The Owls’ Under-18s kicked off the new season with a capital thriller but were beaten by the odd goal in five at Crystal Palace.
Starting on the front foot, Wednesday took the game to their hosts and went ahead just three minutes in, with George Hirst finishing a precision delivery from Fraser Preston.
But having got their noses in front, the Owls were promptly pegged back on nine minutes before going behind seven minutes later.
The double blow hit Wednesday hard and Palace duly increased their lead midway through the half to give the visitors a mountain to climb.
The Owls made a double substitution on the hour and the shake-up paid dividends as Josh Reaney reduced the arrears with 20 minutes to go.
From there on in, the pendulum was back in Wednesday’s favour and they dominated in all areas of the pitch, with a handful of chances created but the team just fell short.
Coach Danny Cadamarteri said: “We had a great start but then conceded three goals in a nightmare 16-minute spell.
“The substitutes made a difference in the second half and we went on to create chances that we just couldn’t put away.
“We were rarely troubled in the second half and looked the only team likely to score but overall we gave ourselves too much to do.”