Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Leicester Bee

Leicester Bee

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Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Started the game off on the back foot, as Wednesday were always going to be extremely well drilled at set-pieces. Wednesday forced a fantastic save from Lee, and then had a gilt-edged chance to score, but for some reason, the powerhouse Rob Jones knocked the ball square rather than score :confused:
Anyway, thereafter, Brentford took complete control of the game and dominated for most of the half. We passed them off the park, created chances, but let's be honest, Wednesday are where they are for a reason. Their defence coped extremely well with our onslaught, and despite our efforts, we just couldn't get that crucial goal.
Wednesday continued to look threatening from set-pieces, and Brentford kept on bombing on but failing to get on the end of crosses.

Second half saw Wednesday take more of a grip on the game, and the Bees were forced back. However, despite being forced back, we seemed to have little to do other than to defend set-pieces. BTW, Andy D'Urso is so fussy, and that's why there were alot of set-pieces around our area. Seems like a fair tackle is no longer allowed.
Anyway, we kept defending hard, Wednesday looked threatening at times, and we kept trying to play football, which kept relieving any pressure at the back. That was such an important aspect to our game and with 10 minutes to go, it was clear that we were going to play for the draw, which anyone would have taken at the start of the game. We stuck to a gameplan, it worked, and we picked up another point on the road.

Bees fans were great today. Plenty of support for the lads and Uwe, which was well-acknowledged at the end of the game.

My personal MOM was Gary Alexander, who battled away in midfield today, although Sam Saunders looked lively, Douglas had a good game, and Kev O'Connor was excellent at right-back.

Lee - 7 - Forced into an excellent save early on, but other than that, actually had little to do. I would state, though, that at times, he really needs to dominate the 6 yard box better, as a few balls came into that area, which he didn't look like he wanted to come and claim.
O'Connor - 8 - Good defending, good distribution from defence, and looked every bit the senior player that he is.
Woodman - 7 - Distribution definitely needs to be better, but he worked hard and was defensively solid. Can't argue with that, but not spectacular.
Eger - 7 - Played well, in my opinion. He is composed, so it means we don't give the ball away too easily from defence.
Llera - 7 - Another who played solidly with composure. Couldn't really cope with Rob Jones at set-pieces, but then again, not many defenders at this level can.
Douglas - 8 - Just scrapes an 8, as he had a slow first half, but brought composure into the midfield during the second half.
Dave - 7 - Quiet game in many ways, but has the energy and contributed well enough to the team performance.
Alexander - 8 - I thought he fought for every header excellently, and dropped into the back line to defend set-pieces very well. We need someone like him to fight for lost causes.
McGinn - 7 - Hardly noticed him at first, but looked lively for most of the game, but lacks the final ball.
Saunders - 8 - Was everywhere in the first half, using his creativity to good effect in the first half. Went quieter in the second half a bit, but still looked good enough for me, to keep his place.
Donaldson - 7 - He is frustrating, because we know that he can do more, but he looks low on confidence and didn't look like a lone striker. That's not to fault his effort, but he looks like he could do with a strike partner to feed off, not be the target man.

Overall, we cannot complain. We played well, and our retention of ball from defence was excellent, which meant that the ball wasn't constantly being fired back towards our goal every time we cleared. We did create a load of chances in the first half, even hitting the bar, but we were up against a very well-organised Gary Megson type team. On the other hand, whilst Wednesday are excellent at set-pieces and looked threatening during these opportunities, we still didn't concede and that's a big positive for us.

To me, I have absolute faith in what we are trying to do. I don't want to see us lump the ball aimlessly forward, as unless we have a genuinely unbelievable striker, we are going to fail to get on the front foot. The way we tried to play it out of defence to find an opportunity, is the right way to play football (at least away from home). We were by far the better team in the first half, and we dealt with the onslaught in the second half to the extent that the last 10 minutes, Wednesday looked devoid of ideas.

Well done to the Bees who travelled up too. Lots of noise, singing, and taking the mick.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

I've just read that we had 68% possession! I think it proves the importance of not lumping the ball forward aimlessly. Had we done so, the pressure on our goal would have been too immense to cope with. Uwe, take a bow sir. You got it spot on today.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

According to the font of all knowledge (Wayfarer) we were set up with a back 4 that was weak as piss - How did we manage this excellent result ??

