Che Adams climbed off the bench to score a late winner for Southampton on their Sky Bet Championship return and silence taunts of the Sheffield Wednesday fans.
Adams entered the pitch to a chorus of boos due to his association with Sheffield United but eight minutes later he was celebrating scoring the 87th-minute goal that earned the Saints a 2-1 victory at Hillsborough.
It had looked like the Saints, back in the second tier for the first time in over a decade following last season’s Premier League relegation, would endure a frustrating evening as for large parts they failed to turn possession into goal threat.
They had gone ahead early on through Adam Armstrong’s goal – deflecting in Nathan Tella’s shot – and were in total control at half-time, setting a new Championship record for the most number of passes in 45 minutes as they completed 477.
But they were pegged back after the break when Lee Gregory scored for the newly-promoted hosts from a set-piece and the visitors struggled to find a cutting edge.
But Adams’ late introduction changed the course of the game, sweeping home from close range to give Russell Martin a win in his first game in charge as the Saints, whose squad may yet be weakened before the end of the month, laid down an early marker.
Wednesday opened this Football League campaign just 67 days after bringing the curtain down on last season with their League One play-off final at Wembley, but it has been a turbulent time since.
Manager Darren Moore surprisingly left while chairman Dejphon Chansiri used Xisco Munoz’s unveiling press conference to publicly berate former midfielder Carlton Palmer amid fan unrest at spiralling ticket prices.
And things did not start well on the pitch as Southampton took early control, going ahead in just the eighth minute.
To the naked eye, it looked like Tella had scored the first goal of the campaign in style as he cut inside on his left foot and sent a curling effort into the far corner.
But replays showed his shot glanced Armstrong on the way through and the striker was credited with the goal.
It was total Saints domination as James Ward-Prowse, one of those linked with a move away this month, forced Cameron Dawson into a smart low save while Carlos Alcaraz was just off target with a shot from the edge of the area.
Having been robbed of the goal, Tella tried his best to remedy it and went close with a similar effort that was deflected just over the crossbar.
Callum Patterson was then forced to come to Wednesday’s rescue from the resulting corner as he cleared Jack Stephens’ effort off the line.
It did not take much for the hosts to improve after the break and they levelled nine minutes after the restart as Gregory fired home from Akin Famewo’s header back across goal from Barry Bannan’s corner.
The Saints continued to enjoy almost exclusive ownership of the ball but were restricted to long distance efforts, with Stuart Armstrong twice threatening the goal.
Just as it looked like they might have to settle for a point, Adams had the last laugh by tucking home Ward-Prowse’s centre and the Saints saw out nine minutes of stoppage time to post victory.
Eidevall slams 'amateurish' WSL after Arsenal fixture congestion
Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall slammed the "amateurish behaviour" of the Women's Super League, who he feels are damaging English teams' chances of success in European competition.
The Gunners are one of three English teams competing in the Women's Champions League group stages this season, along with Manchester City and Chelsea.
All three are due to commence their campaigns in midweek, but while Arsenal and City are in WSL action on Sunday, Chelsea's scheduled clash with Manchester United was postponed due to player welfare concerns.
Eidevall's side, who face Bayern Munich on Wednesday, then take on the Blues three days later, and the head coach feels his side are at a "sporting disadvantage" with their fixture congestion.
"It's not a good situation," he told reporters during his pre-match press conference ahead of Sunday's clash with Everton. "There are 16 teams involved in the Champions League, how many teams are playing on Sunday, October 6?
"We are, that is one. If it was only us, it would be an Arsenal problem - but it's also Man City. The only two teams that are playing are English teams. The only other team scheduled to play was Chelsea.
"[It's the] first time that three [English] teams reach the group stage. [It] should be celebrated, but it's now a problem. It's very important for the whole league that we are successful in Europe.
"Now, obviously, it's worse for us because of the amateurish behaviour of no plan and taking away the game like Chelsea.
"It puts us into play on Sunday, then Wednesday away at Bayern Munich, who don't play Sunday, then we return to play Chelsea on Saturday (October 12).
