Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-1 at home to Coventry City this afternoon, and despite an exciting game at Hillsborough, it was the referee who was the main talking point.
Sheffield Wednesday hosted Coventry City this afternoon; the first of two consecutive home games the Owls have against the Sky Blues.
The tempo was set early on with both sides looking to get forward and cause the other problems.
But it was Mark Robins’ Coventry City who took the lead and eventually all the points; Ben Sheaf scored either side of half-time, before Josh Windass pulled one back for the Owls.
Several Sheffield Wednesday players impressed; James Beadle had a steady debut in goal and Di’Shon Bernard earned praise for a solid display in the middle of defence.
But it was referee Anthony Backhouse who proved to be the key talking point after the game.
Alan Biggs unimpressed with ’embarrassing’ Anthony Backhouse
Referee Backhouse dished out nine yellow cards today; four for Wednesday and five for Coventry.
Though it seemed like almost all of the yellow cards were harsh with Backhouse constantly stopping the game to penalise players for what looked like very mild tackles.
On social media, fans of both teams voiced their dismay at Backhouse, and journalist Alan Biggs has also weighed in on the matter.
He posted on X during the game:
Sheffield Wednesday not helped by referee, but performance not enough
Sheffield Wednesday didn’t play poorly today; in fact, they went toe-to-toe with a very in form Coventry City and so there’s a lot of positives to take from today’s game.
And whilst the referee certainly did Danny Rohl and his players no favours, the defeat can’t be pinned on him.
Sheffield Wednesday were shown exactly what they were lacking today; Sheaf’s goals showcased his quality and Wednesday could really do with a goal-scoring midfielder like him.
And there were positive individual performances all over the pitch for Coventry who really look like a well-drilled team.
They’ve obviously had a lot more investment than the Owls, who still have a bit of work to do in the transfer market too.
But along with the positives of today’s performance, Rohl can take parts of Coventry’s performance and overall organisation and apply it to his Sheffield Wednesday side.
The two teams meet again at Hillsborough next weekend in the FA Cup fourth round.
It’ll be another chance for Rohl to give some of his younger players a run out, but expect some first-team regulars to feature as the Owls vie to build some momentum.