Sheffield Wednesday earned a huge win away at Millwall in the Championship this afternoon, with some huge individual performances to match.
Sheffield Wednesday headed down to The Den in desperate need of a win.
And after an impressive first half display, inspired by some Anthony Musaba magic, the Owls left with all three points after a 2-0 win.
Ike Ugbo was on the scoresheet once again and so too was Musaba on his return to the XI; the Dutchman will rightly earn plaudits after an impressive display, but a few names at the back impressed today as well.
Di’Shon Bernard praised after ‘colossus’ performance vs Millwall
Sheffield Wednesday have now kept two clean sheets in their last three games, taking their away points tally for the season to 10.
At the back, Sheffield Wednesday were barely troubled today; James Beadle had very little to do in goal and that was thanks to some heroic performances in front of him.
The whole back-line impressed, though Di’Shon Bernard was certainly the standout. He was formidable at the back and was a defining factor in the eventual win for Wednesday.
The Jamaican international earned a 9/10 rating from The Star, with journalist Alex Miller adding:
“A rock at the back. Won headers, won duels, blocked one off the line to prevent [Duncan] Watmore. A colossus.”
As per Sofascore, Bernard won 5 out of 10 duels with 2 out of 3 of them being aerial duels, with 8 defensive actions (joint-most); 5 clearances, 2 interceptions, and 1 block, and 3 tackles to add to that.
Danny Rohl will be desperate to keep Bernard at Sheffield Wednesday
This week, it was revealed that Bernard is one of the out of contract players who Rohl is keen to keep at Hillsborough.
And it’s easy to see why after performances like today’s; he really put his body on the line for Sheffield Wednesday, throwing himself into tackles and aerial battles and coming out on top in most of them.
He’s a very mobile defender which makes it difficult for opposition strikers to get around him, but Bernard’s best attribute is simply his ability to defend and clear danger.
At 23 years old, he’s still quite a young player. If Bernard becomes a free agent in the summer he’ll no doubt have plenty of suitors in the Championship, and now it seems like Sheffield Wednesday certainly need to beat the drop to stand a chance of keeping Bernard at the club.
The gap to safety now though is just four points. Sheffield Wednesday are once again on the up and host Bristol City next weekend.