72 hours after Boundary Park, Wednesday go again. Accrington Stanley come to Hillsborough on Wednesday night for our last EFL Trophy group game, and nobody would pick this as Dave Challinor's second match in charge. He said as much himself last week: "It's not something you'd ideally do in November, but that's where we are."
After Sunday, though, nothing is a dead rubber. Challinor told his players they have to be "miles better", and Tuesday is the first chance to show they were listening. For anyone on the fringes, it's also a chance to play their way into contention for Plymouth on Saturday.
What's at stake
We're already through. A 2-1 win at Salford, with goals from Davis Keillor-Dunn and a Jamal Lowe penalty, was followed by a 2-0 win over Sunderland's under-21s, with Jaden Heskey and Barry Bannan scoring. That put us on six points and booked a knockout place with a game to spare.
Accrington are second on four points after drawing both their games and winning both shootouts. A draw is enough for us to finish top, which should mean a home tie in round two. Accrington need a point to be sure of going through with us, and a win would take top spot off us.
Team news
This was always going to be a game for changes, and Sunday made sure of it. Even before Oldham, Challinor said he would be planning minutes almost as if it were pre-season. After 120 minutes with players cramping all over the pitch, expect a very different XI.
The injury list has grown. Max Lowe felt something after the final whistle, which is the biggest worry given how much he changed the game. Ashley Maynard-Brewer was feeling ill after his collision with Mike Fondop. If he isn't right, Connal Trueman, who started the win over Sunderland's under-21s, keeps the gloves. Di'Shon Bernard pulled up late in extra time, and after such a long spell out I'd be surprised to see him risked. Harry Gray's hip knock isn't serious but may come too soon, Mason Burstow is out for four to six weeks with a groin injury, and Sil Swinkels is still suspended.
International call-ups make it thinner still. Kieran Morrison is due with Northern Ireland, and Sean Fusire and Jordi Liongola were set to join Zimbabwe and Burundi after the Oldham tie. Losing Fusire hurts most after the way he set up the equaliser on Sunday.
So who plays? Gabriel Otegbayo didn't get off the bench at Boundary Park and should start, probably alongside Ernie Weaver. If Liam Cooper is fit, an hour here would make sense. Jarvis Thornton and Will Grainger were both on the bench on Sunday, and Grainger got a quarter of an hour in extra time. This is the competition for them. Up front it's bare, which is exactly why a target man in January keeps coming up.
The opposition
Accrington sit ninth in League Two with 19 points from 14 games. They're hard to beat but don't win often: seven of those games have been draws. Late last month they won 5-0 at Rochdale, the biggest away win in the division this season. Since then they've drawn 1-1 with Northampton after conceding in stoppage time, and on Saturday they went out of the FA Cup, beaten 2-0 at home by Wycombe. It was their first home defeat of the season, and both goals came from set pieces. After the free kick that beat us on Sunday, that should get Challinor's attention.
John Doolan has been in charge since March 2024, and he turns 58 on Tuesday. On-loan Norwich goalkeeper Louie Moulden was the standout on Saturday, Josh Woods is their top scorer, and summer signing Charlie Warren from Bolton scored against Northampton. They have problems of their own: David Tutonda missed Saturday through injury and Donald Love limped off early in the second half. With Port Vale away on Saturday, Doolan is likely to rotate too.
History
We're unbeaten in five against Stanley. We won 3-2 and 1-0 at the Wham in our League One years, beat them 3-0 at Hillsborough in April 2023, and drew 1-1 here in March 2022. The most recent meeting was a 0-0 friendly at the Wham on 1 August, the same day the rest of the squad lost 4-0 at Oldham.
Our Trophy record is less impressive. We went out at the group stage in 2022-23, and the season before we lost 3-0 at home to Hartlepool in the first knockout round.
Prediction
On paper, the Trophy is the least important thing on Challinor's plate. After Sunday, it isn't. A changed side, tired legs and a League Two team that draws more than it does anything else all point to a tight night. What I want to see is the intent that only showed up on Sunday once we were behind: running beyond the ball, wing-backs getting forward, and somebody in the box when the cross comes in.
Prediction: Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Accrington Stanley, with the Owls winning on penalties to top the group.
More than 5,000 turned up for Sunderland's under-21s in October. After Sunday, the players owe whoever turns up on Tuesday a performance. Kick-off is 7pm on Wednesday 11th November at Hillsborough.
Sources: The Star, Yorkshire Post, Lancashire Telegraph, Accrington Stanley FC.