Danny Rohl was animated as ever on the sidelines against Preston North End. But one Sheffield Wednesday player left him quite stunned in the first half of Saturday’s game.
Sheffield Wednesday started poorly against Preston. It’s becoming a recurring theme for the Owls where they start slow in games and again they were punished.
Emil Riis put Preston in front and Wednesday had no reply in what was a dire first half. Danny Rohl made three changes at the break and the second half was better, albeit still frustrating from a Wednesday viewpoint.
Sheffield Wednesday went 73 games without a penalty but they’ve now had two in their last three games. Josh Windass though was unable to score this time round.
Michal Smith popped up with a desperate equaliser after some good work from substitutes Svante Ingelsson and Anthony Musaba, with Wednesday settling for a point, and probably deserving of a point in the end.
Marvin Johnson leaves Danny Rohl fuming during Sheffield Wednesday vs Preston
One first half moment stuck out in particular, and really summed up the players’ efforts in that first 45.
Liam Palmer, who stepped into midfield with Barry Bannan serving a one-game suspension, played a stray pass out to the left that had Marvin Johnson running towards the sideline.
It looked as though he was going to keep the ball in play but the 33-year-old just appeared to slow down, letting the ball roll out for a Preston throw right in front of Rohl.
Rohl, as were many of the fans in the stadium, looked dumbstruck. He stood still with his arms slightly out, looking blankly at Johnson as he sheepishly got back into position.
Marvin Johnson’s stats for Sheffield Wednesday vs Preston
Johnson made just three defensive actions on the day, compared to the likes of Max Lowe who made seven, with all three of Johnson’s being clearances.
But the flying wing-back did record more touches of anyone in the game, making 72 of them, coming in fifth for passes on the Sheffield Wednesday team with only 32 and a pass rate of 68%.
Johnson also attempted the most crosses of anyone on the pitch with 10 to his name, though only two of them met an Owls teammate.