Ten-man Wednesday fight for point on coach’s debut
Sheffield Wednesday’s new manager, Jos Luhukay, survived his baptism of fire in his first match as his men held on for a gutsy draw, despite a red card for captain Glenn Loovens.
Luhukay had stepped into the heat of a Sheffield derby, in front of 31,000 fans by matching bitter rivals United’s 3-5-2 formation. The brave tactical ploy of the Dutchman worked, and his injury-hit squad refused to wilt late on in front of a baying Bramall Lane.
Loovens was sent off in the 64th minute, when he picked up his second booking for a late challenge on Clayton Donaldson. As he came off, a bottle appeared to be thrown at him, which was picked up by the fourth official.
Loovens’s challenge was a foul but whether it was a second yellow or not was debatable. Regardless, it was foolish to attempt the tackle on a night that required cool heads.
Former VFB Stuttgart manager Luhukay said he would be having words with his countryman about the tackle – having already warned the player at half-time.
“I said to Glenn to have patience, to have timing with one-on-ones. Glenn was too fast to go into the challenge. He knows that. He is very experienced and a very good captain. But I must speak to Glenn about why he did that. What I saw from the team after that gave me hope though.”
Fighting talk had not been lacking from Luhukay’s counterpart, Chris Wilder, before this game. He spoke like the boyhood Sheffield United fan that he is.
Afterwards, he delivered a veiled dig at the Wednesday players for their effort – in comparison to the way they had been playing over the course of this season. “They ran around and competed,” said Wilder. “I imagine Carlos [Carvahal, sacked by Wednesday last month] might be a little disappointed.”
Wilder’s mood would not have been helped by the fact David Coote was referee here. The manager had been enraged when John Fleck had been sent off by the official against Bristol City last month.
Wednesday were on the receiving end this time with the Loovens dismissal – but the home side could also argue that Ross Wallace should then have been sent off in the 74th minute for a challenge on Fleck, for which the Scottish midfielder was booked. Wilder, indeed, argued that. “I can’t see why he’s not given that,” he said.
Even before the tackles started flying, this atmosphere had been simmering. Many of the streets outside the ground had been buzzing with anticipation before the game and the police – heavily increased in numbers – were called into action to take care of some disorder.
Inside the stadium, this certainly felt like the first visit of Wednesday on to enemy territory since October 2011 as noise levels were cranked up a notch.
The early initiative was taken by United but Luhukay’s men slowly took the sting out of the home side. With no shots on target and no keeper forced into significant action, it had been a case of job done by the away side in the first half.
Wednesday’s No 1, Joe Wildsmith, came to the rescue early in the second half though, with an acrobatic save from Donaldson’s flick. Sheffield-born Wildsmith is a lifelong Wednesday fan – and came up through their youth ranks then broke into the first team – so that particular moment would have felt sweet for him.
The visitors then had a couple of chances of their own before Loovens’s dismissal put them under pressure, as Luhukay had to rip up his game plan and switch to four at the back. United did not do enough to challenge them, although they thrust forward in the closing stages.
Wednesday could have nicked it, with an Adam Reach strike being saved, meaning they escaped rival turf with a well-deserved result.
Sheffield United (3-5-2): Moore; Baldock, Stearman, O’connell; Basham, Lundstram, Duffy, Fleck, Stevens; Clarke, Donaldson (Wilson 66). Subs Sharp, Wright, Leonard, Evans, Lafferty.
Sheffield Wednesday (3-5-2): Wildsmith; Loovens, Venancio, Pudil; Palmer, Wallace (Clare 90), Jones, Reach, Fox; Rhodes (Boyd 70), Joao (Nuhiu 82). Subs Dawson, Butterfield, Matias, Thorniley. Booked Loovens, Venancio, Wallace, Nuhiu. Sent off Loovens.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).