Sheffield Wednesday drew 1-1 with Blackpool on Sunday, just hours after the club confirmed Dave Challinor would be taking over as manager.

The Owls finally confirmed one of the worst-kept secrets in football: Challinor would be the next boss of Wednesday. The former Stockport County manager was at the game and likely took many positives, as his new side were undone by a red card for Sil Swinkels.

Wednesday took the lead through a great strike by Davis Keillor-Dunn. The Wrexham loanee carried the ball to the edge of the box before unleashing a great effort into the bottom corner.

His performance was one of several takeaways Challinor likely rook from the game against Blackpool.

1. Red Card Changed the Game

The Owls were in charge for most of the first half, until a red card for Swinkels put them on the back foot. Swinkels was sent off for a last-man tackle, but interim manager Matt Hamshaw wasn’t too sure, suggesting the club might appeal the decision, telling The Star:

“I was worried at the beginning, if I’m going to be honest. Last man, but going away from goal. Would he (Bloxham) have scored? There’s a number of questions that would be asked. Touch obviously went away from goal, not towards goal. But, at the same time, initial thought was, well, he is the last man. But look, the referee’s made a decision. We can’t change that once it’s happened.

“Yeah, may well be [appealing the card]. We’ll obviously come together as a group of staff. Obviously, new gaffer. See what he wants to do with that, and we’ll take that on.”

The decision, whether right or wrong, changed the course of the game. The match momentum graph below from Sofascore shows the Owls were in control for the majority of the first half.

They weathered a bumpy few minutes to half-time and, after the break, came back into the game ever so slightly. However, Blackpool did have most of the momentum in the second half, even though they struggled to only make one or two clear chances.

If the red card had not been shown, would the Owls have claimed all three points?

2. DKD Shows Why He Needs to Play Down the Middle

Wednesday fans have seen Keillor-Dunn play several positions since joining, resulting in some below-par performances from a player who has an excellent record in League One. But when he has been given the chance to play down the middle, he has always looked a lot better, as he did against Blackpool.

DKD played alongside Callum Slattery, both tucked in behind Mason Burstow but drifting wide to support the wing-backs when they had the ball. Up until the red card, it was a plan that was working well, but even after the sending-off, Keillor-Dunn continued to impress.

He received a 7.6 rating from Sofascore, ending the game with five shots in total, two of which were on target, including a great effort from the edge of the box. The forward also recorded a 93% pass accuracy and made five defensive contributions.

One big takeaway Challinor likely took was that he needs to get DKD playing centrally if he wants to get the best from him.

3. Formation Flexibility

For the most part this season, Wednesday have played a 4-3-2-1 formation. But against the Tangerines, they lined up in a 5-2-2-1 that shifted to a 3-4-2-1 when the Owls had the ball.

While they had 11 men on the field, it worked well. Max Lowe and Yan Valery provided great width in the team, and it allowed Slattery and DKD to impact the game centrally, often taking the ball on the half-turn and running at the defence.

That flexibility in the formation will allow Challinor to line up with either four at the back or five at the back, depending on the tactical ask on the team in a certain game.

4. Some Fight from Sheffield Wednesday Players

For the first time in a long time, we saw actual fight from the players, something Challinor, who has managed through non-league to League One, will likely demand.

In the first half, a Blackpool player left an arm in as Ashley Maynard-Brewer jumped for the ball. That led to captain Liam Palmer getting in the face of the opposition man, and other players joining in.

In the second half, Barry Bannan was involved in a verbal altercation with Ian Evatt, the Blackpool manager, before one of Evatt’s players took a dislike to Bannan’s action, causing another tussle between the two sides.

While not everyone wants to see that kind of thing on the pitch, it shows some fight from the players, something they will need if they want to get out of League One.

It also got the crowd going as well. Things like that usually get the fans up on their feet and singing, something that’s been missing from Hillsborough in spells of late.