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Sheffield Wednesday were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday evening, as League Two side Grimsby Town’s historic run in the competition continued.
After the Mariners defeated Manchester United in the second round last month, they set up a meeting with the Owls, although supporters of the South Yorkshire outfit once again tried to boycott the game.
Grimsby were backed by around 5,000 travelling supporters, although this would have been closer to the 3,000 mark had they not sold out an extra allocation, with the away side running out 1-0 winners.
Nevertheless, Sheffield Wednesday will now be fully focused on their league form after a difficult start to the campaign both on and off the pitch, with Grimsby’s manager feeling rather sorry for them.
Grimsby Town’s David Artell sends his best wishes to Sheffield Wednesday
David Artell is a boyhood Rotherham United supporter, and in all other aspects of football, he may not have too much sympathy for the Owls. However, considering just how dire a position the club are in, he has spoken out on the situation at Hillsborough.
Sheffield Wednesday continue to be under the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, and with just one point from five games in the league, relegation looks to be on the cards already and Artell has opened up on their plight.
He said (via: The Star): “It’s a huge club. Nobody wants to see this. Not one person of any heart or morals wants to see what’s going on at this football club. You saw it with Morecambe a few weeks ago and it’s happened with other clubs. Not one person wants to see this and I really, genuinely feel for the fans.
“Football clubs are at the heart of a community, make no bones about it. You might change your wife or your partner, but there’s very few things you change in life. It’s your football club, maybe your bank account. Even family you can fall out with, but your football club? You never change, ever. When you see this place as it is, It’s sad.
“I grew up in the late 80s and 90s. When this football club got to those two finals (FA Cup and League Cup in 1993), I was 13. I remember it, a big football club, huge, packed out every week, a hard place to come in the top division. It’s a brilliant football club and nobody wants to see it like this, in a distressed state. In that sense it gives us no pleasure to beat a football club in this state.”
Grimsby Town’s extraordinary Carabao Cup run continues
While it was a disappointing night for Henrik Pedersen and his Sheffield Wednesday team, for Grimsby, it was the perfect evening.
Jaze Kabia’s 49th minute strike proved to be the difference between the two sides on the night, with the Mariners causing more pain to a club further up the pyramid, having knocked Manchester United out of the competition in August.
Grimsby were more than worthy of their victory, and perhaps had the chances to further their lead. Nevertheless, it was yet another famous evening for the Lincolnshire club.
However, Sheffield Wednesday will now have to turn their attention back to the Championship as they hunt for their first league victory of the campaign away to Portsmouth on Saturday.