Connor to prove Wick still burning
SHEFFIELD Wednesday boss Garry Monk refused to give up on the top six while looking at the bigger picture of a rebuilding job at Hillsborough.
The Owls remain in mid-table after the 1-1 draw with struggling Barnsley at Oakwell with a point doing little for either side.
Josh Windass put the visitors ahead on his debut following his loan move from Wigan only for the
Reds to hit back with Cauley Woodrow taking advantage of a dreadful mistake by keeper Cameron Dawson.
Wednesday’s last four fixtures have brought two defeats and two draws and, while a play-off push is fading, Monk reiterated the long-term job that is needed at Hillsborough.
He said: “I’ve said all along this is a big job. There are a lot of things that need to be corrected and moved forward.
“I get the frustration, I understand it. Everyone is frustrated, the players are frustrated.
“I also understand we live in a world where everything has to be now and instant.
“We are not going to give up, we’re going to stick together. You’ve seen the league, week in week out, there is no one running away with anything. “Every team is going through those inconsistencies, we’ve got to make sure we have no regrets at the end and we have given our all.”
Monk’s opposite number Gerhard Struber cut a frustrated figure, feeling that his side should have claimed all three points with the Reds holding on to their Championship status by their
OWLS THAT: Josh Windass is happy after finding the net fingertips. He said: “The atmosphere was amazing, the mood was top and I think the engagement from my team and the energy from my team was very good.
“We created a high-intensity game especially in the second half. Every single player gave everything they can in this game.
“This was our aim – we will show the Barnsley fans a good game and performance and good work and I am happy with the performance but in our situation one point is not enough.”
Barnsley have had defensive frailties but there was a huge element of fortune to Wednesday’s goal.
Luke Thomas slid in only for Mads Andersen’s clearance to hit the midfielder and go through to Windass who fired home a low, hard shot.
Barnsley levelled eight minutes later with a farcical goal.
Dawson came out of his goal but rather than clear the ball he passed it to Woodrow who slotted home from 30 yards. Barnsley came close to going ahead when Jacob Brown charged through a couple of Wednesday challenges and unleashed a fierce shot but Dawson made amends for his earlier mistake, clearing with his feet for a corner.
Moments later Connor Wickham forged down the right, evading a flimsy Barnsley defence, only for his low centre to be cleared.
Although Barnsley had the better of the first half, Wednesday created the better of the second-half opportunities.
Fernando Forestieri came into it more in the second period after an anonymous first 45 minutes and he sent in a beautiful cross to Alessio Da Cruz who could only tamely put it wide. Neither side were able to find a clinical touch before the whistle.
ON-LOAN hitman Connor Wickham is looking to make up for lost time at Sheffield Wednesday.
Crystal Palace frontman Wickham snubbed other clubs to rejoin the promotion-chasing Owls on transfer deadline day.
And having been told his chances would be limited at Selhurst Park after a frank chat with boss Roy Hodgson, Wickham knew it was time to kick-start his stagnating career.
“I want to prove a few people wrong if I’m honest,” said Wickham, 26, who has been blighted by injuries throughout his career.
“It was a professional and decent conversation with Hodgson.
“He’s obviously brought in Cenk Tosun, Christian Benteke was coming back from injury and Jordan Ayew has played up front so it was a difficult situation if
I’m honest.
“They have a very talented squad, there’s no doubt about it.
“But I can use this spell here to get my career back on track.
“I said to my dad and my agent that we had to make a move happen as soon as I’d spoken to the manager.”
The Owls are currently without leading scorer Steven Fletcher, whose 12 goals have given the ambitious Yorkshire club hope of a return to the Premier League, where he played alongside Wickham for Sunderland.
And Wickham said: “I’ve known Fletch for a number of years.
“We’re good friends from our time at Sunderland and we’ve kept in touch.
“I don’t want to say I’m a direct replacement for Fletch but we have a great relationship on and off the pitch so hopefully if we can get on the pitch at the same time we can recreate the formula we had at Sunderland.”