Sheffield Wednesday Hold Hull City to Dramatic 2-2 Boxing Day Draw

Historic Boxing Day Clash at Hillsborough

Sheffield Wednesday fought back to secure a 2-2 draw with Hull City on Boxing Day, marking their first home Boxing Day fixture in nearly a decade. The entertaining encounter at Hillsborough saw both teams battle through an action-packed afternoon, with high-flying Hull missing the chance to go third in the Sky Bet Championship after twice coming from behind to salvage the draw against rock-bottom Sheffield Wednesday.

Match Action and Key Moments

The Owls started brightly, with goalkeeper Pierce Charles’ long pass breaching the Tigers’ backline and Swedish midfielder Ingelsson racing clear to dispatch only his second Wednesday goal beyond Ivor Pandur in the 21st minute. Hull levelled eight minutes before half-time when Algerian winger Belloumi collected an incisive pass from Crooks and stepped inside Cooper to fire his first goal since September 2024 into the bottom right corner.

The second half brought more drama as Barry Bannan’s diagonal ball into the box picked out the unmarked Cadamarteri, who chested down before lifting the ball over Pandur to score for the first time since August on the hour mark. However, Hull equalised for a second time just five minutes later when Crooks’ attempted pass inside the 18-yard box broke loose for him to sidefoot beyond Charles.

Takeover News Brings Hope

Off the pitch, there was significant news for Sheffield Wednesday supporters. Wednesday took a step closer to a takeover on Christmas Eve when a consortium led by James Bord was named as the preferred bidder by administrators. The preferred bidder is a consortium led by James Bord, a British entrepreneur who is also the co-owner of Scottish side Dunfermline Athletic and made a large part of his money through his AI company Short Circuit Science.

Significance for Both Clubs

Hull is currently on the 4 place in the Championship table, making the dropped points particularly frustrating for their promotion ambitions. Meanwhile, Sheffield Wednesday remain in a precarious position at the foot of the table, battling against relegation. Hull substitute Kyle Joseph went close to a winner in the first of eight minutes of added time but the Owls held on to register only a 10th point of a challenging campaign.

The draw demonstrates Wednesday’s fighting spirit despite their difficult circumstances, whilst Hull City will rue missed opportunities to climb into the automatic promotion places. For Sheffield Wednesday fans, the combination of a spirited performance and positive takeover developments offers a glimmer of hope during an otherwise challenging season.