A stunner from Dennis Adeniran and a Sylla Sow volley was enough to give Sheffield Wednesday a 2-0 win over Sunderland in the Carabao Cup.
The win ensures that The Owls will be facing Rochdale in the second round of the competition, which they achieved by showing their worth against the side that knocked them out of the League One playoff semi finals last term.
Here are the four takeaways from the match:
Wednesday can compete with Championship sides
The hosts did more than just compete with Sunderland, who were promoted back to the second tier last campaign.
Wednesday dominated possession, and whilst the match did not have many big chances, Darren Moore's side took full advantage of the openings they fashioned.
Adeniran's wonderful goal from range was a rocket into the top left hand corner, and the midfielder capitalised on an error from Sunderland goalkeeper Alex Bass to set up Sow for the second.
Even though it has been a frustrating time for the South Yorkshire side, who failed to return to the Championship last term, they will know with performances like that they will have every chance of being promoted this season.
The Owls have good squad depth
Wednesday made several changes to the side that beat MK Dons 0-1 on Saturday, but they still were able to outclass a side in a division above them.
Some were critical of the players Moore chose to field at times last season, and perhaps having so many options could prove to be overwhelming, but what the former West Brom boss will know is that he has plenty of top quality options to choose from.
Considering that Adeniran had not made an appearance before starting on the night, he was superb for The Owls and many will likely give his manager a selection headache with their performances against the Black Cats.
It was clear that Wednesday did not field their main side for the game, as Moore did not give any game time to Michael Smith or Barry Bannan, whilst Michael Ihiekwe came on as a substitute.
It was a very positive night overall for Wednesday, who will hope that they can go on a good cup run this season.
Sunderland can be beaten
An 18 match unbeaten streak came to an end for Alex Neil and his side at Hillsborough, and the Black Cats did not play like a side that had previously been impossible to beat on the night.
The record, which began towards the end of last season and continued at the start of the current campaign, was torn to shreds by Wednesday who punished several poor mistakes from Sunderland.
The visitors were careless in possession at times, with Bass' mistake leading directly to the second goal which effectively killed the game off.
They were also completely overrun in the midfield and struggled to create any meaningful chances of their own in the match.
The only bright spark for Sunderland on the day was Jack Diamond, who made a few good runs down the wing, drawing fouls and shot narrowly wide from a tight angle in the first half.
Sunderland struggled without their first team
Sunderland made 11 changes to the side that won 2-3 against Bristol City at the weekend, and it showed in their performance.
There was a real lack of cohesion in each section of the team, especially when trying to play out from the back, which often just ended up with the ball being won back by the hosts in the middle of the park.
In contrast to their opponents, who showed the strength in depth that they possess in the Carabao Cup first round match, Neil's side looked lost without the familiar faces who had guided them to the impressive unbeaten run in the first place.
Neil will likely see the match as a bad day at the office, and will hope that his side can put the result behind them for when they face QPR this weekend.