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Blackpool 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1: Match Report
Blackpool v Sheffield Wednesday.....FA Cup 4th Rd....See you at Hillsborough Owls keeper Stephen Bywater with his counterpart Matthew Gilks at the final whistle
DARREN Deadman provided a bitter pill for Owls fans to swallow once again as they were anticipating a place in the FA Cup fifth round and the sweetness of their take-home Sheffield Wednesday rock - a sell-out in shops close to Bloomfield Road.
Deadman was the referee when the stoppage-time board went up at Hillsborough showing five extra minutes at the end of the Huddersfield game and the opposition went on to snatch a vital goal.
Exactly the same thing happened on Saturday: five extra minutes and an equaliser even more cruel, considering that it came from a debatable penalty decision.
Deadman could not be blamed for Jordan Rhodes’s leveller in the 4-4 thriller at Hillsborough (which actually came in the sixth minute of injury time) but it was controversial when he penalised Chris Sedgwick on Saturday in the second of the five added minutes, and Kevin Phillips’ spot-kick forced a replay.
For me, even a close study of the TV film fails to show conclusively how exactly Seasiders forward Gary Taylor-Fletcher ended up on the deck.
Sedgwick was said to have tugged the sub’s shirt. At the time, I wondered about contact, or whether the forward had just gone down.
What the film does show, however, is that, though the ref was only around 12 yards away, his view may have been impeded by Mark Beevers.
But Stephen Bywater and Danny Batth seemed to be the only players to make a fuss about the decision.
Whatever, the Owls were unlucky to concede in such circumstances and at that stage of the game. Another irritating factor was that Taylor-Fletcher was not likely to have scored anyway: Batth was in a covering position.
Clinton Morrison,
whose brilliantly-taken goal had looked like taking Wednesday through, said: “When the board came up and you knew there were five minutes of injury time, I thought we’d hold on. We’ve got a great defensive unit.
“Sedg said it was a bit dubious. He didn’t think he tugged him.
“You have to move on. It’s an added game for other players who are trying to impress the gaffer. Hopefully we can finish them off at Hillsborough.”
It was a pity, too, for Sedgwick, one of those who came into a side showing seven changes, and who had a decent game along with most other members of the team, including Batth, solid at the back, and Chris Lines, who kept things ticking over in midfield.
As in the third-round win against West Ham, Wednesday did not look out of place against promotion-chasing Championship opposition, though a Blackpool side with eight changes did sometimes have the edge in possession.
Boss Gary Megson observed: “We’ve got 20 outfield players and four goalkeepers. We don’t have reserve players. all are considered, by me anyway, as first-team players.
“They all train together, travel together, do everything together. It was no great surprise to see people come in and do well. They’re all pretty well versed in what we are trying to do.”
The Owls manager questioned the penalty decision and praised Morrison’s goal, which to me looked better at a second viewing.
After keeper Matt Gilks had prevented Ryan Lowe from going around him and had knocked the ball loose, Morrison had two defenders and Gilks between him and the goal, but he still bent a right-foot shot into the net from the right-hand corner of the box, in the 52nd minute.
Wednesday also had first-half chances: Lowe had one volley blocked by Gilks - then Morrison stabbed the rebound wide - and another splendidly saved by the keeper, who also gathered all too easily when Lowe failed with a lob.
On the other hand, Bywater saved impressively from a header by Keith Southern and wonderfully from a volley by ex-United loan forward Billy Clarke, with his left hand.
Blackpool boss Ian Holloway claimed injustice over Wednesday’s goal. His team had only 10 men on the field at the time.
Keith Southern, back after beating testicular cancer, had walked off with a gash that needed eight stitches.
Holloway alleged that his captain had been hit by a “nasty tackle”. He said: “We were aggrieved. The game should have been stopped then they wouldn’t have scored. I was very careful when I spoke to the fourth official, because my behaviour is being monitored probably by aliens and the FA.
“If you ask me, justice was done. They think it wasn’t a penalty. I’m absolutely delighted that it was.”
Megson began with a usual 4-4-2 against Blackpool’s 4-3-3 (or 4-5-1) but changed to 4-1-4-1 in the 59th minute, to “tighten things up”, with Lewis Buxton playing in front of the back four after Jon Otsemobor came on.
The Owls boss summed up: “They had more of the possession in the first half. We could have nullified that by matching up their five in midfield but we were trying to get a win.”
