It’s now four wins in a row for Sheffield Wednesday, the first time that that has happened since 2012, and they’re up into the Championship top ten for the first time this season.
Interestingly, though one of the wins was in the Capital One Cup, it is also the first time that the Owls have won four back-to-back games while playing in England’s second-tier for the first time since April 2007!
Most excitingly though, is the fact that we have not only won four in a row, but also scored nine goals doing it. We scored 43 goals all season last year, and we’ve already got 14 after 10 games this year. Granted we’ve conceded more, but we’re currently the fifth top scorers in the division.
For those wondering, our longest winning streak in the league is nine games back in 1904. Long way to go before we even get close to that
Breakdown –
Passing:
As seems to be the norm for Wednesday this season, once again a win ended with the team having the least possession (43%/57%), least touches (562/609) and least passes (385/462), however with the most key passes (9/7).
This, once again, shows that we have been more clinical in possession over the past few games, using our possession and passes more effectively rather than dallying when having superior possession and passing stats.
Yesterday Wednesday finished with 69% pass completion compared to Preston’s 71%, however the likes of Daniel Pudil, Barry Bannan, Fernando Forestieri, Kieran Lee, and late substitute, Alex Lopez, all finished with +80%. Forestieri and Sam Hutchinson made two key passes each in the game, a tally only to be beaten by Preston’s Daniel Johnson (3).
Pudil not only got a goal on the day (not a bad week after the birth of his child), but was also fantastic in possession, completing more passes (35) than any other Wednesday player on the day.
Offensive:
Again, another showing of how effective Wednesday were with their possession yesterday is how many shots on goal we managed to have. Despite the lack of possession Carlos Carvalhal’s team had more shots, more shots on target and more shots blocked than their counterparts.
Wednesday had double the amount of shots on target (6/3), and four more shots overall (13/9), interestingly it was centre back, Tom Lees (3), who had the most efforts on goal and full back, Pudil, who had the most on target (2).
Bannan and Jack Hunt (two each) completed more dribbles than any other players on the field, with Hunt attempting five throughout the course of the game.
Despite some feeling like Atdhe Nuhiu doesn’t do enough in the air considering his size, the Austrian won more than double the amount of aerial battles (10) than Preston’s most successful player in the air (Tom Clarke – 4).
Nuhiu, along with Lee and Hutchinson (three each), was also the most fouled player on the field at Hillsborough on Saturday.
Defensive:
Skipper, Tom Lees, once again proved his worth in the centre of defence for Wednesday, making more clearances (10) than any other player, as well as making four interceptions, a tally only beaten by Hutchinson (5). He also had the most touches (65) of any Wednesday player.
Bannan, who is proving to be a great signing, made more successful tackles than anyone else on the pitch, winning six of the seven that he attempted in his 90 minutes.
No Owl on the day was dribbled past more than once, and the Wednesday players managed an 84% tackle success rate on the day as a unit.
The fact that Carvalhal’s men won more aerials, made more than four times the amount of clearances (33/7) and more interceptions showed the defensive capabilities of the side, making sure that they limited Preston’s shots on goal despite the visitors’ superior stats elsewhere.
Summary:
It’s nice to see the boys being so useful with the play at present, meaning that even though no team in the Championship averages less shots per game (10.4), we are the joint-fifth highest scoring team.
As I’d hoped, the boys seem to be settling down a bit now that the transfer window has closed, losing just once since the turn of September as the team look to be gelling and getting to grips with each other.
Less possession and more goals is very promising going forward, and the fact that we’re now just three points off where want to be, inside the playoff places, bodes well for the future if we can try and maintain this sort of form for a considerable spell.
Best Of The Best*
Most Passes – Calum Woods (PNE) – 58
Best Pass Completion – Daniel Pudil/Alan Brown (SWFC/PNE) – 83%
Most Successful Dribbles – Barry Bannan/Jack Hunt/Greg Cunningham (SWFC/PNE) – 2
Most Successful Tackles – Barry Bannan/Alan Browne (SWFC/PNE) – 6
Most Key Passes – Daniel Johnson (PNE) – 3
Most Interceptions – Sam Hutchinson (SWFC) – 5
Most Crosses – Daniel Johnson (PNE) – 9
All stats via WhoScored.com
*Played more than 15 minutes