Sheffield Wednesday lost 2-0 at Leicester City last night, shooting themselves in the foot early on.
Sheffield Wednesday made the trip down to Leicester City last night.
As expected, it was another defeat in the Championship for Danny Rohl‘s side, who remain in 23rd place of the table and five points from safety.
But the Owls gave a decent account of themselves in the second half and if they had played like that throughout the game, they could well have left with a point.
But their fate was decided after just four minutes when a needless James Beadle pass to Will Vaulks inside the penalty area was capitalised on, and eventually finish by Issahaku Fatawu.
James Beadle and Will Vaulks mix up hands Leicester City the lead
It was a mistake that should’ve been easily avoided on the night.
Sheffield Wednesday like to play out from the back but against Leicester, and on that occasion, Beadle should’ve simply cleared his line.
But Vaulks may be to blame just as much.
His heavy touch pushed the ball into the path of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, when Vaulks could’ve just put the ball out of play or played it long himself.
And for Vaulks, who returned to the starting XI in place of Momo Diaby, it was another tough night; as per Sofascore, the Welshman had 1 error leading to a goal (the first goal), committed 3 fouls, made 0 out of 5 crosses, lost 78% of duels and loss possession 16 times, ending the game with the lowest rating of any Wednesday player (5.9/10).
The Star also gave Vaulks a 5/10 rating, with journalist Alex Miller writing:
“Got caught out albeit put under a mountain of pressure for the opener, his touch was just too heavy. Shares blame with Beadle, no doubt it cost them. Crashed about and offered heaps of hard work. Would have liked his passing to have been a touch sharper in moments.”
Vaulks in Sheffield Wednesday freefall
Just a couple of months ago, we were talking about Vaulks as though he was one of the best defensive midfielders in the Championship.
And in games against the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Stoke City, he genuinely was incredible; he was throwing in tackles and winning everything in front of the defence, and moving the ball around nicely as well.
But a minor injury kept him out of the start of the year, and since, the 30-year-old just hasn’t had the same impact.
Diaby has come back into the fold now and he’s shown glimpses, but he was poor against Birmingham City, prompting Rohl to bring Vaulks back into the XI.
So with names like Tyreeq Bakinson and John Buckley both gone, and Diaby and Vaulks struggling for consistency, it looks like a new problem position has emerged, and how the German might solve it remains to be seen.
Up next is a trip to Millwall on Saturday.