"[That is] less preparation than our opponents. We have been handed a sporting disadvantage in two huge games for us."
Nevertheless, Eidevall insists his players will tackle the busy period head on, rather than feel sorry for themselves.
"We won't lie down and give up because the situation is tough," he said. "We will dig deeper than we ever have before, but what needs to change is the approach to Champions League football and respect to the supporters.
"It's not good enough to blame UEFA, the only one who hasn't acted on the information is the WSL."
Premier League rejects Man City request to delay 2025-26 season start
The Premier League has rejected a request from Manchester City to delay the start to their 2025-26 campaign to allow for more recovery time after the Club World Cup.
As 2022-23 Champions League winners, City are one of two English clubs – alongside Chelsea – to have secured a spot at FIFA's first 32-team Club World Cup, which will be held in the United States next year.
The tournament's expanded format has proven extremely controversial, provoking widespread criticism for denying players rest time during the off-season.
Players' union Fifpro has started legal proceedings against FIFA over the scheduling of the tournament, claiming the fixture schedule has become "unworkable".
The Club World Cup is set to run from June 15 to July 13, with players involved unlikely to receive substantial rest time before the domestic season begins in early August.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Fulham, boss Pep Guardiola revealed City had already seen a request to delay their opening game knocked back.
"The Premier League has not allowed us to postpone the first two games for our recovery," Guardiola said. "Thank you so much.
"I think the club asked the league to postpone one or two or three weeks so we can have a holiday after the [Club] World Cup but it is absolutely not allowed.
"Would the Premier League say yes to us? No. Absolutely not. They won't postpone these games so there will be a moment of, 'what do we do?
"I don't have an answer right now but we are going to take a decision with common sense."
Conte embracing Napoli improvements after Como triumph
Antonio Conte is embracing Napoli's recent run of form after they extended their lead at the Serie A summit to four points ahead of the international break.
Scott McTominay's early opener was cancelled out by Gabriel Strefezza, only for star man Romelu Lukaku and substitute David Neres to seal the win after the break.
Conte is now the sixth manager to have won each of his first four home games as Napoli head coach in Serie A, after Paolo Iodice, Luis Vinicio, Alberto Bigon, Carlo Ancelotti and Luciano Spalletti.
The Italian, however, started his Napoli reign with a shock 3-0 defeat to Hellas Verona on the opening day, but his team have since gone seven games unbeaten, scoring 19 goals during that run.
Conte acknowledged that his side may not deserve to be at the top of the table, but felt quietly optimistic about his players' progression during the early stages of his tenure.
"I don't know if this is currently a Napoli that deserves to be in first place in the standings, but we are first and that is a fact," Conte said to DAZN.
"If someone had told me this three months ago, it would have been difficult to believe.
"We're growing in terms of temperament, and in our ability to adapt—playing good football, but also willing to get our hands dirty when we need to.
"That's a great sign, and we have to embrace it fully."
But the encounter against Como was far from comfortable for Conte's side, with the visitors registering 11 shots compared to Napoli's nine, while Cesc Fabregas' men also ended the contest with 59.3% possession.
Napoli, though, created the better chances, ending the encounter with an expected goals (xG) total of 2.02 from their six efforts on target, with Lukaku continuing to flourish under Conte's stewardship.
McTominay's opening goal after 26 seconds was the third-quickest for Napoli in the three-points-per-game era, while the former Manchester United midfielder also became the first Scottish player to score for Gli Azzurri in Serie A.
"We started well in the first half, scoring a great goal, the result of our hard work," Conte said.
"Then we changed things tactically in the second half, and they were no longer in the game.
"We lost too many duels, but that's part of the process of rebuilding confidence and self-esteem."
Conte also showered praise on the home supporters inside the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
"Playing in Naples, at the Maradona, with a full stadium means that the players can really feel the crowd's emotions," he said.
If you make mistakes, you can feel the disappointment, and that can chip away at your confidence.
"Napoli has a deep passion for football. We try to feed that passion by giving our all, like we did today. In the second half, we improved from every point of view."
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