On this day eight years ago, Sheffield Wednesday beat Brighton & Hove Albion in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Sheffield Wednesday have enjoyed a wonderful end to the current campaign, as they secured their place in the Championship next season following a six-game unbeaten run.
The future at Hillsborough is looking very bright under Danny Rohl, and they will be hoping to push further up the table next time out.
However, things are still very different from where they found themselves at the end of the 2015/16 campaign.
The Owls finished in sixth place and were set to take on Brighton in the semi-finals, hosting the first leg on this day in 2016.
Carlos Carvalhal guided Wednesday to a 2-0 win over the Seagulls, with Ross Wallace and Kieran Lee netting.
The Yorkshire club went onto draw the second leg 1-1, before they were narrowly beaten by Hull City in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium.
The Owls have failed to finish in the top half of the Championship since.
Here is Sheffield Wednesday’s line-up in the win over Brighton…
Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 Brighton – 13th May 2016
Kieren Westwood
The former Republic of Ireland international was only in his second season at Hillsborough and arguably went onto become one of the club’s best goalkeepers in their history.
Westwood left the club in 2021 and now plays for Crewe Alexandra, where he is yet to make an appearance since joining three months ago.
Jack Hunt
The defender spent the 2015/16 season on loan with Wednesday and was ahead of Liam Palmer in the pecking order.
He went onto join the Owls permanently and has since enjoyed two spells in Yorkshire, before joining Bristol Rovers in 2023.
Glen Loovens
The centre-back spent four years at Hillsborough and enjoyed a spell as club captain before leaving in 2018.
Loovens retired after leaving Sunderland the following year.
Daniel Pudil
After four years in Sheffield, Pudil returned to Czech Republic in 2019.
The 38-year-old then came back to Yorkshire and signed for Hallam in 2022, where he still plays. He also works for the Sheffield Wednesday Community Programme as a coach.
Ross Wallace
The winger netted the opener from 25 yards against the Seagulls. It was one of 13 goals he scored for Wednesday during his three year stint.
He retired in 2020 and is now first-team coach at Fleetwood Town.
Kieran Lee
The midfielder spent eight years with Wednesday and most notably doubled their lead in the win over Brighton.
He left the club in 2020 to join Bolton Wanderers and has now been without a club since 2023.
Alex Lopez
The midfielder spent the 2015/16 season on loan with the Owls before returning to Spain. He currently plays in the Seguna Division with Racing de Ferrol.
Barry Bannan
The current captain is the only player in the squad who is still at Sheffield Wednesday.
Bannan looks likely to extend his stay at Hillsborough this summer, taking him to a decade with the club.
Fernando Forestieri
The Argentine is a legend at Wednesday, having won Player of the Year during the season of their play-off upset.
Forestieri scored 40 goals and provided 17 assists for the Owls, before joining Udinese in 2020.
He now plays in Malaysia with Johor Darul Ta’zim, where he has won eight trophies in two years.
Gary Hooper
The striker scored 13 goals in 29 games in the Championship during his loan spell in Sheffield, before making the switch permanent.
Hooper went onto score 31 goals in 89 matches, before moving to Australia.
The 36-year-old recently returned to England with Barnet, but was released at the end of the season.
SUBS: Sam Hutchinson, Marco Matias, Atdhe Nuhiu, Jeremy Helan, Lucas Joao, Vincent Sasso, Joe Wildsmith
The post Bannan & multiple Owls icons: Sheffield Wednesday’s XI in play-off semi win v Brighton 8 years ago today appeared first on Sheffield Wednesday News.