Ten-man Wednesday opened the Championship season with a deserved draw at Preston after being forced to play the final half-hour without Lee Bullen. The 35-year-old received his marching orders for a late tackle on Matt Hill to spoil an otherwise impressive away performance by Paul Sturrock's men.
It had been a wait of over three months for Owls fans - and almost that for play-off semi-finalists Preston - for the return of league football but both sides opened the game by treating the 15,650 crowd to the best of what they had been missing of the summer months. Effort, energy, passing, tackling and shooting - it was all there in the first 20 minutes.
Paul Sturrock threw loan goalkeeper Brad Jones straight into the action and the Aussie was called upon in the seventh minute to make a smart stop at the second attempt from home defender Sean St Ledger, who had ventured forward for a corner.
North End continued to shade the possession but, with Yoann Folly and Glenn Whelan working tirelessly to break up their attacks, Wednesday looked dangerous on the break. Whelan twice went close to scoring with a late burst into the box, while home keeper Carlo Nash benefited from a stroke of luck in the 25th minute. Burton O'Brien raced onto Chris Brunt's chipped through ball, which eluded both Nash and the Scot on the edge of the box. Fortunately for the hosts, St Ledger was on hand to scramble the loose ball away from the waiting Steven MacLean.
Wednesday survived an even closer call, two minutes later, when £3m-rated dangerman David Nugent burst through the inside-right channel, sliding his shot past the diving Jones, but also past the far post.
Right on half-time, the 3,200 travelling Wednesdayites thought Brunt had given them the lead. The Northern Irishman lobbed Nash perfectly after controlling Frank Simek's through-ball close to his arm. Although the perfectly-placed assistant referee saw nothing untoward, man in black Peter Walton belatedly decided to rule the strike out.
None of the 22 players would have complained about the half-time whistle after a frenetic opening half-hour in particular, but some of the Owls clearly left their minds in the dressing room and were twice indebted to keeper Jones soon after the break. Just 30 seconds into the half, Hill's cross found Nugent totally unmarked, but his header was comfortable for the Middlesbrough man, who saved well nonetheless. The 24-year-old did even better soon afterwards, when Daniele Dichio outmuscled debutant Madjid Bougherra. Jones rushed from his goal to narrow the angle and blocked the veteran striker's low shot.
The Owls' task became immeasurably tougher in the 57th minute and, again, their hosts gained the benefit of the doubt from the referee when club captain Bullen received a straight red card after a full-blooded challenge on Hill. There is no doubt that the Scot mistimed his attempted tackle but the level of intent was questionable to say the least.
Wednesday were forced to retreat in protection of the draw, which they did to good effect. Their closest call came four minutes from the end of time when Liam Chilvers headed Danny Pugh's corner escaped Jones' grasp. But referee Walton had this time spotted an infringement in the Owls' favour. With St Ledger sending a header inches wide in stoppage time, the visitors saw out the remaining time to earn themselves a merited point on their return to competitive action.
Preston (4-4-2): Nash, Alexander, St Ledger, Chilvers, Hill (Wilson 75); Whaley, Jarrett (Stock 74), McKenna, Pugh; Nugent, Dichio (Agyemang 66). Subs: Lonergan, Sedgwick.
Wednesday (4-4-2): Jones; Simek, Bougherra, Coughlan, Hills; Bullen, Folly, Whelan, O'Brien; Brunt (McAllister 87), MacLean (Small 80). Subs: Adamson, Spurr, Lunt.
Attendance: 15,650
Referee: Paul Walton
Booked: Nugent (dissent) 10 mins, Whelan (foul) 29 mins, Hill (foul) 70 mins
Sent Off: Bullen (violent conduct): 57 mins
