Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-0 at home to Leeds United in the Championship on Friday night.
Sheffield Wednesday had the chance to move out of the bottom three for the first time under Danny Rohl on Friday night.
Though the game vs Leeds United was as tough as many expected it to be.
Sheffield Wednesday were well in the game in the first half and almost took the lead through Djeidi Gassama.
But Patrick Bamford struck on the cusp on half-time and set Leeds up for a dominant second half.
Wilfried Gnonto added a second before the midway point of the second half, sparking a bit of a Sheffield Wednesday revival late on.
But it wasn’t meant to be and the Owls see their winning run come to a halt.
Danny Rohl makes surprising selection calls for Leeds United
The Sheffield Wednesday XI for Leeds raised a few eyebrows.
Rohl took all of Will Vaulks, Michael Ihiekwe, and Dominic Iorfa out of the XI, all of whom were impressive in the 1-0 win vs Plymouth last Saturday, and put Liam Palmer in midfield, with Bambo Diaby and Akin Famewo coming into the middle of defence.
Diaby in particular has been an interesting talking point this season.
Xisco Munoz favoured him and Rohl played him regularly during the first half of his tenure, though the Spaniard would lose his place in the XI following a horror show at Southampton earlier in the year.
Against Leeds, Diaby didn’t perform poorly, though he often looked nervy at the back; something journalist Dom Howson picked up on.
Howson posted on X after Diaby was brought off in the second half:
Leeds may be Rohl’s first Sheffield Wednesday selection error
Unless Vaulks, Iorfa, and Ihiekwe are all carrying knocks, then the team selection for the game vs Leeds United may be Rohl’s first poor one as Sheffield Wednesday boss.
There would’ve been a lot of thinking behind the decisions, though what that thinking was remains to be seen.
Although Diaby didn’t have a bad game as such, having Ihiekwe and Iorfa in the middle of defence would’ve been preferable in the eyes of many supporters.
Diaby just doesn’t exude any kind of confidence. When he goes into challenges and 50/50s, or when the ball is in the box and he’s closing in on a player, it’s a nervy moment to watch as there’s no telling whether he’ll bundle over the player or simply give the ball away.
That trust needs to be earned back after some poor performances earlier in the season; he’s made a start in earning back that trust after tonight, though it wasn’t a stellar performance by any means.
Still, Sheffield Wednesday remain just a point from safety with nine games to go, and with a trip to Ipswich Town on the cards next weekend.