Greg Leigh gave United the lead, before Josh Windass equalised in what was an encouraging first half from the U’s.
However, Jamal Lowe took advantage of a ricochet four minutes into the second period, with Djeidi Gassama’s sweet effort from outside the box effectively killing the game just after the hour mark.
We looked at the key talking points from the Owls clash.
A tale of two halves
After the timid performance in the midweek defeat at Queens Park Rangers, it was imperative that United started strongly against the Owls.
They did just that in what was an entertaining first half.
Dane Scarlett had a couple of sniffs of goal prior to Leigh prodding the U’s in front.
An Idris El Mizouni volley from the edge of the area forced James Beadle into a good save, while Scarlett had another sight of goal before the Owls equalised.
There continued to be opportunities at both ends, including for Owen Dale, who was denied at the near post by a sprawling Beadle.
But once Lowe put the Owls ahead, the bounce that United displayed in the first half quickly vanished.
Gassama added the Owls third, and from then on, it never truly looked like the U’s would mount a comeback.
Dale makes impression down the left
Although he was guilty of spurning two good opportunities, Dale caught the eye on the left wing.
He showed a willingness to get on the ball and looked to make things happen in the final third for United.
His game wasn’t one-dimensional either, as he would both hug the touchline or roll inside, while he also switched up play by pinging a few great passes out to Tyler Goodrham.
It was only his third league start of the season, and Dale arguably grasped his chance.
End product in the final third has to come though, but hopefully that is something which will arrive with increased minutes.
Deep midfield role
Cameron Brannagan has dropped back into the holding midfield role for the last two games, and there’s a debate to be had about whether that is the best position for him.
He performed admirably there at the back end of last season as the U’s won promotion, but either Josh McEachran or Will Vaulks have taken the role this season.
Brannagan is all-action and can hurt teams in the final third, although the deep midfield position doesn’t nullify that.
He still clipped in the ball for the opener and got Dale in on goal with an excellent crossfield pass.
The question is whether to free Brannagan up more by reinstating Vaulks or McEachran, or even bringing in a holding midfielder next month to provide an alternative there.