Keiren Westwood had a stormer last night and is off to Wembley.
The Ireland goalkeeper played above, beyond and another giant stride beyond that as The Owls reached the Championship Playoff final.
Wednesday sat on a two-goal lead from their first leg for all of 18 minutes. Once beaten by Brighton’s Lewis Dunk, however, Westwood was unbeatable. All told, he made nine saves whilst commanding his box and setting his defence at ease throughout.
All game, Westwood wore a t-shirt that paid tribute to Caroline ‘Carrie’ Everest, an 18-year-old Wednesday supporter who tragically passed away in November 2015.
During the exultant, post-match celebrations, Westwood’s goalkeeper jersey was long gone and the black t-shirt read ‘R.I.P Carrie’.
The teenager was a massive Owls fan and regular attended games at Hillsborough to cheer on her heroes. Everest was only laid to rest in January after a prolonged inquest into her death.
Big love to K.Westwood. Carrie would have been over the moon❤️ Rip my princess?xxx #swfc pic.twitter.com/2uMnyIbS6z
— Xander (@HeyItsXander_x) May 17, 2016
Earlier in the season, Wednesday fans paid tribute to Everest on the 18th minute [marking her age] during a league tie.
It is great to see a professional footballer, heading into one of the biggest games of his life, taking the time and making the effort for a fan that loved Wednesday with all her heart.
Westwood will hope for a Premier League return [he played there with Sunderland] before securing his place in Martin O’Neill’s Euro 2016 squad.
