It seems to be the same old story every week, doesn’t it? After bossing things against Burnley and coming away with a 3-1 defeat, Sheffield Wednesday spurned countless chances at Bolton Wanderers and left with a point.
The performance itself wasn’t bad, and you have to wonder what is actually happening to us in front of goal. Marco Matias and Fernando Forestieri both missed good, solid chances, and we could maybe have had Bolton in the palms of our hands after the first fifteen minutes.
However, alas, it wasn’t to be and our wait for a win goes on. I for one hope we get three points against Fulham this weekend because lord knows we need them.
Breakdown –
Passing:
Statistically, Bolton were the better side when it came to possession and passing, completing more passes (381/285), making more key passes (13/10) and having a better pass completion rate (77%/73%) than Wednesday on the night.
Mark Davies, their defensive midfielder, had an impressive 96% pass completion from his 47 passes, while Neil Danns (57) made more than any other player on the field.
I think the main positive for Wednesdayites today was the performance of Barry Bannan who was composed in play, completed more accurate passes than any other Owl (45) and ended the match with an 85% pass rate from his 57 passes (four key). He was one of five Wednesday players (Matias, Lee, Lopez and Forestieri) to end the game with upwards of 80%.
Wednesday weren’t a real threat down the wing, and Liam Feeney (15) attempted over four times as many crosses as the nearest Owl, Jack Hunt (4).
Offensive:
Wednesday just don’t seem to be much of an attacking threat to be honest. It’s that simple. The Owls only managed three shots on target from the 10 that they had in the game, with two of those coming from midfielders, Lee and Matias.
For all his detractors, Adthe Nuhiu put himself about well and won 10 aerial challenges on the night, however I think we all know that he’s not a 15-goal a season striker, so we need guys like Forestieri to step up.
The Argentine, Nuhiu and Lucas Joao had over 100 touches between them but only managed to muster up four shots. To be fair to Forestieri though, he did had more shots than any other player on the field (3), and I think given a bit of time he really will come good.
Simply put, but just need somebody who can score for us, because we’re creating the chances.
Defensive:
Bolton also bossed the defensive stats, and it will come as now surprise if you look at the heatmap of the game, with the home side spending more time in their own box than anywhere else on pitch.
Davies made more successful tackles (6) than anybody else, while Lawrie Wilson and Derik completed the most clearances (4). Wellington Silva gave Hunt some real trouble down our right-hand side, with the Brazilian completing the most dribbles (5), with three of them coming against Hunt.
Sam Hutchinson was statistically Wednesday’s best defensive player, and given that most of Bolton’s chances came from either range or set pieces, that will come as no shock. Most of the play, as usual, was being broken down in the centre.
Summary:
I don’t think it’s a difficult game to summarise given what I’ve said above. Bolton were the better side statistically, but with the chances that Wednesday wasted it’s very difficult to see this game as anything less than two points dropped.
I do think that a couple of the new boys will really settle in well, Bannan and Forestieri especially, and I just hope that we can start pulling in some results soon. Matias, who came with such promise, needs to start creating more, and if we create more, that’ll increase our chances of scoring (maybe).
Carlos Carvalhal is taking some stick but, at the end of the day, it’s not his fault if the fellas don’t put the ball in the net. Bring on Fulham.
Best Of The Best*
Most Passes – Barry Bannan (SWFC) – 53
Best Pass Completion – Marco Matias (SWFC) – 88%
Most Successful Dribbles – Wellington Silva (BWFC) – 5
Most Successful Tackles – Mark Davies (BWFC) – 6
Most Key Passes – Liam Feeney (BWFC)/Barry Bannan (SWFC) – 4
Most Interceptions – Sam Hutchinson (SWFC) – 6
Most Crosses – Liam Feeney (BWFC) – 15
All stats via WhoScored.com
*Played more than 15 minutes