Sheffield Weds 3 Bristol City 2: Owls fight back to win with late strike from Kieran Lee

It was hard to detect any vibrant rhythm in a first half in which the Owls hit plenty of wrong notes last night, but the music was infinitely sweeter on the restart, headlined by a winner from Kieran Lee in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Trailing 2-0 at the break after loan striker Tammy Abraham added to his burgeoning reputation with a brace inside six minutes, Wednesday were staring down the barrel.

In the game’s build-up, Carvalhal had referred to his side as being “gladiators” at their best.

After wielding blunt swords in the first half, they appeared to brandish the finest and sharpest Sheffield steel after the restart.

The Owls were everything that they had not been in the first half, their aggressive and buccaneering play yielding a memorable victory.

Goals from Steven Fletcher, who scored for a second successive home game, and Barry Bannan, whose long-ranger was meekly dealt with by ex-Owls goalkeeper Richard O’Donnell, restored parity before Lee struck in a grandstand finale.

The most dramatic of second halves had seen the visitors spurn the chance of taking a 3-1 lead with both sides reduced to 10 men in a madcap passage of play just before the hour mark.

First, Sam Hutchinson received his marching orders after bringing down Marlon Pack as he bore down on goal.

Wednesday then earned a major reprieve when Lee Tomlin’s firm low penalty clattered against a post and, moments later, the visitors’ man advantage was wiped out after Gary O’Neil received his second booking.

It was all the encouragement that the Owls needed as they struck twice in a frantic final 15 minutes.