“Once we did score, it was trying to keep hold of what we’d got; I can’t remember them having an opportunity other than chucking balls into the box.”
One such ball paid off for Blackpool. Rob Jones was beaten in the air - a rarity - and a flick-on led to the penalty incident. It was an anti-climax for the Owls.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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Comments
There are 22 comments to this article
Page 1 of 2
waddle_1867
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 05:55 PMDD, I think all the squad interchange quite well, as Megson says, "they are all first team players". I'd go with Bywater before Weaver though.
Honolulu VVednesday 1867
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 04:43 PMIm so glad we drew at blackpool. I was walking on the sea front wearing my Honolulu Wendy gay boys club before the game and met a very nice young man who took me to see his his seaside sweet emporium. He had the biggest rock id ever seen and i asked for a quick suck and he duly obliged! Cant wait for the replay so we can meet up again. His rock is a big un!!!
fed up owl
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 03:08 PMwell can i say about the game at blackpool in my opinion it was good solid display . i was very suprised the team gm put out but hay ho didnt they do us proud . more of this please as for the penalty it was harsh i thought but thats my opinion. now for mk dons who will be playing after blackpool now thats is a very good ?
doggtheveryspecialdeputy
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 02:14 PMCOME ON PEOPEL I GENUINELY WANT TO KNOW WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE\KEEP ETC. SWFC v MKD.. GK Weaver. DEF Buxton, R. Johnson, R. Jones, Batth. MID J. Johnson, Semedo, Prutton, Jones. FWD Madine, O'Grady. SUBS. Bywater, Beevers, Lines, Palmer, Lowe
doggtheveryspecialdeputy
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 02:08 PM@17 All joking aside, I agree, he has wound a few people up this season already. I cant see him being back in Sheffield anytime soon, and nor should he be, go and fek up someone elses season.
LS16 Exile
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:51 PMRe posts 2 and 5: Deadman most certainly isn't a Blade (he is, after all, the clown that denied United a perfectly good goal at Charlton last week) but there is a serious concern to be addressed here. We are all familiar with the trite 'these decisions even themselves out' sort of comments so beloved of the media, but frankly that isn't an adequate response. The fact is that officials such as Deadman are dropping these sort of clangers week after week, and in a promotion race as tight as the League One tussle promises to be, far from evening themselves out, the chances are that decisions by poor officials may well decide who goes up and who doesn't.
Gerimo
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:35 PMDidn't we score 10 against these in their promotion season?
doggtheveryspecialdeputy
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:31 PMHey Strig Dogg. As far as I know GM was still intrested in Bodde Friday, maybe Bostock is instead of due to them playing similar roles but hope not. I would love to have Bodde in the squad he sounds great.
Strigidae
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:09 PMDDoGG - any news on other targets, what happened to Bodde?
doggtheveryspecialdeputy
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 01:06 PMSWFC v MKD.. GK Weaver. DEF Buxton, R. Johnson, R. Jones, Batth. MID J. Johnson, Semedo, Prutton, Jones. FWD Madine, O'Grady. SUBS. Bywater, Beevers, Lines, Palmer, Lowe. ... What do you reckon? Thats what I would like to see.
Dingle Dickie
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:50 PMFlotty - You on halucogenics? It's a picture of Bloomfield Road, which is no Bernabau, I grant you. But however much you dislike us, you really can't expect us to go and paint The Pool's ground for them can you?
doggtheveryspecialdeputy
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 12:45 PMBOSTOCK MOVE IS COMPLETE
Flotter
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 11:43 AMDidnt we Wednesdayites get dumped out of the cup by Birmingham last year? Ok not at Hillsborough & our team was much weaker then, but the result at 3-0 was very similar. The thing about this story that leapt out at me, apart from the ridiculous opening paragraph, was the picture showing what looks like a dirty sl*g heap & a prison wall overlooking the pitch. From what Utd fans have said on our pages I expected the ground to look so much bigger, so much nicer & so much more red & white now. If you had any real love for your club you would be down to B&Q buying red & white paint to cover up that washed out pink. UTFO!------ This message has had 'pending moderation' twice on the pig pages and once on ours. Why?
Flotter
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 11:42 AMComment removed by moderator
Flotter
Monday, January 30, 2012 at 11:39 AMComment removed by moderator
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