The Owls posted a comfortable 3-0 victory over Newcastle’s Under-21s at Hillsborough on Tuesday night. Here are some key talking points from Darren Moore’s post-match press conference.
On the Newcastle game
I thought it was the perfect performance. I’ve just said to the lads in there, the attitude and approach to the game was spot-on. It was nice to see the goals go in. It was a really good workout. We wanted to shift the pack around a bit, we had Joe in goal, Ciaran at the back, Sylla made his debut and Theo out wide. It was good for the fans to see Fis back out there, he had a great game in the midfield. I looked at him, Dennis and Wingy in there as a three and they worked together well. I enjoyed the game and it important to put in a positive performance and bounce back after the Morecambe result. We want to win every game we play and go as far as we can in every competition.
On Sylla Sow
That’s all you can ask for on a debut, a goal and a good performance. I thought he showed some great moments out there. You can see he has really quick feet and gets into the right areas. Sylla has been with the group for a fee weeks now so we wanted to get the volume into him in training and the minutes on the pitch tonight.
On the fans
I must say, a crowd of 6,500 was excellent and the players felt that tonight. For the lads who haven’t played at Hillsborough yet, it was great to see the big stand full, that will have done them the world of good. It was good for the lads from Newcastle too. So it’s a big thank you from myself and the team to the fans.
On Massimo Luongo
He’s got a hamstring strain but we’re really pleased because it’s not as bad as we first feared and nowhere near as bad as what some reports have suggested. We wanted him to see the specialist to be sure and we’re talking weeks rather then months. It’s a blow for Mass, of course it is, it came with the last kick of the game at Rotherham and after what was a very good performance. But he will be back, he will start doing his work with the medical staff and he will be back.
On signing Saido Berahino
I’m really pleased to have Saido on board. He was someone we wanted to pursue and we’ve managed to get the deal done and bring him in. He gives a different attacking threat. He’s a goalscorer and in terms of playing on English soil I think he has unfinished business. He’s 28-years-old, a good age with plenty left in the tank and I’m really looking forward to working with him again when he joins up with us next week. We will get some serious work done and Saido is a wonderful acquisition to the squad.