Sheffield Wednesday were beaten 5-4 by Brentford in the Carabao Cup Fourth Round on Tuesday night, going toe to toe with the Premier League Bees.
Sheffield Wednesday and Danny Rohl will be very pleased with their performance against Brentford, who currently sit 9th in the Premier League.
The Owls held on after a bit of a first half barrage, then growing into the game quickly in the second half and nicking a goal courtesy of a tidy strike from Djeidi Gassama.
There could even have been a winner for Sheffield Wednesday in normal time. Then after nine good penalties, Liam Palmer unfortunately missed his to hand Brentford a 5-4 penalty win.
Here are five conclusions from the game…
Pierce Charles will be ready for the no.1 spot next season
Pierce Charles continued his upward trajectory with a starting spot against Brentford, testing himself out against the best opposition he’s faced in goal for Sheffield Wednesday.
And the 19-year-old stood up to the test. He made a decent save before the first goal, with an unfortunate bounce giving Brentford an open goal.
Charles was quick off his line and never looked out of place against what was a strong Brentford team.
When James Beadle returns to Brighton at the end of this season, Rohl surely looks towards Charles as his new no.1.
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Gabriel Otegbayo needs more Championship exposure
As well as Charles, fellow Owls academy man Gabriel Otegbayo also impressed against Brentford, holding his own against a strong and much more experienced Brentford attack.
He made some good interventions inside the box. Otegbayo also helped keep the defensive shape well for Sheffield Wednesday.
Over the course of this season, Rohl must ensure that 20-year-old Otegbayo gets enough Championship exposure to ensure that he’s on a positive trajectory.
He could be another starter for the Owls next time round.
Back-four is still an option for Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday perhaps surprisingly started with four at the back, with Dominic Iorfa on the right and Marvin Johnson on the left, with Otegbayo and Max Lowe in the middle.
It’s a change from the back-five we’ve seen for the last several weeks and although Wednesday were on the back-foot for much of the Brentford game, the Bees really didn’t have many clear-cut chances.
It’s a good sign for Rohl that a back-four formation, in what was a very makeshift team, can still do a job. Expect a revert to the back-five against Watford this weekend, though.
Anthony Musaba has so much room for improvement
Last season, Anthony Musaba was a hugely impactful player for Sheffield Wednesday, scoring seven and assisting five in the Championship.
But he’s been overall poor this season. Particularly in recent games, we’ve seen Musaba do very little in possession, with one goal and two assists to his name in 12 league outings.
He can be good at beating people on the ball but he’s not finding that end product right now, and is showing that their decision-making still leaves a lot to be desired.
We really need to see some improvement from him in the coming weeks.
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Sheffield Wednesday first-team competition still rife
Sheffield Wednesday and a lot of their individual players have faced criticism on social media this season. But there was a lot to like about that Brentford performance.
Perhaps most pleasing was the fact that Rohl made so many changes to his Sheffield Wednesday XI against Brentford, but still got an overall good performance.
It tells Rohl that the players who don’t play as often are still hungry and determined to win a place in the XI, and also that they remain good enough to step in and step up at any time.
Rohl will be pleased with that performance and pleased that his best players are still fresh for Watford at Hillsborough this weekend.