Sheffield Wednesday began their EFL League One journey with a goalless draw with Charlton Athletic at The Valley.

On an opening day full of goals in England's third tier, this affair was the only one that ended in a stalemate.

Both Wednesday and Charlton ebbed and flowed with possession throughout the evening, but neither side were able to conjure up the finish needed to open their season with a victory.

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Story of the match

The opening 10 minutes of the game were evenly contested, as both sides looked to lure the other out.

Wednesday unfortunately lost Callum Paterson on the 10th-minute mark with a head injury after the forward collided with Jayden Stockley, which handed Florian Kamberi a debut from the bench.

The eight minutes of stoppage seemed to knock the game’s early rhythm.

With 20 minutes played, Barry Bannan attempted to create something from deep; however, his ball through to Kamberi was quickly claimed by 'keeper, Craig MacGillivray.

The first chance of the half fell to the home side on 25 minutes, as an unmarked Stockley headed across the face of goal and wide from a deep free-kick.

The away side enjoyed a spell of dominance in the fixture after that opportunity, but they themselves failed to create anything clear cut.

After the half-hour point, Jack Hunt sent a cross from deep towards the head of Kamberi - placed six yards from goal and at the back post - but Ryan Inniss managed to steer the ball behind, with Sam Hutchinson glancing wide from the following corner.

As the half came to a close, Albie Morgan went near to an opener, as he curled wide from a set-piece on the edge.

Then, in first-half stoppage time, Stockley’s knockdown from a high ball almost fell to Conor Washington, but the forward just couldn’t make the required contact on the ball, allowing Bailey Peacock-Farrell to block the ball away from the target.

Charlton started the second period the better of the two, with target man Stockley glancing wide from Adam Matthews’ delivery from the right-hand channel inside the first two minutes of the restart.

Moments later, a clearance from a corner fell to Diallang Jaiyesimi on the edge, but his scuffed half-volley left Peacock-Farrell untroubled in the Owls' goal.

Morgan then had a glorious opportunity to put his side ahead on 57 minutes. Former Owl Sean Clare beat the offside trap to latch onto a slipped ball through. The midfielder then pulled the ball back to the edge of the area, where Morgan got his body positioning all wrong, as he fired his snapshot high and wide of the target.

The introduction of Marvin Johnson on the hour seemed to spur the Owls back into the game.

Left-back Liam Palmer went close on 68 minutes, taking the ball off the toes of Jaden Brown before seeing a deflected drive go inches wide of the goalkeeper’s right-hand top corner.

Charlton replied with a chance of their own, as Jaiyesimi managed to jink himself a yard of space in the area but the winger snatched at the effort, sending the ball over the bar.

On 82 minutes, the Addicks countered a Wednesday attack, charging forward with Stockley before the forward gave the ball to the left, where Washington saw his drilled cross cleared by Hutchinson. The ball fell to Morgan on the edge, who took a touch before rifling the ball wide of the upright.

With four minutes remaining, Bannan almost made MacGillivray pay for an error, as the midfielder took the goalkeeper’s miss-kick under his control before putting it through the legs of the defender. But he saw his right-footed effort roll agonisingly wide of the far post.

Takeaways

Wednesday need time to gel

With 12 players arriving during the summer, it was clear that Darren Moore’s side need several games to become the cohesive unit needed to be able to challenge in League One.

There were spells in the league opener to suggest that the Owls looked sharp and ready, however, the combination play at times seemed leggy, with several misplaced passes being made.

Moore welcomes his former club Doncaster Rovers to Hillsborough Stadium next Saturday, where he will be hoping things click in time for his side to attempt to claim their first win of the season.

Man of the match

Jayden Stockley

Stockley was not only a menace for the Owls’ backline, but a nuisance in his own area, helping to defend set-pieces for his side.

After scoring eight goals in 22 appearances on loan last season, the forward has signed permanently from Preston North End in the summer as Nigel Adkins’ side look to mount a promotion push.

The 27-year-old made one key pass and won 10 of his aerial duels, as the forward battled all afternoon.