Three sides of Hillsborough were left bare as Sheffield Wednesday supporters staged their biggest protest yet against owner Dejphon Chansiri.
On the pitch, the Owls fought admirably against Middlesbrough after falling behind early on to Morgan Whittaker’s strike, but were defeated for the 7th time of the season.
What Happened & Why It Matters
It took just 6 minutes for Boro to hit the front in South Yorkshire. A sweeping move from right to left saw Delano Burgzorg play the ball from the left-hand byline into Whitaker. His first-time finish into the bottom right-hand corner was too strong for emergency goalkeeper Joe Lumley to keep out, though Tommy Conway potentially impeded his view.
Whittaker was unlucky not to grab another 2 minutes later, after neat work between himself and David Strelec saw the latter play a reverse pass which caught the Owls’ defence sleeping. That was until Dominic Iorfa deflected his effort behind, before Tommy Conway came close soon after, but was just unable to wrap his foot around Burgzorg’s fierce delivery at the near post.
If there was any controversy about the opening goal, then it was levelled up when Middlesbrough were somehow not awarded a penalty. Lumley’s heavy touch was pressed by Conway, who was quite clearly brought down by the Owls goalkeeper, but Thomas Kirk thought otherwise and play continued. He redeemed himself later in the half with a strong right arm to deny Conway, before keeping Burgzorg out.
Hillsborough is almost empty as Sheffield Wednesday fans stay away in protest over owner Dejphon Chansiri. 👏👏
— The Real EFL (@RealEFLSocial) October 22, 2025
After offering virtually nothing in an attacking sense in the opening period, Wednesday came out firing in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Iorfa’s header took a deflection, and Sol Brynn, on the floor and completely wrong-footed, scrambled across his goal to incredibly claw the ball away. Svante Ingelsson was next to test the Boro keeper with a fine strike from Max Lowe’s cutback cross, before Iké Ugbo headed wide from a hung delivery by Harry Amass.
But Lumley wasn’t going to let his opposite number steal the show, against his former club, as the Teessiders turned the screw. Twice in as many minutes, Wednesday’s number 13 turned away efforts from Whittaker and Conway. But, his best was yet to come. A Middlesbrough corner was flicked to the back post, but the arriving Alan Browne could not believe his shot was somehow tipped over the bar by Lumley.
Boro, try as they might, could not find the killer second goal. But this stretched Wednesday side struggled to carve out any further chances of their own, after their flurry earlier in the half. Kaly Sène had the visitors’ final chance to add a second, but once again the Owls’ emergency goalkeeper was in the way.
Reaction, Impact, & What Comes Next
There were 2 teams in this game, and while the young Wednesday squad may be getting used to the dwindling numbers at Hillsborough, it will have come as a shock to Boro. Fresh from their raucous atmosphere at the Riverside Stadium on Friday evening, which helped them over the line against Ipswich Town, it was a contrasting evening in S6.
Sheffield Wednesday Supporters Trust’s ‘No Pound, No Sound’ campaign urged fans to boycott this Championship encounter against Middlesbrough. With Dejphon Chansiri appearing to be no closer to selling, and the club increasingly likely to end up in dire straits, fans have taken matters into their own hands. Starving their Thai owner of any additional revenue is hoped to force him to finally sell the club.
Sheffield Wednesday, now 3 points adrift of city rivals Sheffield United at the foot of the table, have Oxford United next up on Saturday. But, as the end of the month draws ever nearer, pay issues are likely to resurface, while their rumoured winding-up order continues to dominate the local and national headlines. Middlesbrough, hot on the heels of leaders Coventry City, will be ready to pounce on any Sky Blues slip-up when they welcome Wrexham to the North East this weekend.
