Sheffield Wednesday's Pierce Charles shows support for Southampton player from Sheffield United away end | OneFootball

Owls keeper Pierce Charles watched Southampton's victory at Bramall Lane in the away end

Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles was among those in the Southampton away end as the South Coast side earned a vital success against the shot-stopper's bitter rivals, Sheffield United on Tuesday night.

Among those in the Saints' lineup was the Owls keeper's older brother and former teammate, Shea Charles, who has become a mainstay in Will Still's side throughout the opening weeks of the season despite the post-relegation hangover suffered by the South Coast side.

It was a first Championship win since the opening day of the campaign for Still's men, as Ross Stewart's seven-minute double early in the second half completed a swift turnaround at Bramall Lane after Tyrese Campbell's initial opener for Chris Wilder's men was followed by Adam Armstrong's penalty miss.

A fiesty encounter in this part of the Steel City was also summed up by two incidents at half-time and with virtually the last kick of the game too, with Wilder seeing red at the break after launching a ball into the crowd after being left frustrated by the awarding of the aforementioned spot-kick as Michael Cooper was adjudged to have brought down Stewart by referee, Adam Herczeg.

This was followed up by the ruling out of Sydie Peck's last-gasp equaliser as Blades substitute Tom Cannon was said to have fouled the experienced Alex McCarthy as Gus Hamer's initial corner evaded a plethora of players from both sides as it looped towards the midfielder who headed home from yards out.

Yet, despite the controversial running of Pierce Charles' current club under the ownership of Dejphon Chansiri, the Northern Ireland international was quick to heap praise on his brother's performance in the middle of the park and highlight where his family's allegiances truly lie in Sheffield.

Pierce Charles issues Sheffield Wednesday, Sheffield United dig as Southampton win at Bramall Lane

Under normal circumstances, the 20-year-old, who has been linked with a move away from S6, would have been keeping goal for Henrik Pedersen's side at Birmingham City were it not for a shoulder injury sustained in August.

Meanwhile, Shea, his year-older brother, has started in all but one of Southampton's 11 competitive outings under Still so far, and recently scored his first goal for the South Coast side in the 2-1 defeat to Liverpool in the EFL Cup third round at Anfield.

The man who was signed for £10.5m from Manchester City in 2023, impressed during the club's promotion-winning campaign under Russell Martin two seasons ago, and it is clear that his overall development was further enhanced by 43 league appearances on loan with Wednesday last term, in which he scored once and posted five assists alongside the likes of Barry Bannan in the middle of the park.

Despite being booked a minute into the second period, the combative midfielder remained his largely consistent self in the Saints' engine room, winning the most duels in the encounter (10) whilst also being fouled the most times across the 90 minutes (6).

Taking to his Instagram story post-match, Pierce was quick to praise his brother's role in the victory, as well as once again outlining his current allegiances.

"@sheacharles another cruising," he said, followed by an Owl emoji - a subtle dig at his cross-city rivals who were left furious about how the game panned out.

Pierce Charles will hope Sheffield Wednesday continue to outperform Sheffield United

There is no sugarcoating how bad the start to the campaign has been for both Sheffield clubs in varying ways, with United still bottom on three points after eight games played, whilst Wednesday's off-pitch issues continue to be highlighted.

Charles was among the squad of players who, once again, were informed that their wages for the month of September wouldn't be paid on time, with reports suggesting that some will refuse to train in the lead-up to Saturday's game with Coventry City at Hillsborough as a result.

The Owls' immediate future remains in serious jeopardy due to Chansiri's off-field antics, leaving Pedersen with a threadbare squad amid transfer and registration embargoes and the looming threat of administration, which would only deepen worries of relegation to League One.

Regardless, his side are now unbeaten in three games, having won against Portsmouth and followed it up with credible draws against QPR and Birmingham, and they still sit five points in front of the Blades, which gives those associated with the Owls something to smile about, even in the bleakest of predicaments.