Sheffield Wednesday travelled to Pride Park this afternoon to take on Derby County, and one moment in the first half of the game had Danny Rohl feeling very angry indeed.
Danny Rohl’s side went into the game off the back of a really positive result against Hull City in midweek, with Sheffield Wednesday hoping to finally get consecutive wins in the league.
Unfortunately, the referee for the Derby County clash had Rohl frustrated in the first half of the game, with one seemingly innocuous decision proving to be controversial.
In the end, Wednesday got the win they needed, and that incident counted for very little, but the highly animated Rohl probably hasn’t forgotten the injustice of it all.
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Derby County exploited weird rule vs Sheffield Wednesday
With the score at 0-0, Wednesday had the chance to launch the ball into the box from a set-piece, and while the delivery was a good one, possession quickly turned over thanks to a refereeing decision that had Danny Rohl furiously waving his arms in the air.
That’s because Derby County midfielder, Ebou Adams, got his face in the way of the ball and immediately went to the floor nursing an apparent head injury.
Referee John Busby then stopped play and awarded the restart to Derby, in a bizarre twist in the rules.
Commentating on the match (via BBC Radio Sheffield), Rob Staton said: “That’s unbelievable. Danny Rohl’s got his arms aloft. He can’t believe it… That’s absolutely crazy.”
Assessing the logic behind the rule, Staton added: “If you’re a footballer now defending a set-piece and you get your head on it, you might as well just go down and you’ll get the ball back”
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Ebou Adams did the damage at the other end, too
The even more frustrating thing for Rohl is, Adams would go on to open the scoring for Derby shortly after that incident.
We know Sheffield Wednesday have worked hard to improve their record at set-pieces, at both ends of the pitch, but sometimes, scenarios just go against you, and there is no way to even plan for something like what happened at Pride Park.
Before the game, Derby’s prolificacy from set-pieces was earmarked as a potential hazard for Sheffield Wednesday. However, it was the Owls failing to deal with the ball out wide that cost them in the first half, with the Rams managing to deliver a dangerous ball into the box for Adams to convert.
Throughout that first half, Wednesday were guilty of being particularly sloppy in possession, too, and that’s always going to make things difficult for you, especially away from home.
Luckily, the game turned on its head in the second half, and a rallying display from the Owls sealed the all-important three points.