Sheffield Wednesday match report: Brentford 1 Owls 1

Sam Hutchinson claimed his first league goal in over two years to rescue a point for Sheffield Wednesday at Brentford today.
Brentfor v Sheffield WednesdayBrentfor v Sheffield Wednesday
Brentfor v Sheffield Wednesday

The centre-back headed home Barry Bannan's free-kick in added on time to cancel out Lasse Vibe's bizarre 54th minute strike.Both teams were reduced to 10 men in the second half, with Owls debutant David Jones seeing red before Vibe was also dismissed.The draw extends the Owls' winless run to five matches heading into the two-week international break.It would have been a travesty had Wednesday left West London empty-handed after dominating a one-sided first half. The Owls outclassed the Bees in every department and should have been out of sight but failed to turn their dominance into goals.

Carvalhal shuffled his pack, making three changes. He dropped Jack Hunt, Ross Wallace and Almen Abdi and handed starts to Liam Palmer, Jones and Lucas Joao. Chances were at a premium in the early stages as both sides cancelled each other out.It was proving a real tactical battle but Wednesday came agonisingly close to opening the scoring in the 13th minute. Barry Bannan, stationed out on the right flank, whipped in a teasing cross towards the back post after a free-flowing move only for Daniel Pudil to steer his effort wide.The visitors monopolised possession and pinned Brentford deep inside their own half. Tom Lees saw his bullet header from Jones' free kick was cleared away by Nico Yennaris from under his own crossbar.Moments later, Joao some how blazed over following good build-up play involving Steven Fletcher, Bannan and Lee. It was a dreadful miss and Joao knew it.Wednesday were on top for the majority of the half but had no cutting edge in the final third, with Daniel Bentley producing a smart save to thwart Forestieri.Brentford, managed by former Owls skipper Dean Smith, had a strong penalty appeal turned down just after the half hour mark when John Egan's effort appeared to hit Sam Hutchinson's hand but the referee waved play on.

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At the other end, Harlee Dean came to the Bees rescue, hacking away Fletcher's drive from off the line.As an attacking force, Brentford created little. Egan's shot on the turn was easily gathered by Keiren Westwood in a rare cohesive move.But back came Wednesday and Forestieri, looking lively on the left wing, dragged wide after being released by Lee as Carvalhal's men continued to pile on the pressure.On the stroke of half-time, Joao called Bentley into action. The Portugal international's header was superbly turned behind following a lovely centre by Palmer, who was preferred at right-back to Hunt.Things opened up after the break, with Bentley equal to Pudil's long range strike before Ryan Woods tried his luck for Brentford.And the Bees went ahead through Vibe, who charged down Keiren Westwood's attempted clearance and the ball trickled into the back of the net.After Vibe's strike, Owls responded well and Joao raced on to Huthinson's pass before shooting straight at Bentley.However, Brentford grew in confidence and stature and Westwood made a good save with his legs to prevent Scott Hogan from doubling their lead after fine play by Woods.Hogan, who had netted eight goals in his previous eight league appearances, wasted a good chance to put the contest out of Wednesday's reach mid-way through the half. The striker was sent clear by Vibe but his chip from an acute angle drifted off target.To compound Wednesday's misery, Jones was given his marching orders. The 31-year-old had been booked earlier in the half for a mistimed tackle and received a second yellow card for dissent.The Owls kept passing and probing and Bentley pulled off a stunning save to stop Almen Abdi grabbing a late leveller. From the resulting corner, Bentley thwarted Lees and it looked like being another frustrating afternoon for last year's Play-Off finalists.Brentford were hanging on after Vibe was red carded, but Hutchinson had the final say to send the 1,600 travelling fans home happy.

Brentford: Bentley; Colin, Dean, Egan, Elder; Woods, Yennaris; Sawyers (Bjelland 83), MacLeod (Saunders 77), Vibe; Hogan. Substitutes: McEachran, Kerschbaumer, Clarke, Ledesma, Kurasik.Owls: Westwood; Palmer (Abdi 76), Lees, Hutchinson, Pudil; Bannan, Lee, Jones, Forestieri; Fletcher (Hooper 66), Joao (Nuhiu 69). Substitutes: Wildsmith, Hunt, Buckley, Sasso.Referee: Peter Bankes (Merseyside)