Sheffield Wednesday just didn’t have enough to get all three points against Cardiff City, and Danny Rohl wants his players to go for a different approach now.
Despite having the majority of the ball and creating enough chances to take the game, Sheffield Wednesday were unable to find a way through in the second half against Cardiff and had to settle for a point.
Danny Rohl will have been frustrated to see his side spurn countless opportunities when they were on top at Hillsborough.
Indeed, Dom Howson has outlined what Rohl needs in January to fix the issues in front of goal, but it might be a problem the Sheffield Wednesday manager can resolve on the training ground.
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Danny Rohl would be happy with a messy goal
Speaking to The Star after the game, Rohl discussed the types of goals his team have been scoring this season, and while he’s happy that they’ve largely been impressive, clean efforts, he has challenged his team to try a more ‘dirty’ approach.
“It was nice football for the goal, and the first chance for Josh [Windass] was also great — good combinations from the centre — it’s good to watch,” Rohl said. “But we also come to some moments where we could find the extra pass to score, and this is what we have to improve.
“Maybe it’s calmness, you accelerate the game and then in the final third you need to calm down and find the extra pass. We’ll work on this, I believe in my players.”
Rohl is clearly not fussy about how the ball goes in the net, adding: “Today in the morning I spoke with my coaches and I could explain every goal that we’ve scored… but of course maybe I’d take a dirty one, a bounce and a tackle, I’ll take that.
“But at the moment we can’t score like that, it’s nice goals, but we need to keep going.”
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Goalscoring has got to improve for Sheffield Wednesday
Every goal counts, and while it’s commendable how slick Sheffield Wednesday are in the build-up at times, they really need to start being more clinical and decisive in front of goal.
If the Owls can add another dimension to their game, and learn to grind out results, score the messy goals, and be more resilient, they will very quickly start picking up more points and find that they can turn to a different plan if things aren’t working.
| Statistic | Ike Ugbo vs Cardiff City |
|---|---|
| Minutes played | 74 |
| Touches | 19 |
| Shots | 2 |
| Shots on target | 1 |
| xG | 0.5 |
| Pass completion | 80% |
The continued struggles of Ike Ugbo is a cause for real concern at Wednesday now, and while it’s not entirely down to him to provide the goals, he has to start contributing soon.
Ugbo finding form could be the key to Sheffield Wednesday really pushing on and finding that next gear. Rohl talks about scrappy tap-ins or a bounce off a knee, and Ugbo would certainly take anything of the kind right now, just to get this monkey off his back and regain his confidence.