Danny Rohl hailed the impact of Charlie McNeill after the summer signing scored twice to send Sheffield Wednesday to victory over their Yorkshire rivals Hull City in the Carabao Cup.
The 20-year-old former Manchester United youngster, who was picked up on a free transfer in the summer, struck after barely 30 seconds had elapsed at the MKM Stadium following a flowing move involving Pol Valentin and Michael Smith.
And his second goal, pouncing on a calamitous goalkeeping error by Anthony Racioppi on 10 minutes, proved to be the winner.
Hull had already equalised 90 seconds earlier when Marvin Melhem calmly slotted the ball around Pierce Charles in the Wednesday goal.
Rohl said: “I’ve seen a lot of good things from him.
“I saw his quality – his touches between the lines – and he did very well against the ball.
“He was clinical and it was fantastic to see, but it’s about working hard as we have a lot of young players at the club.”
The 2-1 win for Wednesday comes after they began the Championship season with a resounding 4-0 win over Plymouth.
Rohl added: “I’m very proud of my team with 11 changes. I have more and more options now and it is fantastic to see. It’s good to have the feeling that everybody is ready.
“We started really well – we immediately did what we wanted to do – but it’s just the start.”
Hull head coach Tim Walter was left to bemoan errors which cost his side, but also praised Racioppi for recovering from his early mistake.
Hull head to Plymouth in the league on Saturday still looking for their first win of the season and under their new German head coach.
Walter said: “How we conceded our goals was all about mistakes.
“But the improvement and progression from Saturday was much better.
“We pressed them down and tried to keep them away from the goal. I’m happy with the performance, but not the result as we want to win all the time.
“They showed conviction, mentality, confidence and courage – and that’s what I want to see.
“The way we drove forward was really good and the rest will come. If you want to play football and have a different philosophy, it takes time and more players.
“It’s a long season and we have enough time.”
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