Sheffield Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Norwich City on Tuesday night signified more than just an important three points, with Dominic Iorfa proving the club has turned a weakness into a strength.
Danny Rohl‘s men went into the clash with Norwich City having suffered an embarrassing 6-2 defeat at the hands of Watford at Hillsborough just three days earlier.
The German coach got exactly the reaction he would have wanted, with the Owls taking the lead early doors thanks to a fine pass from Marvin Johnson and a cool finish from Josh Windass.
While that goal was particularly pleasing to the eye, Sheffield Wednesday’s second, a thumping header from Dominic Iorfa, may be even more meaningful in the long-run.
Set-pieces could be key for Sheffield Wednesday
Around the 35-minute mark, Shea Charles whipped the ball in from deep and Iorfa rose highest to send a powerful header goalward which Norwich goalkeeper, George Long, fumbled into the back of the net.
It may not have been the cleanest of goals, but it is especially satisfying because it came from a set-piece delivery, something Wednesday have massively struggled with at both ends of the pitch this season.
Before that goal, the Owls had scored just one set-piece goal all season, which had them joint-bottom of the Championship for that particular metric. Wednesday are also top of the pile when it comes to goals conceded from set-pieces in the league.
However, the arrivals of former Swansea City coach, Andy Parslow, as set-piece coach, and set-piece analyst, Ben King, already appear to be shrewd appointments by the club. It is hoped that now, this goal can instil renewed belief in the Wednesday squad, and they can push on and claim more rewards from dead-ball situations.
Add to this the fact the team is blessed with players like Charles, Barry Bannan, and Marvin Johnson who can deliver a wicked ball into the box, and the physicality of players like Iorfa, Michael Smith, and Di’Shon Bernard, and there’s no reason why the Owls can’t become one of the deadliest teams from set-pieces.
Dominic Iorfa delighted with goal vs Norwich City
Iorfa was clearly very happy with his goal, not only because it was his first of the season, but because of what it represented. That much was evident in his goal celebration, which saw him run half the length of the pitch to embrace Parslow.
The defender spoke to The Star after the game, and revealed how much focus he and the coach had been putting on set-pieces in the build-up to the match.
“We’ve been working on it for the past few weeks now, working on creating opportunities and we did a little bit of work on it yesterday and we had another talk about it this evening,” Iorfa said. “We spoke about going at the ball with intent and the belief you can score. It was a nice moment, it was nice to be able to acknowledge him.
“[Parslow] has been really good, he’s given us stability in defending set pieces and we’ve seen a massive improvement in our defending set pieces with our structure… getting [a goal from] one, hopefully everyone can see improvements on both fronts.”