Sheffield Wednesday took on West Bromwich Albion in a Championship clash on Saturday afternoon.
The Owls kicked off the weekend’s action in desperate need of three points.
Danny Rohl saw his men sat 22nd in the Championship table prior to kick-off and was likely aware they faced an uphill battle to get anything out of this game.
Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-1 to Luton Town last time out while West Bromwich Albion were undefeated in the league prior to kick-off at Hillsborough.
In turn, a West Brom win was predicted prior to Saturday but when all was said and done in Yorkshire, it was Sheffield Wednesday who came away with a massive three points.
Wednesday took the lead after eight minutes when Marvin Johnson’s strike took a heavy deflection off a defender and wrong-footed the Baggies keeper.
The home outfit doubled their lead with 23 minutes gone when Akin Famewo played a long ball up to Josh Windass who saw his headed effort fly over Alex Palmer’s head.
West Brom pulled a goal back in the 65th minute, setting up a nervy end to the tie. The away outfit did draw level in the 84th minute but Anthony Musaba put Wednesday back in front less than two minutes later.
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Here’s how the players rated:
James Beadle – 7
Had little to do in the first half but made a brilliant save to deny Karlan Grant.
Liam Palmer – 7
Had a tough afternoon trying to keep the likes of Josh Maja quiet but was good in the air and made some key tackles.
Michael Ihiekwe – 7
A largely quality display from the defender who also played a key role in keeping Maja and co. at bay for much of the game. His distribution was solid as well.
Akin Famewo – 7
Produced a superb long ball up to Windass for Wednesday’s second goal of the day.
Yan Valery – 8
‘Bags full of talent’ was how one Sky Sports commenter described the defender live on Saturday and that summed up his game well.
Shea Charles – 8
Put on a display well beyond his years, controlling the tempo of the game and winning every battle to keep the Baggies’ normally dominant midfield quiet.
Barry Bannan – 9
Made a real nuisance of himself in the middle of the park, chasing down every ball and providing a real creative outlet, including for Johnson’s opener and the winning goal.
Marvin Johnson – 8
Caused West Brom a lot of problems down the left flank, stretching the play well. Scored the opener though it did go down as an own goal.
Josh Windass – 7
Caused West Brom a lot of problems with his diagonal runs into their box, including when his headed effort flew over their keeper’s head.
Ike Ugbo – 5
Has come in for criticism during the early stages of 2024/25 and though he did not play terribly, he was fairly anonymous throughout much of the tie.
Olaf Kobacki – 6
Stretched play well and provided a solid attacking threat, much like Windass, with his runs into the box.
Substitutes
Max Lowe – 3
Continues to disappoint in a Sheffield Wednesday shirt, not doing enough to prevent West Brom from pulling a goal back.
Anthony Musaba – 8
Only had 19 minutes on the pitch but used his raw pace well to test West Brom’s full-backs down the flank and scored the winning goal.
Svante Ingelsson – N/A
Came on in the 90th minute.