Fulham 4-0 Owls
Wednesday had a day to forget in the capital as they went down to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
First half goals from Ross McCormack and Shaun Hutchinson laid the foundation for victory, sealed after the break by Lasse Vigen Christensen and Cauley Woodrow.
The Owls had their moments but nothing to trouble Marcus Bettinelli in the Cottagers’ goal and the home side ran out comfortable winners.
It was hard on the 5,000+ travelling hordes, who were in good voice from the outset as their team sought to bounce back from last week’s late home loss to Wolves.
And they almost had something to cheer early on when Tom Lees found space at the back post from a Chris Maguire corner but the defender hit over the crossbar.
The Cottagers, though, went closer still moments later as Christensen rounded Keiren Westwood but Lees was back in the nick of time to clear the danger.
Hugu Rodallega then tested Westwood with a daisycutter before Lees headed goalwards at the other end and the ball was heading in off May before Stafylidis cleared off the line.
But it was Fulham who made the breakthrough ten minutes before half time.
The Owls conceded a free kick 25 yards out and McCormack delivered a sublime shot that curled away from Westwood and into the far corner.
Wednesday hit back with a Jeremy Helan run and drive that whistled wide but then suffered a hammer blow right on the whistle.
From another set piece, Rodallega sent over a looping feed and Hutchinson climbed high to bury beyond Westwood.
It gave the Owls an uphill battle and Stuart Gray made two changes, with Royston Drenthe and Atdhe Nuhiu entering the fray in West London.
And as the second period unfolded, Wednesday certainly had the bit between their teeth, forcing a string of corners that threatened the Fulham goal.
The danger, though, was the hosts’ quality on the break and so it proved on 68 minutes when a swift counter ended with Christensen coolly slotting home from 12 yards.
The same player might have made it four just after the restart but Westwood reacted smartly to smother almost on his goal line.
Fulham went on to boss possession in the closing stages with the game out of Wednesday’s reach and applied the final coating of gloss from the spot in stoppage time after Claude Dielna fouled Patrick Roberts in the box.
Fulham: Bettinelli, Stafylidis, Hutchinson, Bodurov, Parker, Ruiz (Roberts 87), Fofana (Williams 63), Rodallega (Woodrow 82), Christensen, Grimmer, McCormack
Owls: Westwood, Palmer, Loovens (Dielna 71), Lees, Mattock (Drenthe 46), Maguire, Lee (Nuhiu 46), McGugan, Semedo, Helan, May