Also note that King Kev O'Connor continues to play (And play well) despite being written off as past it / crap by many since game 1.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

In my opinion, it was down to the midfield protection today. That's not to take away from the back line, as they all played very solidly indeed, but the midfield helped out alot. Doesn't matter though, we kept a clean sheet. We hardly looked like conceding from open play at all.

Anyone who reckons Kev O'Connor is past it needs their head examined. Far from it.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Leicester Bee said:
Started the game off on the back foot, as Wednesday were always going to be extremely well drilled at set-pieces. Wednesday forced a fantastic save from Lee, and then had a gilt-edged chance to score, but for some reason, the powerhouse Rob Jones knocked the ball square rather than score :confused:
Anyway, thereafter, Brentford took complete control of the game and dominated for most of the half. We passed them off the park, created chances, but let's be honest, Wednesday are where they are for a reason. Their defence coped extremely well with our onslaught, and despite our efforts, we just couldn't get that crucial goal.
Wednesday continued to look threatening from set-pieces, and Brentford kept on bombing on but failing to get on the end of crosses.

Second half saw Wednesday take more of a grip on the game, and the Bees were forced back. However, despite being forced back, we seemed to have little to do other than to defend set-pieces. BTW, Andy D'Urso is so fussy, and that's why there were alot of set-pieces around our area. Seems like a fair tackle is no longer allowed.
Anyway, we kept defending hard, Wednesday looked threatening at times, and we kept trying to play football, which kept relieving any pressure at the back. That was such an important aspect to our game and with 10 minutes to go, it was clear that we were going to play for the draw, which anyone would have taken at the start of the game. We stuck to a gameplan, it worked, and we picked up another point on the road.

Bees fans were great today. Plenty of support for the lads and Uwe, which was well-acknowledged at the end of the game.

My personal MOM was Gary Alexander, who battled away in midfield today, although Sam Saunders looked lively, Douglas had a good game, and Kev O'Connor was excellent at right-back.

Lee - 7 - Forced into an excellent save early on, but other than that, actually had little to do. I would state, though, that at times, he really needs to dominate the 6 yard box better, as a few balls came into that area, which he didn't look like he wanted to come and claim.
O'Connor - 8 - Good defending, good distribution from defence, and looked every bit the senior player that he is.
Woodman - 7 - Distribution definitely needs to be better, but he worked hard and was defensively solid. Can't argue with that, but not spectacular.
Eger - 7 - Played well, in my opinion. He is composed, so it means we don't give the ball away too easily from defence.
Llera - 7 - Another who played solidly with composure. Couldn't really cope with Rob Jones at set-pieces, but then again, not many defenders at this level can.
Douglas - 8 - Just scrapes an 8, as he had a slow first half, but brought composure into the midfield during the second half.
Dave - 7 - Quiet game in many ways, but has the energy and contributed well enough to the team performance.
Alexander - 8 - I thought he fought for every header excellently, and dropped into the back line to defend set-pieces very well. We need someone like him to fight for lost causes.
McGinn - 7 - Hardly noticed him at first, but looked lively for most of the game, but lacks the final ball.
Saunders - 8 - Was everywhere in the first half, using his creativity to good effect in the first half. Went quieter in the second half a bit, but still looked good enough for me, to keep his place.
Donaldson - 7 - He is frustrating, because we know that he can do more, but he looks low on confidence and didn't look like a lone striker. That's not to fault his effort, but he looks like he could do with a strike partner to feed off, not be the target man.

Overall, we cannot complain. We played well, and our retention of ball from defence was excellent, which meant that the ball wasn't constantly being fired back towards our goal every time we cleared. We did create a load of chances in the first half, even hitting the bar, but we were up against a very well-organised Gary Megson type team. On the other hand, whilst Wednesday are excellent at set-pieces and looked threatening during these opportunities, we still didn't concede and that's a big positive for us.

To me, I have absolute faith in what we are trying to do. I don't want to see us lump the ball aimlessly forward, as unless we have a genuinely unbelievable striker, we are going to fail to get on the front foot. The way we tried to play it out of defence to find an opportunity, is the right way to play football (at least away from home). We were by far the better team in the first half, and we dealt with the onslaught in the second half to the extent that the last 10 minutes, Wednesday looked devoid of ideas.

