Derby fuel Owls woes
DERBY bounced back from their Aston Villa horror show to pile the pressure on Owls’ boss Jos Luhukay.
It’s now just one point from six games for flagging Wednesday who have not won on home soil since August.
Despite Adam Reach giving them a 12th-minute lead, there was no way back for the Yorkshire club after Liverpool loanee Harry Wilson and Jack Marriott struck in the space of six first half minutes.
It was another cracker from muchadmired Welsh international Wilson while Marriott has now scored seven goals in his last 11 games.
For Frank Lampard, it was the perfect response after that shock Aston Villa defeat a fortnight ago.
Lampard said: “We were playing very well before Villa which was an off-day and we needed a reaction. Now we’re looking to go on another run.
“It was not beautiful from us. We started very slowly and were not at our best.
“But it’s important to find a way to win and we did so with two quality goals.”
Like Wilson, Reach has notched up quite a collection of spectacular strikes lately.
His sixth of the season may not win any awards but it was still superbly taken, guiding the ball into the far corner of the net from a tight angle after being set up by Barry Bannan.
Then that quickfire double turned the game on its head.
In the 29th minute, Marriott fed Wilson who instinctively lashed an unstoppable left foot volley past Wednesday keeper Cameron Dawson with the visitors’ first effort of the afternoon. It sparked Lampard’s men into life and Marriott nipped in between the Owls two centre halves to run onto Florian Jozefzoon’s pass and finish smartly.
He could have had another in first half injurytime with his volley skimming the bar.
Wednesday had chances to equalise in the second half.
Fernando Forestieri missed a sitter in the 58th minute and 10 minutes later Fox headed against an upright from point-blank range.
Then Derby almost stretched their lead but Dawson clawed away a Tom Huddlestone piledriver.
Luhukay (above) said: “It is painful but the team gave everything until the last minute. It is important we cut out the individual mistakes.”