ON a freezing cold morning, after my cats had refused to go out and suitably dressed for a polar expedition, we left for Sheffield Wednesday to the usual domestic chorus of “you must be mad”!

We ventured over the snowy, but passable, Woodhead Pass and were rewarded with a superb lunch in one of our favourite watering holes – the Waggon and Horses at Langsett.

Our pre-match football focus was on next week’s cup tie at Anfield.

We just hoped that the Wanderers weren’t thinking the same against an improved Sheffield Wednesday and the verdict was that a draw would be a good result.

We need not have worried as Liam Feeney put us one up before I had finished my first Uncle Joe’s Mint Ball and Darren Pratley doubled the lead as the blizzards set in.

We were flying until Matt Mills gave away a penalty to bring Wednesday back in the game.

In the second half we weathered the storm in more ways than one and then pushed up to try and seal the match with Craig Davies missing a sitter.

Sam Hutchinson then came on for Wednesday and got himself two yellow cards and an early bath within 15 minutes.

In fairness, the cards looked a little harsh but referee Graham Scott did not allow for the conditions all afternoon.

We held our breath in the final minutes as Wednesday had a good goal disallowed for offside but in the end this was a hard-fought victory.

Our defence was brilliant; our midfield superb.

Man-of-the-match Darren Pratley is no longer an oxymoron!

The excitement didn’t end there, either, as we faced an even snowier drive back home.

Well done to the Sheffield Wednesday Supporters' Society for their lovely tribute to our Nat Lofthouse in the programme and to the stewards who directed the standing fans to the back, giving us all a decent view of the match.