Well done to the Bees who travelled up too. Lots of noise, singing, and taking the mick.
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Excellent report.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

On the train back very happy with a point could have won though .liera was my motm he dominated at the back.We passed the ball well donaldson held the ball up well but lthink he needs to start getting in where it hurts thought he was milky at times.Alexander was excellent and did well to shore up the defence when we were under the cosh from their arial threat.great support from the 500. Plus fans who travelled.as LB just said uwe got his tactics spot on.What a great stadium hillsborough still is the away games are so much better these days.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

just reading Megson's reaction on BBC. Not surprising why he doesnmt have many friends...

"We've created twice as many efforts on goal as they had, twice as many corners and probably a lot more possession than them,"

according to BBC

Bees 51% Owls 49%
attempts on target Bees 4 Owls 4
attempts off target Bees 7 Owls 3
corners: Bees 5 Owls 11.

Not exactly speaking the truth Megson u T**T
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

daveyp123 said:
just reading Megson's reaction on BBC. Not surprising why he doesnmt have many friends...

"We've created twice as many efforts on goal as they had, twice as many corners and probably a lot more possession than them,"
according to BBC

Bees 51% Owls 49%
attempts on target Bees 4 Owls 4
attempts off target Bees 7 Owls
corners: Bees 5 Owls 11.

Not exactly speaking the truth Megson u T**T
Click to expand...

What do you expect - he's one the Gingers I campaigned to have thrown out of football !
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Just got back to Nottingham. Excellent report from LB.

To add

Kev got done a couple of times for pace by their left winger Marshall who was their main threat, however Kev soon twigged this and was one step aheads upstairs. Thought he had a great game myself.

Disagree with McGinn - the two balls he put in the six yard box on the 2nd half were superb and were crying out for someone but we were just a whisker away.

Masterstroke from Uwe by bringing Gary Alex back to back four line when their keeper hit it long, great tactic. Very impressed with Gaz today = had a captain feel today by leading the race out for the offside routine at the wednesday free kick and i noticed plenty of well dones, keep it up, pat on the backs etc to his fellow players.

Clayton annoyed me slightly with too many fancy flicks that never came off and Saunders gave possession away too cheaply.

Dave was quiet to start with but got a lot better IMO, Douglas was solid.

We could have won this and it wouldnt have been a shock if we had. They missed a sitter, superb save by Lee as well, some very good blocks but on the other hand we rattled the bar, couple of close free kicks and the McGinn scramble (it's amazing what you remember when you havent had a beer all day ;) )

I was very pleased with the footy we played today and like the guy behind me kept saying whenever we played it on the deck we looked comfortable and better for it.

Great noise from the bees and we got the chance to stand through the whole game :bound:
maybe more than 500+

Lastly the points above are constructive little criticisms if you call it that, i'm more than happy with a point but we could have got all 3
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

daveyp123 said:
just reading Megson's reaction on BBC. Not surprising why he doesnmt have many friends...

"We've created twice as many efforts on goal as they had, twice as many corners and probably a lot more possession than them,"

according to BBC

Bees 51% Owls 49%
attempts on target Bees 4 Owls 4
attempts off target Bees 7 Owls 3
corners: Bees 5 Owls 11.

Not exactly speaking the truth Megson u T**T
Click to expand...

Can I ask someone who was there - did we play 9 -1 as Megson is suggesting?
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Paul USA said:
According to the font of all knowledge (Wayfarer) we were set up with a back 4 that was weak as piss - How did we manage this excellent result ??

Also note that King Kev O'Connor continues to play (And play well) despite being written off as past it / crap by many since game 1.
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No need for you to be so sarcastic, You know as well as I do that given all of our squad was 1oo% fit our back 4 would probabky be Logan, Osborne, Legge and Adams.
However in saying that our back didperfoprm well today.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

wayfarer172 said:
No need for you to be so sarcastic, You know as well as I do that given all of our squad was 1oo% fit our back 4 would probabky be Logan, Osborne, Legge and Adams.
However in saying that our back didperfoprm well today.
Click to expand...

