Sheffield Wednesday produced a largely woeful performance at Hillsborough on Tuesday evening, their most abject display to date under Alan Irvine as Doncaster Rovers ran out deserved 2-0 winners.
The visitors took the lead 5 minutes before half-time as debutant defender Elliott Ward was allowed enough time and space inside the Owls penalty area to crash in an overhead kick off the underside of the bar.
Doncaster sealed the points with nearly 30 minutes still remaining as Billy Sharp’s centre was inadvertently turned into his own net by James O’Connor after some comical defending as Wednesday failed to clear their lines.
Wednesday should have taken the lead in the first half when Marcus Tudgay hit the post with the goal at his mercy, a chance the striker would have expected to bury when in form.
The Owls also hit the woodwork early on through Tom Soares and again from a corner immediately following the away sides second goal but in truth these missed opportunities cannot mask the fact that Wednesday were second best for large periods of the game.
Rovers looked far more comfortable in possession to the extent that it looked like they had an extra man at times as Wednesday struggled to close them down quickly enough. In contrast the home side were put under pressure when they had the ball and rarely put any concerted passing moves together.
Despite having almost half an hour to play when the second goal went in the Owls didn’t look like doing enough to get one goal back that may have put the visitors under pressure.
The win, Doncaster’s second within a week puts some breathing space between themselves and Wednesday who have a crunch home clash with fellow strugglers Ipswich Town at Hillsborough on Saturday and Irvine will be looking for a positive reaction following his first home defeat.