Scunthorpe United v Sheffield Wednesday

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Football League Championship

Scunthorpe United :
Murphy, Williams, Byrne, Jones (Moloney 68), Mirfin, Togwell, McCann, Thompson, Woolford (J.Wright 62), Hayes, Hooper (Forte 80).
Subs not used:
Lillis, Sparrow, Morris, McDermott.

Sheffield Wednesday :
Grant, Spurr, Buxton, Purse, Beevers, Gray (Esajas 74), Potter, O'Connor (A.Sodje 81), Soares (Varney 66), Tudgay, Clarke.
Subs not used:
Jameson, Hinds, Simek, McAllister.

SULSESC REPORT

by Sheffield Star at Glanford Park

WHEN even the opposing manager admits that Wednesday dominated the game, you know that the first defeat under Alan Irvine should not be taken too hard.

Last night's 2-0 result certainly flattered Scunthorpe and the tone of the contest did nothing to suggest that the Owls revival is over.

In fact the pressure that Irvine's men applied in the second half perhaps represented the most authoritative spell that they have enjoyed in his four games in charge. But they always struggled to score.

One down after being caught cold in the second minute, Wednesday were combated by steely resistance from the Iron, could not penetrate or get a break in the box and were hit by a second goal completely against the run of play.

The winning run was bound to end probably sooner rather than later but at least the Owls again showed spirit and endeavour and I think they can count themselves unfortunate not to have picked up a point.

Irvine kept Luke Varney waiting for a start and named an unchanged side after Saturday's 2-1 win against Peterborough.

Scunthorpe fielded the same team that started Sunday's FA Cup 4-2 defeat against Manchester City.

The bad start was just what Wednesday didn't want. After a dodgy pass from Lewis Buxton, possession was lost, the Owls were opened up by a crossfield ball from left to right and striker Gary Hooper ran clear to stroke the ball calmly last Lee Grant.

Scunthorpe made another chance eight minutes later when the ball was knocked forward and laid off to Hooper's strike partner Paul Hayes whose shot was feebly hit into Grant's arms.

Scrappy stuff in the early stages was followed by a spell of crisper, attacking play by Wednesday around the 25-minute mark though they did not make a clear-cut opening.

One of the Owls' problems was that Marcus Tudgay was being overpowered in the air by a towering centre half, Rob Jones. Scunthorpe also worked like terriers to close Wednesday down and stifle their passing.

At least the Owls were largely comfortable in their half and not experiencing any new threat from the home side - until the 34th minute when midfield player Grant unleashed a wicked left-foot strike from just outside the box.

Grant got a vital touch to help it over the bar.

A short spell of Wednesday pressure just before half time inspired noisy backing from the away fans at the far end of the ground and raised hope of better things to come in the second half.

The volume increased as the Owls began brightly after the restart. But they still could not find any real penetration despite putting in the effort against the battling Scunthorpe side.

Most of Wednesday's set pieces were either less accurate than usual or were dealt with firmly either by the home defence or the keeper.

The Owls wound up the pressure, roared on by their fans, but could not get a break in the box or carve out a chance - until Michael Gray was put through in the 63rd minute.

Inside the area and just to the right of goal, he had to shoot with his right foot and screwed it past the keeper's left hand post.

Irvine replaced Soares with Varney on the right side of midfield and saw it almost pay off immediately: Darren Potter played a pass out to the sub, he drove the ball in, and Tudgay chested it wide.

The Owls were hit on the break soon after that and right winger Garry Thompson struck a good opportunity wide from 12 yards.

Still Wednesday dominated but another counter-attack was a killer blow. Thompson cut in from the right and teed up McCann. The midfielder's first shot was met by a great block from Buxton, but the loose fell for him and he stuck it into Grant's top left-hand corner.

It would have been a gross injustice if Hayes had made it 3-0 with an overhead kick. Grant touched it over the bar.

With Akpo Sodje on as an extra forward, in place of O'Connor, Wednesday kept driving forward and Varney hammered a half-chance off target.

The final stages saw Irvine's first departure from 4-4-2: it was 4-3-3, with Clarke, Sodje and Varney up front, and Etienne Esajas and Tudgay flanking Potter in midfield.

It was an attacking line-up to try to change a game that was slipping away. But there was no stopping Scunthorpe's bid to avenge their 4-0 thrashing at Hillsborough.

Iron boss Nigel Adkins praised his players' character and teamwork and admitted: "We knew it was going to be tough game. Sheffield Wednesday, let's face it, have dominated the game. We had to defend well, and we did.

"We've beaten Sheffield Wednesday at home - it's a fantastic result for anybody."

Defeat meant the Owls have been overtaken by the Iron but they have another chance to climb further away from the bottom three when Plymouth visit Hillsborough on Saturday.