It wouldn't have been today given any circumstances imo. We'll wait for the MotM vote shall we - sounds like Kev's well in with a shout.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Glad we've stopped the potential 100% home record :D
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Les Beeavinu said:
It wouldn't have been today given any circumstances imo. We'll wait for the MotM vote shall we - sounds like Kev's well in with a shout.
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Billy Reeves IIRC gave MOTM to Lierra.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Thought we were excellent in the first hald created some decent chances and could have gone in 1 up.

2nd half we sat back a bit but dealt with everything they threw at us pretty well.

Starting to feel a bit more confident now and if we can get a result against Charlton don't see why we should be afraid of anyone in this division. Sheff Wed were a typical well drilled physical side who will be up there come the end of the season.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Could not go today so had the vacarious pleasure of following the game on here. Would seem from the comments to date that Roslers aim to get us to play football and be patient in posession once again paid dividends. Seems that it is easier away from home and I suggest that the pressure gets to the players at GP when the feel and hear the huffing and puffing from the fans who are impatient at this style of football.

Before magicbee comes on and bemoans the lack of a striker we all know that one is required, we know that Rosler is looking and we all know that finding one that wants to come, whose club want to release him and who is likely to improve what we have and fit in with our system is extremley difficult and we are competing with many other clubs, however when and if we get one then I beleive that we will be a real force on our travels.

Interesting that Kev was relegated to the rubbish bins in August and yet again rises to the challenge and I understand, is in with a shout for MoM. you just cant keep him away and all praise to the Manager who has got him playing a different style of football and recognises what he can add to the team. One of the judgement calls in my opinion for the manager was to improve the abilities of teh players at his disposal and it would seem that he is acheiving this in spades.

Was very interested to read the comments regarding Alexander, I will quite happily admit I have not been his greatest fan however when he came on last week and seemingly again today he adds a presence to the team and I was extremley pleased to hear was playing like a true leader, something we are desperate for, certainly of the other 3 candidates Lee, Kev and Douglas he is a far better bet although whether he will play enough games remains a doubt.

Comment has been made that this is 2 points dropped as with a decent scorer we would have got all 3 however if you had asked most supporters would they be happy with a point playing at the home of a team with a 100% home record then they would have bitten their hands off for it. Well done Rosler and all the players for putting all the recent grief behind them and putting on a show we can all be proud of.

Finally as far as Megson is concerned check the papers tomorrow and then check the match stats, the score was nil nil we had the greater posession and more shots than they did, says it all for me.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Alexander was excellent in his sweeping role, Wednesday are direct and physical and play for set pieces thus we had more possesion, we did well with the ball in the first half and fairly decent in the second, one team tried to play and the other tried to grind out a chance from balls into the box.
Saunders ran the show in the first half, McGinn was lively and had the beating of his man, the back four stood up well, Woodman's defending was solid but his distribution was woeful, Dave was quiet again, Douglas did a lot of his work, Lee wasn't that busy, Clayton was poor, too many attemted flicks and not prepared to launch himself at good balls into the box.
A good point but 3 were there with a bit more belief, we were better than them, I don't think the players knew that.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Not going to compete with the experts, Leicester bee summed it up well, but thought we started very well, had 3-4 decent chances in first 10 mins.
Alexander for me was MOM, he was at both ends of the game, putting important headers and tackles in, then popping up in the box trying to help clayton.
Kev was rock solid, llera I thought started poorly, poor header giving their forward an overhead chance, but put some great headers / challenge's in, but nearly cost us with a poor clearance late in second half.
Thought Alexander might not do full 90 mins, Weston and grella ineffective, but bean was full of energy and effort.
Lee made at least two goal saving stops, could have been a different story had he not stopped them.

Heard mesons report on BBC Sheffield, he must of been watching another game, we were solid in defence and midfield, lacked the killer instinct playing one up front, but all very happy to take a point, but know three points would not have been unfair.
General consensus from owls fans we deserved to win.

Away form is great and play with belief, need to starting winning and being more aggressive and attacking at home.

A very entertaining 0-0, looking forward to highlights on bees world.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

bostonhanwell said:
I have despised Megson for a long time. This does not surprise me one bit. I confidently predict he will fail as Weds manager and will love it when he gets sacked. Well done Bees a great performance and deserved more than a point.
Click to expand...

Whats he on about ? " We wouldn't rush forwards to get offsides for free kicks thats not how we play".

