A man of the match outing from new Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Ethan Horvath stole headlines on Tuesday evening as a youthful Owls side knocked Leeds United to the Carabao Cup curb.
The Colorado-born stopper arrived in a flash following injury to Wednesday number one Pierce Charles last week - and after only one training session was thrown into league action at Wrexham. A handling error lead to one of the goals scored by the Welsh club but was met with a strong degree of understanding by an Owls fanbase keen to get behind its players in difficult circumstances.
Horvath finished the season between the sticks at parent club Cardiff City but was since shunted to third or fourth choice over the summer. Having not featured in a matchday squad in the opening rounds of their League One campaign, the 30-year-old fired back from disappointment on debut to make six impressive saves as well as two in the shootout. It was a performance not lost on Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen.
placeholder image
PA
“First of all, it was a difficult first game for him and as a player if you have a first game and it is difficult, to make a performance like this today? Amazing from him,” he said. “You need a good goalkeeper on a night like this to survive. We were also a little bit lucky, but he was extremely good tonight. You need a good goalkeeper to win against Leeds and I am really, really pleased for his performance, but most of all for himself. It will give him confidence for the next games.”
The very fact Wednesday were able to field a senior goalkeeper was an achievement of those behind the scenes at S6. The Owls are operating under the terms of stringent restrictions on their incoming recruitment thanks to repeat financial failings from the very top of the club.
Near-daily conversations with the EFL’s independent Club Financial Reporting Unit have taken place to ascertain their cashflow forecast and its ability to fulfil upcoming obligations. Wednesday were given special dispensation to sign a goalkeeper in light of Charles’ injury and a recruitment team sprung into action, with head honcho Kevin Beadell reaching out to previous employers at Cardiff to complete the deal swiftly.
“It was Kevin with the other guys in the background who did all this and all I can say is well done for this,” Pedersen said. “When we got the information on Pierce, then we had to search the market and it was a lot of phone calls, a lot of video and a lot of hard work. It is a really great job from the guys.”
Continue Reading