Sheffield Wednesday were humbled away at Southampton today, in what promised to be a tough game for the Owls.
Sheffield Wednesday made the long trip down to St Mary’s today, to face a Southampton side who’d not lost in 18 games.
And the Saints extended that run to 19, matching their best-ever unbeaten run with a thumping 4-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
The score was 1-0 at the break, but Russell Martin’s side outclassed and outgunned the Owls in the second half, scoring three more and never looking like conceding.
There were some poor individual displays from the likes of Bambo Diaby today, whilst centre-back partner Michael Ihiekwe was one of the few who impressed.
Though another who was something of a passenger today was striker Bailey Cadamarteri.
Bailey Cadamarteri struggles against classy Southampton
Cadamarteri once again led the line for Sheffield Wednesday; his 10th consecutive start in the Championship.
Wednesday evidently struggled to get the ball to Cadamarteri who recorded just 11 touches of the ball before his half-time withdrawal, with just the one accurate pass out of four attempted.
The 18-year-old also failed to record a shot on goal, with one off target on what was truly an afternoon to forget for the Owls’ young star.
After the game, journalist Alex Miller said that, ‘for once Cadamarteri looked lost’.
A steep learning curve for Cadamarteri and Sheffield Wednesday
Despite a positive run of form through December which saw Sheffield Wednesday put 12 points on the board, today’s game was a stark reminder of how far behind the club are in their longer-term ambition.
Not only does the club still face an uphill battle in their fight for survival, but the Owls also face a long road ahead of they want to compete at the top-end of the Championship table like their counterparts today.
Money obviously plays a huge factor here. Southampton have invested heavily over the past few years and have the help of parachute payments this year.
Sheffield Wednesday on the other hand spent very little in the summer (£1.3milion as per Transfermarkt), and have indeed spent the bare minimum over the past several years now.
And the same idea applies to Cadamarteri; whilst he’s shown a lot of promise in the past few weeks, he remains a very young player with much to learn, and today he and his team were simply outclassed by a much better team.
Rohl and Sheffield Wednesday shouldn’t let today’s defeat hang over their heads; there’s still plenty of time to get up the table and with some new signings this month, beating the drop may become more attainable.
Up next is a home game vs Coventry City.