Danny Röhl won the German coach’s duel against Tim Walter in the League Cup on Wednesday evening. Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-1 away win made their start to the new season a golden one
Danny Röhl, former Flick assistant at FC Bayern and the German national team, has made a dream start to the new competitive season. Röhl celebrated his second win in his second game with Sheffield Wednesday, who the 35-year-old sensationally led to relegation in the previous season.
Last Sunday, Sheffield surprisingly moved to the top of the table with a 4-0 home win against Plymouth Argyle in the Championship opener. This was followed by a 2:1 away win at league rivals Hull City in the first round of the League Cup on Wednesday evening.
The latter has been coached by Tim Walter of all people since the summer. The former HSV coach had just managed to avert a home defeat against Bristol City (1:1) at the start of the season – thanks to a converted penalty in stoppage time.
This Wednesday, Walter and Hull were caught out after all. The Tigers were behind after less than 30 seconds as Sheffield’s new summer signing McNeill (who arrived from Manchester United) made a dream start to his debut for his new club, firing under the crossbar
Crass mistake by Hull keeper Racioppi
The home side immediately worked on an answer and found it in the ninth minute: Mehlem, another new signing, scored his first goal. The former Darmstadt player, who had previously played under Walter, used his body wisely and flicked the ball into the top right-hand corner.
The next blatant mistake, however, made the final score 2:1 in the tenth minute: Hull keeper Racioppi missed the ball in front of his own penalty area from a back pass, meaning McNeill only had to slot the ball into the empty goal. It was to remain a narrow away win until the end, with Röhl denying Walter his first – albeit unrealistic – chance at the title
Hull will be looking to make amends on Saturday (4pm), when they travel to Plymouth, who were beaten by Sheffield Wednesday at the start of the season. Sheffield aim to get off to the perfect start the following day (1pm) at AFC Sunderland.
