Fighting mentality should see Owls pull clear of any trouble
WEST BROMWICH Albion and Queens Park Rangers 3- 0, Blackburn Rovers and Brentford 5- 0 – Sheffield Wednesday collapses were a feature of the first half of 2020.
Wednesday night at Hillsborough could easily have been another. Ivan Toney went into the game with five goals in three matches and was on a hat- trick within half an hour. With his movement, and the passing of Mathias Jensen and Saman Ghoddos, an under- protected back three looked vulnerable whenever Brentford ran at them.
Callum Paterson’s first Owls goal in between Toney’s took another 5- 0 off the table, but 5- 1 could not be ruled out.
This Owls team has far more steel about it, however.
“This is a different season, a
different group, a different mentality, a fresh start,” said Garry Monk. “We’re trying to work in a different way, with a different spirit about us.
“This season there’s not been a single game where we’ve given up. You can see we’re fighting.”
“Only” losing 2- 1 can hardly be cause for celebration – not when you start a season on minus 12 points – but the efforts of Monk’s side were a refreshing contrast to the second half of last season.
The Owls cannot be too picky about how they stay in the Championship, they just have to and Monk admitted his side lacked the quality – of mind as much as feet – at times to take advantage of their more solid foundations .
But after the second half of last season when talented players with contracts running down appeared to lack the stomach for the fight, this is a better way around.
“We can see what we need to work on, it’s just the other part of it,” added Monk. “In the second half we were just lacking a little bit of composure but that’s part of a football season that every team will have those games, those moments in games but overall they’re doing very well.”