Thunderbolt from the blue spares sloppy Owls
STILL no first league victory of the season for Sheffield Wednesday but, at least, grounds for optimism going into one of the Championship’s toughest away assignments this weekend.
A stunning strike from David Jones together with a stirring finale that saw the Sunderland goal besieged by a tide of blue and white ensured a deserved ovation for Carlos Carvalhal’s men at the final whistle.
Just 20 or so minutes earlier, such a reaction had seemed distinctly unlikely. Wednesday had been as bad as it gets, sloppy in possession and totally lacking in both cohesion and ideas. Had Simon Grayson’s men been as clinical up front as they had been impressive elsewhere when on top then Jones’ 70th-minute equaliser, as spectacular as it was, would have been merely a footnote.
Instead, once Jones had opened his Owls’ scoring account from 30 yards, the hosts rediscovered the attacking swagger that had so thrilled Hillsborough during Carvalhal’s first season in England.
Gary Hooper crashed a shot against the crossbar, just after both Tom Lees and Jordan Rhodes headed wide from close range. George Honeyman also had to clear off his own line as Wednesday poured forward. That the winner didn’t arrive was a disappointment to the home fans in the 27,631 crowd.
But, ahead of taking on a Fulham side still unbeaten in the Championship this Saturday, there is at least something to build on for Carvalhal.
The late attacking flurry also proved there can be life after Fernando Forestieri, the Argentinian again left out following last week’s training ground bust-up with Sam Winnall to fuel further speculation about his future.
Carvalhal was also boosted by the belated arrival of defensive reinforcements, Vitoria Setubal defender Frederico Venancio having joined on loan for the rest of the season.
As for Grayson, he will have surely been satisfied with his side’s efforts on a night when, until that late onslaught, Lee Cattermole and Didier Ndong had run the midfield. Their industry and ability to pick a pass had threatened to make it a happy return to Yorkshire for a manager who, when at Leeds United just up the M1, became renowned for his superstitious side.
He would visit the same car wash en route to Elland Road if on a good run and fill in the teamsheet with the same pen. Once, Grayson could even be seen sweltering on the touchline in early May after refusing to discard a padded training coat made for winter. No doubt, new rituals have since taken hold of Grayson but, judging by the manner in which his side started last night’s encounter, they are clearly doing the trick.
Sunderland were ahead inside four minutes, Honeyman doing the honours with a cool finish after Wednesday had been carved open. Jack Hunt being off the pitch receiving treatment offered a degree of mitigation but this didn’t stretch to Keiren Westwood. For no fathomable reason, the Owls goalkeeper’s response to Aiden McGeady being played clear down the left was to race out of his goal and towards the former Owls man.
It was a nonsensical decision, as McGeady underlined by simply chipping the ball to the unmarked Honeyman to score.
Further embarrassment almost followed three minutes later when Westwood was guilty of making the same mistake, his blushes spared this time by Brendan Galloway overhitting the cross. Lewis Grabban should have done better with a header from a Lee Cattermole free-kick after Westwood had again gone walkabout.
Wednesday were sloppy in possession and threatened only in fits and starts. Winnall did bring a smart save from Jason Steele but, otherwise, the Black Cats defence did an excellent job.
It was a similar story in the opening stages of the second half, Steele’s only slightly anxious moment being a looping header from Gary Hooper that he touched over the crossbar just after the hour.
By then, the visitors really should have killed off the game. First, Grabban’s cross had picked out Vaughan only for the former Huddersfield Town striker to fail to make any contact as Westwood charged from his line. Then, after McGeady’s shot had been charged down, Vaughan fired wide.
Sunderland were made to pay for this profligacy when Jones, collecting a miscued Lamine Kone clearance, thundered an unstoppable 30-yard shot beyond Steele and into the net.
It was enough to trigger not only a late onslaught on the visitors’ goal but also a sense of belief going into Saturday’s trip to Craven Cottage.
Wednesday were sloppy in possession and lacking in cohesion and ideas. Richard Sutcliffe’s assessment on the Owls’ performance for the first 70 minutes.