afternoon better than anyone.
For much of the game he had been quiet. Once Wednesday started finding him in better positions, he became a completely different problem.
He won the penalty, scored it, had another finish ruled out and suddenly looked capable of deciding the game every time Wednesday broke forward.
There is plenty still to improve.
The first half was too loose, the midfield understandably lost some balance after Onyango's injury and 19 fouls is more than Wednesday will want to concede every week.
But this was the opening league game of a new-look side, not a finished product.
Wednesday had difficult spells and came through them. They improved after the break and, during their best period, created enough chances to put the game away completely.
They didn't.
So they had to see it through the hard way.
They did that too.
After the Carabao Cup win over Bolton, Wednesday now have two victories from their opening two competitive games.
For a side still finding its feet, that will do nicely.
Image Credit : SWFC