Watford strike late to deny Sheffield Wednesday a first win in 31 matches

Vivaldo Semedo’s 90th-minute equaliser denied Sheffield Wednesday their first win in 31 games as Watford earned a barely-deserved 1-1 draw at Hillsborough.

Wednesday, who have been in administration since October and are already relegated from the Championship following an 18-point deduction by the EFL, were minutes away from ending a wretched winless run going back to September when Jerry Yates’ second-half header put them in front.

But Semedo bundled home late on to deny them victory, though the draw sees the Owls register their first point of 2026, ending a 13-game losing streak in the Championship.

In a season of endless pain for Wednesday’s fans, this will sting on a day it was revealed that Mike Ashley has submitted a bid to buy the crisis club.

Watford got away with it and the draw says more about their failings as their faint play-off hopes took a hit.

There was a pre-match presentation for Owls captain Liam Palmer, who became just the fourth player in the club’s history to make 500 appearances.

Palmer had plenty of defending to do in the early stages as Watford twice came close to taking the lead inside the opening 10 minutes.

Edo Kayembe struck the inside of the post from 20 yards in the seventh minute and two minutes later Luca Kjerrumgaard put his effort from Giorgi Chakvetadze’s cross just wide.

Kjerrumgaard was denied again as Pierce Charles made a fine save in the 36th minute.

A nice move saw Marc Bola played in on the left and he squared for the striker, whose shot from six yards was turned over the crossbar by Charles.

That was the end of Watford as a serious attacking threat.

It was Wednesday who were on the front foot after the break and Jamal Lowe tested goalkeeper Egil Selvik with a shot from distance.

Selvik was picking the ball out of the net in the 54th minute as the Owls took a shock lead.

A nice move saw Sean Fusire cross for Yates, who powered home his third goal in three games.

Lowe could have made it 2-0 soon after but he shot straight at Selvik, who also made a big stop to deny Charlie McNeil.

The Wednesday forward had just come off the bench when the ball broke to him in the penalty area but he shot straight at the keeper, who claimed the ball at the second attempt.

Wednesday fans will have been wary about getting too excited in the final 15 minutes, having seen their side succumb to plenty of second-half goals this season.

It looked like this Watford side, devoid of attacking ideas and quality in the second half, were never going to get back into the game.

But there was a sting in the tale for the battle-weary Owls as Semedo bundled home after his initial shot had been palmed away by Charles.