Sheffield Wednesday suffered defeat in the Steel City derby against Sheffield United on Sunday, in what was the first Sheffield derby since 2019.
Sheffield Wednesday fans took so much optimism and hope into the game against Sheffield United. And whilst the players gave their all, they were beaten by arguably the better team on the whole.
After a solid first 45 in which the Owls held their own, United came out quickly in the second and took advantage of a lapse in concentration in defence, with Tyrese Campbell scoring.
It proved to be the only goal of the game. Danny Rohl’s side now find themselves in 15th place of the Championship table for the November international break.
There’s no international breaks until March after November’s two-week break, with Sheffield Wednesday returning to action against Cardiff City at Hillsborough in in a fortnight.
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Sheffield Wednesday concede after the restart in Steel City derby
Conceding from set-pieces is regarded Sheffield Wednesdays’ biggest flaw under Rohl. And it’s certainly a flaw with Wednesday ranking last in the league for goals conceded from both set-pieces and corners.
But the Steel City derby exposed another huge flaw for Sheffield Wednesday under Rohl, and that’s how they restart the game after half-time.
Now after 15 games of this Championship season, the Owls have conceded four goals in the first five minutes of the second half (in games against Sunderland, Leeds United, Burnley, and now Sheffield United).
And all of those four games have ended in defeats for the Owls.
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Danny Rohl hopes crushed by persistent Sheffield Wednesday issue
Speaking this week, Rohl shared his hopes for the Steel City derby, explaining how he wanted to give Owls fans a memory for years to come.
Rohl said: “If the result is a good one, the atmosphere will be outstanding. I look a little bit in the future and imagine going to our supporters, our massive fans, and we could really celebrate something. It could be really special, this day.”
But for a fourth time this season, it’s the Owls’ slow start to the second half that’s caused them defeat.
This and set-pieces are two things that seem to be really holding Wednesday back under Rohl, which is frustrating because we saw just a few days ago in Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-0 win against Norwich City, how good the Owls can be in the Championship.
A frustrating game on the whole, then. But there are certainly positives to take into the intentional break, and into the rest of the season.