He's a tit with a big chip on his shoulder. We played intelligent football and didn't lump it forward at every opportunity.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Just got back,after what was a really good entertaining 0-0!
We looked much quicker and creative in the final third today. We had some decent chances first half, Saunders had couple of free kicks and shots, I think Llera, hit the bar from a cross!
They had some chances too and Lee made a great save plus a couple of great clearances! The tall number five for them missed basically an open goal with a header!
We defiantly deserved a point if not three , our decent away record and there home record thought we were in for goals today! Very happy with a point!
Gary Alexander was great for us today, seemed to be playing Defensive midfield when we didn't have the ball to deal with Wednesdays height!
Saunders played really well and was gutted he came off. Douglas distributed the ball very well today and was outstanding in the second half.
Woodman and Kevin had good games also! More so Kevin who made some terrific clearances.
After the match I heard one Wed fan say we were terrific and the best team they have come up against at home this season!
Great support by the Bees fans, looked like there was at least 500!
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

This is a wonderful result, and my way of predicting the outcome of late still holds true. Many thanks to the 500+ who made the trip to support the team.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Cracking game today, really enjoyed it. The industry and style we showed, and away from home makes me proud to follow the Bees again. Not sure which game Megson was watching but that interview was typical 'big club' mentality trying to dismiss the plucky underdogs who dared to come to their patch and defend. He clearly missed the genuine opportunities we had to win it when we weren't defending. Well done to all the players today, I think they all put in a shift. Happy with a point but we came close to getting all three.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Megson makes my blood boil.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

What was our formation people?
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Fantastic performance of real quality, grit, organisation and ability. For long spells we controlled the game and held possession well.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Good trip and result today in Sheffield. Alexander impressed in both attack and defence, Woodman had one of his better games and looked much improved. 500 odd Bees and it was nice to over hear on the tram back to Sheffield Station that we were the best team to come to Hillsborough so far this season.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Currently travelling in Canada at the moment and was delighted when I looked up our game, even more so with the encouraging reports. Great that we showed that we can get a result at/against the so called "big boys"
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

I was disappointed to see Woodman and Kev as first choice for their slots but I was wrong as they both excelled. As usual Woodman was quite solid in his defence but today overlapped and also fed Sam very well. He also placed some good crosses without the heaviness of previous weeks.
Kev was solid and confident plus showed some pace when required.
Enjoyable stadium to visit, some of the noise they made showed off the great acoustics, love to hear that noise at GP.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

daveyp123 said:
just reading Megson's reaction on BBC. Not surprising why he doesnmt have many friends...

"We've created twice as many efforts on goal as they had, twice as many corners and probably a lot more possession than them,"

according to BBC

Bees 51% Owls 49%
attempts on target Bees 4 Owls 4
attempts off target Bees 7 Owls 3
corners: Bees 5 Owls 11.

Not exactly speaking the truth Megson u T**T
Click to expand...

Yes was thing the same looking at the BBC report directly below his comments
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Excellent performance and whilst Uwe has got it tactically wrong on occasion this season he deserves the plaudits for totally outhinking that miserable ginger t@$t Megson.

Maybe with a little more self belief 3 points where their but that is churlish and not many teams will take anything away from Hillsbrough this season. If we get the home form right and a decent striker in a play off berth is not beyond the realms of possibility for this squad of players.

At various times the back four today have suffered adverse criticism, I hope the same critics will give them the praise they are due today. Alexander and O'Connor were the outstanding players for me today but everyone put in a good shift.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

footman said:
I was disappointed to see Woodman and Kev as first choice for their slots but I was wrong as they both excelled.
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Woodman I can agree with - very predictable, gets caught out of position far too often and has this leisurely swagger. He could afford it to do that if he was good player, I happen to think that he has gone backwards in his performances.

I would have Kev on the team sheet any day of the week. He is Mr.Consistent and makes the defence and midfield function as they should. I feel a lot happier to see Kev in the Bees defence or midfield, he adds stability.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Les Beeavinu said:
Can I ask someone who was there - did we play 9 -1 as Megson is suggesting?
Click to expand...

