Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-0 away at Coventry City in the Championship this afternoon.
Sheffield Wednesday headed to Coventry City today for one of two away games to conclude 2023.
And what promised to be a tough game proved to be a tough game; Danny Rohl‘s side conceded after 20 minutes and the scoreline stayed unchanged until late on, with the Sky Blues doubling their lead in the 89th minute.
Tatsuhiro Sakamoto scored both goals today in what was a relatively routine win for Coventry.
Wednesday though had their share of possession (42%, as per Sofascore) and recorded more shots than the home side (10 compared to Coventry’s 9), but it’s once again a case of not taking their chances and not creating enough obvious and clear-cut chances.
QPR lost away at Millwall earlier today whilst Huddersfield Town beat Blackburn Rovers to leave Wednesday now eight points behind Stoke City in 21st.
Here are three things we learned about the Owls after today’s defeat…
Attacking department desperately lacks in quality
Once again, Rohl was left with Ashley Fletcher to bring off the bench.
The Watford loan man has barely had an impact since arriving at Sheffield Wednesday in the summer, with all the pressure still on teen star Bailey Cadamarteri who risks quickly becoming fatigued with the amount of football he’s playing at such a young age.
Josh Windass and Michael Smith both missed out due to injury once again.
Danny Rohl keeping a close eye on youngsters
Joe Phuthi was named on the bench once again today, and Rohl brought him off the bench for his debut with five minutes of the game to play today.
His steady emergence will give Rohl another useful and exciting option in attack, though there was another youth player on the bench for Sheffield Wednesday today in Gui Siqueira.
The Brazilian full-back joined in the summer and could be the next to make his debut.
Tyreeq Bakinson back from the dark
Forgotten man Tyreeq Bakinson made his first appearance under Rohl today.
He came off the bench and played 15 minutes of the game, having been an unused substitute in the previous three outings.
The 25-year-old midfielder had previously been left out of matchday squads up until being named on the bench away at Norwich City earlier in the month.
And today’s cameo suggests that he might yet have a future at Sheffield Wednesday.
Who do Sheffield Wednesday have next?
Sheffield Wednesday finish their 2023 with a trip to Preston North End on Friday night.
The Lilywhites go into this one on the back of an impressive 2-1 win over Wednesday’s Yorkshire rivals Leeds United earlier today, with Ryan Lowe’s side now sitting in…
Last time Preston and Wednesday met at Deepdale was during the 2020/21 Championship campaign with Wednesday losing 1-0 that day, and Windass seeing red.
Rohl has now seen his side suffer back-to-back defeats after an impressive upturn in form, but there remains plenty of positives and plenty of hope for the second half of the campaign.
Defeats are inevitable for a team in Wednesday’s position. But with January just around the corner now, Rohl and his staff will be hoping to make the necessary changes to the playing staff, and get back to winning ways in the Championship.
Friday’s game kicks off at 7:45pm.