The Owls Under-18s posted their first win of the season on Saturday lunchtime at Middlewood Road.

After slipping to a narrow 1-0 defeat on the opening day away at Ipswich, the 18s responded with solid 3-1 win over Millwall.

A physical encounter unfolded during the first half but the Owls youngsters proved more than a match for the Lions and went in front on 24 minutes.

Toby Kenyon and Charles Hagan were involved in the build-up and the latter played through for L’Varn Brandy to drive forward and finish low from the edge of the box.

Wednesday then made an ideal start to the second period and went two up after 47 minutes with Brandy scoring his second of the game following a goalmouth scramble.

But from there, Wednesday’s character was put to the test as goalkeeper Luke Jackson was dismissed in the 50th minute for handling outside the area.

The Owls had to reshuffle, with substitute goalkeeper Alex Hare replacing Elliott Vasalo.

But three minutes after the red card, Millwall pulled a goal back from a free kick to swing the momentum in favour of the Lions.

Andy Holdsworth’s side had to dig deep and can take plenty of encouragement for their fighting spirit from that point.

And any hopes of a comeback for the Lions were dashed when the Owls grabbed a third goal.

Lewis Farmer found the back of the net with a wonderful left-foot finish to seal Wednesday’s first three points of the new campaign.

Owls: Jackson (S/O 50), Farmer, Oliver, Kenyon, Thompson, Ellery (Cox 81), Hagan, Glover, Bonnington (Aguas 77), Brandy, Vasalo (Hare 50)