I'm struggling to remember an opposing Manager giving a more bitter and ungracious interview. Simply dismissing the Interviewer's suggestion that you had to give us credit and suggesting we just defended for our lives for 90 minutes when the stats show a completely different story. He's a tool of the highest order.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Rosler Wise as Megson Sulks

As nil nil goes this was a good 'un.

Rosler outwitted a complacent Megson and Wednesday side going for their 8th straight win at home. O'Connor at right back, Woodman at left back with Saunders wandering and Alexander floating to support Donaldinho gave the Bees a fluid relaxed but disciplined look.

Megson's side is strong and tall and having had the Bees watched 4-5-1 was a gimme or so he thought! :rolleyes: Saunders whipped in a free kick, Alexander headed free and wide in the first minute, we were up then down. Sam tested Bywater from "Saunders range" from a free kick, low to the keepers right, Bywater scrambled it away. Wednesday came back Jones the centre half goofed a header from an excellent cross from Wednesday's Milner lookalike, Marshall. James O'Connor forced an excellent one handed raised "Che Guevara" salute save from Lee over, Power to the Lee! ;)

The Bees had the Owls off their game, we passed and moved with purpose, Saunders pulled the strings as the puppetmaster, dinked ball here, ball into space there. Clayton and Gaz pulled Semedo and Jones out of their comfort zones. The Bees were in control and the old ground buzzed into times of silence as our end found it's voice! :D

Llera crashed a header off the underside of the bar from another Sam free kick, the cross came back in and Clayton headed wide and over, it must have been close as four Bees players put their hands on their heads :(

Lee made another smart stop low and left from the tricky Marshall and kept his one man crusade up against the tricky left winger by palming another curling effort over. Before the break a lovely ball from Donalinho left Sam sprinting through the middle, he placed it early wide of Bywater on the deck and wide of the post, vital chance, but a good half's work from the Bees.:cool:

2nd half, Lights full on, Hillsborough lit up, their band struck up and the kop got into D'Urso, Eger pulled at Grady, howls of derision, Llera made a great tackle in the box to stop Ryan Lowe coverting. We were still in this, McGinn took Reynolds their left back to the cleaners, wide pitch, Niall on the right gave his man a yard and tipped and ran round him, once, twice then a third, crosses flew in, Alexander dived in, so close. Weston replaced Sam, Bean for Alexander and Grella for McGinn as we settled for a point and so did Wednesday despite their huff and puff.

Rosler punched the air three times, very pleased with his point and why not, Wednesday had won all previous seven home games by two clear goals. A good point against a top side, we will get better whilst I think Wednesday are somewhere near their peak.

Lee was excellent, three fine stops, O'Connor was solid and did all the right things, Llera had a good game and stood up well to the aerial bombardment, Eger played the percentages well and Woodman was Woodman, solid enough.

Dave was quiet, whilst Douglas put in a good marauding shift and Sam shone in the first half whilst McGinn sparkled for a while in the 2nd, Alexander was immense today, he bullied and cajoled he is important to giving this team some steel and as a 3rd centre half made some excellent clearing headers. Clayton played the striker with some good and bad touches, he needs Gaz as his minder.;)

An real good day out in Yorkie-land, Hillsborough is a great ground, full of atmosphere, you can taste it, we sang and gave it a good go and were the best team to visit S6 this season. A bit more belief and we'd have won it, but this was miles better than the horror show 10 days before against Stevenage. :sorted: Rosler outwitted Megson and won his point. But in his clenched celebrations at the end Uwe may have ended his week with a bigger point won, than just the one taken from Hillsborough! :wave:
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Back 5 were all terrific today. Rosler made the right selections there IMHO although I doubt we are going to see a settled defence this season given we seem to have home full backs and away full backs or easy game full backs and difficult game full backs depending on how you look at it.

In midfield, I thought Douglas and Saunders were industrious throughout. Great 1st half FK by Sam which the keeper had to scurry to keep away from the bottom corner although he failed to hit the target from our best move of the match when played in by Donaldinho in the 1st half. McGinn had a few moments of creativity and the beating of the full back in the 2nd half but was generally off the pace as was Toums / Dave.

Alexander had a fantastic game given the multi-feature role he was aked to play, defending at GKs, midfield and supporting CD. I tend to think we might have snatched one if it had been CD playing off GA rather than vice-versa but am happy with a point at the end of the day.

