Sheffield Wednesday twice led but had to settle for a 2-2 draw with Hull City at Hillsborough on Boxing Day, extending their winless run to 16 games and leaving them stranded at the bottom of the Championship on minus eight points.
The Owls dominated early in their first Boxing Day home game in ten years, taking the lead through Svante Ingelsson in the 22nd minute. But Hull City fought back, with Mohamed Belloumi equalizing in the 36th minute. Bailey Cadamarteri restored Wednesday's advantage shortly after half-time, only for Matt Crooks to level again in the 65th minute.
The draw leaves Sheffield Wednesday without a home league victory this season. Hull City stayed fourth in the table, below Ipswich Town on goal difference.
Contrasting Manager Views
Hull City manager Sergej Jakirovic acknowledged his team's poor performance but praised their character. He said: "I'm satisfied because we didn't play good, without energy – we played like today was Christmas."
He added: "We were 10, 15 from the (Wednesday) players, we were at 20 per cent. But again we showed good character because twice we were down and we came back with two goals and in the end we put on everything we had offensively from the bench and tried to score a third."
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen saw his team's display more positively despite dropping two points. He said: "I think it was generally a strong performance. We were very compact defensively, on the ball we were strong and we had a good intensity and a good dynamic on the ball."
Pedersen acknowledged a drop in intensity late in the first half, adding: "Then the last 10, 12 minutes of the first half we dropped in intensity and in the second half it was an equal game."
Takeover Development
The match came two days after administrators named a consortium led by James Bord, owner of Dunfermline Athletic and former Sheffield United advisor, as the preferred bidder for Sheffield Wednesday. Mounting injuries and Africa Cup of Nations call-ups highlight the club's urgent need for squad reinforcements.
Young player Jarvis Thornton made his first league start, while 20-year-old Favour Onukwuli made his debut from the bench in the 77th minute.
Championship Roundup
Elsewhere in the Championship, leaders Coventry City extended their advantage to eight points with a 1-0 win over Swansea City. Ephron Mason-Clark scored just before half-time to secure Coventry's ninth home win of the season.
Bristol City climbed into the play-off zone with a 2-1 victory at West Brom, while Watford secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season by defeating Leicester City 2-1. Oxford United moved out of the relegation zone with a dramatic 2-1 win over Southampton, Stanley Mills scoring the winner a minute from time.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
