Sheffield Wednesday showed plenty of heart and spirit in Saturday’s performance against Derby County at Hillsborough, the Owls looked solid at the back but ultimately didn’t do enough to win the game in attack.
Since shipping five goals at Reading three weeks ago Alan Irvine has tightened things up at the back and the defending has improved dramatically with only three goals conceded in the five matches since that game. It is no mere coincidence that this improvement has coincided with the return of Captain Darren Purse to the back four and so it was a big disappointment to see the defender substituted during the second half. The news is that he has been feeling a tight hamstring and the decision to take him off was in order to try and prevent this from becoming a full scale injury and it is hoped that Purse will be fit to face Watford on Wednesday evening.
Unfortunately Wednesday have been unable to combine their new-found defensive solidity with attacking prowess and the blank against the Rams was the sixth time in the past eight matches that the team have been unable to find the net.
Matters were not helped on Saturday by the ineligibility of Luke Varney as the on-loan Derby striker has been in the side of late. That said, he has also struggled to find any consistent goal scoring form and this is a major worry with the need to find wins becoming ever greater as the climax of the season approaches.
Wednesday’s woeful away form is no secret and so if the team are going to find enough points to stay up home wins are a must and the midweek clash with Watford at Hillsborough is crucial.
Irvine has the option of recalling Varney for that game but Francis Jeffers must also come into consideration. He is far from being a favourite with the fans due to his record since joining the club but he did look sharp in his second half appearance against Derby, taking up good positions and giving the defenders something to think about.
No combination involving any from Tudgay, Clarke and Varney have really been able to strike up a good understanding and so maybe the time has come to give Jeffers the opportunity to get the fans back on side by scoring the goals that could keep the club in the Championship?