I used to think Sheff Weds were a decent club but under Mandaric they seem to have metamorphosised into a bunch of money grabbing jobsworths. Amongst various incidents today, I witnessed:
a) Kids of 16 or under being refused admission for junior price because they couldn't prove they were U18 even though clearly were.
b) Senior citizens of over 60 being refused Senior rates because the London Freedom pass is available to over 60s but SW have changed their rules to over 65s only (Note can we make sure we return the favour to them when they play at GP).
c) Stewards failing to open adjacent terraces until 5 mins before KO because they had heard we had only sold 140 tickets in advance not understanding that not many Bees fans would have bothered to buy tickets in advance for an away end that holds 10,000 ! Muppets.

Also so frustrating to see D'Urso ruin yet another game. When will the powers that be realise that if you aren't good enough to ref a Premier League game you aren't good enough to Ref a League game. Yellow cards given for Eger and Lee were pathetic. Agree KOCs was deserved.

All in all a game we might have won with a bit more desire near the end. Substitutions are Uwe's thing I know but the performance went massively downhill after Bean and Weston replaced Alexander and Saunders IMHO.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Surreal experience for me today. Decided it wasn't worth the £22 in the away end, so paid £6 to sit in the Kop. :idea:

We were bloody fantastic. Uwe really did a job on that ginger t055£r Megson. We set-up exactly how any team should have done for an away trip to Hillsborough, 4-5-1 with Alexander dropping deep to help deal with the long ball. And that's all they did in the first-half. Even their long throws into the box were bordering on ridiculous.

We had our fair share of chances as well with Saunders going close with a free-kick. Then he dragged one wide when he should have put McGinn through who was in acres of space! Llera then hit the bar with a free header and Wednesday hearts were in mouths. Donaldinho also had a few speculative efforts.

Second-half they played more football which resulted in us dropping deeper. We still looked comfortable throughout though. Apart from a goalmouth scramble and a square ball which two opposition players missed (resulting in Marshall skewing it wide) we kept Wednesday to a limited number of chances. Can't really comment on our chances since I couldn't see much of the action at the other end!

Looked lively in the away end! Could hear you in parts, but mainly in the last 10 minutes. Well done to all those who traveled, overheard someone in the Kop say that was probably the largest following at Hillsborough all season :sorted:

Special mention to KOC. My MOTM.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

NorthamptonBee said:
Alexander was excellent in his sweeping role, Wednesday are direct and physical and play for set pieces thus we had more possesion, we did well with the ball in the first half and fairly decent in the second, one team tried to play and the other tried to grind out a chance from balls into the box.
Saunders ran the show in the first half, McGinn was lively and had the beating of his man, the back four stood up well, Woodman's defending was solid but his distribution was woeful, Dave was quiet again, Douglas did a lot of his work, Lee wasn't that busy, Clayton was poor, too many attemted flicks and not prepared to launch himself at good balls into the box.
A good point but 3 were there with a bit more belief, we were better than them, I don't think the players knew that.
Click to expand...

I agree with virtually everything written here (faint) - :fishing:
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

.........yep..........an entertainig 0-0...........as with the Notts County game ,thought the Bees ought to have pressed for a winner........their crowd were quiet for long periods while the Bees bossed the game........impresses by their No.10-Marshall?????.........
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

As reported, after a bit of a tenuous start, with their "baldie" managing to head a clear opportunity away from our goal rather than towards it, we took the game to them; our possession and passing forcing them into hoofball. They looked a League 1 side with a big budget and a poor manager. They later tried to widen their game and bring their winger into it more - he was their only 'stand-out' player - but it came to nothing for them with our (generally written off recently) defence standing firm... a little too firm earning O'Connor a booking. Alexander was outstanding as the third centre half and contributed in midfield and going forward as well! Apart from Woodman's distribution and Lee's hesitancy, the defensive unit looked impressive.

We controlled the midfield at times and our ability to pass around at the back to pop a ball out to McGinn in space was a feature of our game going forward. He also managed to go to the by-line and cross, instead of cutting inside, which created some opportunities that we would have taken on another day, with a fitter GA and a more positive CD. Saunders played his game and gave us a threat from set pieces; he also managed to upset their crowd by getting fouled quite frequently as their defence looked more like Wednesday in the park than Wembley on Saturday. Douglas controlled the midfield for passages of play and Dave came in and out with his decent contribution and we'd possibly have got something more if Donaldson had been more interested in scoring rather than his flicks.

