A Sheffield Wednesday side made up largely of academy players were beaten 4-0 by Accrington Stanley at Hillsborough on Wednesday night, in a dead rubber that at least gave Dave Challinor a look at the youngsters coming through.
With qualification from the group already secured and the injury list still growing, Challinor changed all 11 players from the weekend's FA Cup defeat at Oldham. Sean Fusire captained the side, Connal Trueman started in goal, and Cole McGhee and George Brown both returned from injury. Several youngsters currently out on loan further down the pyramid were brought back in, as the competition's rules allow.
Stanley, by contrast, named a 39-year-old in their starting XI and were led by a 38-year-old captain. For half an hour that gap in experience barely showed. Denny Oliver went close from a free kick and Fusire had the best of the early openings from close range, while Trueman made a string of saves at the other end, the pick of them a full-stretch stop to deny Shaun Whalley.
The resistance broke just before the interval. Josh Smith converted on 39 minutes after Seamus Conneely had struck the crossbar, and three minutes later Charlie Brown drilled a fine finish in off the far post.
Five debuts
George Brown's evening ended at half-time as planned, his first 45 minutes after almost a year out. His replacement, James Kay, made his senior bow days after turning 18. Charlie Liddell, Fortune Onoh and Kailen Hatfield followed him on for their first appearances, and Kleven De Oliveira became the fifth debutant when Louis Poland was forced off injured.
Wednesday were brighter after the break. Joel Akpobi caused problems down the left, and Liddell and Oliver both drew saves from James Rogerson. But Charlie Warren punished loose defending on 86 minutes, and Charlie Caton added a fourth deep into seven minutes of stoppage time.
The numbers reflected the contest: Accrington had 62% of the ball and 19 shots to Wednesday's seven, with an xG of 2.64 against 0.65. A crowd of 5,472 watched it.
Challinor: "A night they'll remember"
The manager was realistic afterwards. "It's always tough when you're throwing a group together for one game," he said. "It's a learning experience for them."
He wants his young players to be better for the night whenever their next chance comes, whatever the scoreline said.
"The opportunity to play for this club and in this stadium is something that will live with them for the rest of their lives."
On Brown, he added: "As is always the case with long-term injuries, you have to tick off milestones. For George to be able to get that first 45 minutes will be a box ticked for him. It's important now that he recovers and hopefully it becomes an injury-free run for him."
Lowe blow, and a possible fine
There was worse news off the pitch. Max Lowe has suffered a recurrence of his hamstring problem and is expected to miss four to six weeks, a setback Challinor described as "disappointing for everybody". Ashley Maynard-Brewer is also out of Saturday's game with a minor knock, and it is likely to come too soon for Ali Al-Hamadi, although Liam Cooper, Billy Mitchell and Louie Barry are all pushing to be involved.
The team selection may also cost the club. Only Fusire and Gabriel Otegbayo counted as qualifying players under EFL Trophy rules, leaving Wednesday open to a £5,000 fine, though The Wednesday Word reports the club can plead mitigation given the number of players unavailable.
Wednesday finish second in their group and will face a northern section group winner in the round of 32. Before that comes Plymouth Argyle at Hillsborough on Saturday, Challinor's first home league game. "It's a massive game for us," he said. "We've got to right some wrongs from last weekend."
Sources: The Wednesday Word, Sheffield Wednesday FC post-match interview.
Image Credit: SWFC