Sheffield Wednesday took on La Liga side CD Leganes at Hillsborough on Saturday – with a number of senior players left out of the matchday squad.
The Owls played out a goalless draw with the Spanish side but had plenty of good moments to take into their Championship opener at Plymouth Argyle on Sunday.
Speaking after the game, Röhl spoke optimistically about the performance and paid testament to long-time stalwart Liam Palmer, with the match acting as his testimonial.
The likes of Di’Shon Bernard, Michael Smith, Michael Ihiekwe, Marvin Johnson, Pol Valentin and Bambo Diaby were all missing in action on the afternoon, as well as new signing trio Olaf Kobacki, Svante Ingelsson and Nathaniel Chalobah. The players were seen paying tribute to Palmer by taking part in the ‘guard of honour’ to welcome Palmer onto the field.
The Star can now reveal that Wednesday played a behind-closed-doors clash with Rotherham United at Hillsborough on Friday and that the score was 0-0. Millers boss Steve Evans confirmed the match-up in his post-match interview following their pre-season friendly with Doncaster Rovers on Saturday. The match was designed for both sides to ensure the full breadth of their squad received adequate minutes heading into next weekend’s EFL kick-off.
“We had a game yesterday and for me it was about everybody getting minutes and load, that is why the decision was made (to play a second game),” Owls boss Danny Röhl told The Star. “I spoke with the players and it was good to see yesterday. The result was OK but it was not the important thing, I saw a lot of good things. Today I saw a lot of good things and now I will put all the things together in my mind and we go forward.”
Wednesday had the better of the chances against Leganes and controlled much of the match against a side who won the Spanish second tier last time out. Asked his reflections on the game, Röhl was positive.
“It was a fantastic atmosphere for Liam and for a friendly game,” he said. “It is what we want to have, what we wished for Liam and that was important. On the football side I saw our team very dominant and against the ball very strong, with the ball very strong. We created a lot of chances.
“I think you see on the pitch our work from the last five weeks and of course now we get to the point where we need to make that final realisation. I think in the final third to score goals, this is the big, big challenge to score goals to win games, but all in all I am really happy with all the pre-season. No injuries, a lot of players are sharp and available and the new signings have shown why we signed them. All in all we show we can be happy at this point, but then it is ready for next week and the next season.”