Bean came on and put in some aggression as we settled for the point; Grella had little opportunity to show but Weston, put free by a clearance, managed to tackle himself and pass to the opposition in a single move that was comic genius.

Miserable Meg proved to everyone, in his post-match interview, that he's so bitter and twisted he must be up his own alimentary canal with the tapeworms. And why was their PA announcer in his bathroom with a mouthful of sweets; completely incomprehensible.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

Really proud day to be a bee.......

Everyone was great today, players, management and fans. For a 0-0 it was one of the best i've seen, a really cracking game between two very good sides and a draw was a fair result although both sides will point to the missed chances in the first half where the game could have been won.

Rosler got it spot on today and totally out managed Megson tactically today as our team selection and formation worked a treat. It was like a 4-4-2 when we went forward but on the back foot Alexander would drop in and it became 4-5-1 and on set pieces and goal kicks he was virtually playing as an extra centre back. I was slightly purplexed yesterday when I read Rosler's comments that we couldn't have Logan and Adams as our full backs but he was right. O'Connor and Woodman were positionally excellent and did their jobs manfully, at home we can afford the luxury of having full backs bombing forward and getting past the half way line but not today.

Saunders seemed to have more licence to drift inside from the left side in almost a free role and his set pieces and delivery are so good we looked like scoring every time. We'll look to the chances in the first half an hour as to why we didn't win the game, Llera's header that crashed against the bar the main culprit and a lovely move between Donaldson and Saunders freeing saunders who dragged his shot wide. With Lee's saves from their dangerous winger Marshall and their centre back somehow deciding to try and head back across goal when free at the back post, the chances were about even and half time could have been 2-2 at half time which might have been a more accurate reflection.

The aerial bombardment continued in the second half but quickly I felt Sheffield Wednesday began to ran out of ideas and were restricted to long range efforts and the odd goal mouth scramble whilst we continued to out football them. McGinn really came to the fore giving their left back a view of his clean heels time after time and whipping in some dangerous crosses that neither Donaldson or Alexander could get on the end of. McGinn drove in a shot that their defender almost turned into his own net and you felt that perhaps our hopes of winning had gone. We became a little more defensive as we began to tire, Grella coming on down the right win rather epitomised this but even with five minutes stoppage time we looked the more likely side to nick a late winner.

The game reminded me of the Norwich away game a couple of years back when they won the league. We were underdogs away from home, big crowd, played a little bit of a weird system with Sam Wood doing a man marking job in central midfield, thankfully we didn't concede the late goal this time! Back four and keeper were superb and having Alexander back is like having a new signing, as someone else said behind me yesterday, he's the real captain on the pitch with everything but the armband. Plaudits to Rosler who got the team selection and formation exactly right and with a bit more belief we could have won it.

Got to love Hillsborough, everything about it, the history, the atmosphere, the old fashioned style ground. I remember in the playoff game a few years ago being overwhelmed by how good the atmosphere was and you almost feel like singing along to their 'high ho sheffield wednesday' chant before the game.

Only disappointment for me was paying £22 to be stuck in that crappy lower tier, the views are pretty poor compared to the excellent view you get from the upper tier. I asked one of the stewards why we couldn't go in the upper tier, he said they phoned the club during the week and were told that pre sales had been poor and were only expecting around 300 fans to travel. He said usually if they knew there was going to be over 500 they would have opened the top tier but they'd only prepared for the lower tier to be open and even though we had loads more than expected it was too late to open the top tier.
 

Sheff Wednesday Match Reports and Reactions

One of the best 0-0 you are likely to witness.

Great team performance utilising excellent, well thought out tactics from Uwe.

For those that thought GA was past it and "not the answer" yesterday couldn't prove better evidence that they are wrong. If we move to a more 4-4-1-1 / 4-4-2 at home with him in the mix I think we would go a long way to sorting the home form.

GA my MOM with special mentions to all back 4, Douglas and Sam

Only comment I heard from a Wed fan was "...how the hell did they lose to Stevenage?!?!" - How indeed???
 
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