McGUINNESS IS GOOD FOR YOU
Darren toasts goal hero as Owls enjoy three points
SHEFF WED 1 SHREWSBURY 0
DARREN MOORE hailed Mark McGuinness’ effort at both ends of the pitch that kept the Owls’ promotion push on track.
The on-loan Cardiff defender headed home the only goal as Wednesday took advantage of Plymouth’s slip to move to within three points of the top of League One. Boss Moore said: “I’m pleased for Macca because he was outstanding.
“He has been excellent for us. We were really pleased to get him in. At the time we got him in I was really surprised that he was available. “He was poised to go to another club and what the fans are seeing is a solid individual that is technically good on the ball, but when it comes to defending, he is equally as strong. The icing on the cake for him was scoring.”
BARRY BANNAN has shot down talk that Sheffield Wednesday are over-reliant on him.
Bannan shone again in Wednesday’s gritty win over Shrewsbury to narrow the gap on League One leaders Plymouth to three points and he delivered the corner for Mark McGuinness’ winner.
The assist was Bannan’s sixth of the season on top of his four strikes and he has been involved in more goals than any of his team-mates.
But the Scottish playmaker, who is close to triggering a one-year contract extension to June 2024, insists the Owls have several other quality players.
He said: “It’s easy for other teams to look at us and think, ‘Stop Barry and you stop Sheffield Wednesday.’ That’s what a lot of other teams say.
“But we’ve got loads of good players here who can score goals and make things happen.
“I think that idea is just from the outside, but inside the club here, we know it’s not an over-reliance on me – we’ve got top quality all over the pitch. If teams try to stop me, I just try to take them to places where my team-mates can do damage.
“It’s not just about Barry Bannan at Sheffield Wednesday, we’ve got top players in that changing room all over.” Bannan, 32, pulled the strings for the Owls at Hillsborough before showing his battling qualities by helping out defensively when Shrewsbury mounted a stirring fightback in the final half hour. Boss Darren Moore is delighted to have him fuelling their promotion push and says he is appreciated by his team-mates and the fans.
“All credit to him, he’s had a great afternoon’s work and contributed to three massive points for us,” said Moore.
Shrewsbury’s winless run is now six games and boss Steve Cotterill felt his side might have had a penalty when Luke Leahy went down in the box.
“There’s enough of their fans to make some noise and if that collision on Luke Leahy had been one of their lads down there, I think they would have got a penalty, but I didn’t see us getting one I’m afraid,” he said.
McGuinness’ goal was his first for the club since he joined on loan from Cardiff in the summer.