Sheffield Wednesday got off to a winning start against Bristol City on Saturday, with a number of new signings showing some early promise and the team as a whole giving the Wednesdayites a bit of a reason to be optimistic.
Granted, Bristol are new to the Championship following their promotion from League One last season, however they only lost five and conceded just 38 goals last season so they’re not used to losing.
Being in South Africa it’s not always possible to find a live stream, but having got one on Saturday the most pleasing aspect of the victory was the manner of it. The Owls looked in control from the get-go, and it could, and probably should, have ended up more than 2-0. Something backed up by WhoScored.com‘s stats.
Breakdown –
Passing:
Early in the season I said that one thing Wednesday needed to improve on this season was their passing accuracy, they were giving the ball away too easily and too oftern. Yesterday, while the overall accuracy was lower than Bristol (76%/82%), there were 10 players, including substitutes, that ended the game with above 81%.
A special mention must go to Alex Lopez, who made more passes than any other Wednesday player, at 91.4%, and Sam Hutchinson who completed an impressive 92.9% of his passes on the day.
Lopez also got the assist for Tom Lees as his perfectly weighted corner was headed home by the centre back.
Bristol made more passes in total (321/463) and more accurate ones (245/378), but the Wednesday utilised their possession much more usefully.
Offensive:
Despite having less than 41% of possession at Hillsborough, Wednesday managed to have more than double the amount of shots (13/6) and almost double the amount of shots on target (5/3).
Marco Matias, another new signing, had five of Wednesday’s 13 shots and was also Wednesday’s most fouled player, causing some real problems for Ryan Fredericks at right-back.
Ross Wallace, who had a great competitive debut and nabbed the assist for McGugan’s goal, attempted twice as many crosses as any other player on the field (10), giving the Owls some real quality and menace out wide.
Wallace was helped by the fine performance of Jack Hunt at RB, who made the most dribbles on the day (4) and was consistently linking up with Scotsman.
When it came to unlocking the Bristol defence, Lopez was crucial here as well, making three key passes in the game.
Defensive:
Last season Wednesday’s defence was the second best one in the Championship, and if something is to happen in this campaign then they need to stay just as solid.
Our centre backs, Tom Lees and Glenn Loovens, weren’t really challenged much yesterday and didn’t make a single tackle between them in the game, however they were solid when called upon to clear the ball, making four and five clearances respectively.
If you watched the game it’ll come as no shock to you that the tackling was done in the centre of the park and out wide. Lewis McGugan, who had a great game, won more tackles than any other player (5) while Hutchinson at DM and Jeremy Helan/Hunt at FB made two each.
McGugan also made a vital clearance off the line at 1-0 that could have changed the entire game, going on to score from the break that followed.
Summary:
It was a really solid team performance on the day, both offensively and defensively, with a number of individuals such as Hunt, Lopez, McGugan, Wallace and Hutchinson standing out.
Carlos Carvalhal will have been really pleased with the manner of the win, and it was nice to keep up last season’s defence form by keeping a clean sheet as well.
Of course there’s still lots to work on, the shooting and passing accuracy is still lower than it should be, but it was a good professional performance against a side that bossed League One last season.
Best Of The Best*
Most Passes – Marlon Pack (BCFC) – 85
Best Pass Completion* – Sam Hutchinson (SWFC) – 92.9%
Most Dribbles – Jack Hunt (SWFC) – 4
Most Successful Tackles – Lewis McGugan (SWFC) – 5
Most Key Passes – Alex Lopez (SWFC) – 3
Most Interceptions – Sam Hutchinson (SWFC) – 4
Most Crosses – Ross Wallace (SWFC) – 10
All stats via WhoScored.com
*Played more than 15 minutes