SIX things we learned after Sheffield Wednesday 2 Preston North End 1

Sheffield Wednesday 2 Preston North End 1 wasn't short on talking points and here are six...

Forestieri needs to smarten up

That might sound a little harsh but just as he was coming into the type of form that we saw so often last season, the forward stupidly goes and gets sent off after a needless altercation with Ben Pearson. Whether there was much in it or not matters little, he's experienced enough now to know better and not give officials the opportunity to bring out a red card. He scored a great goal and his excellent early play was undone by a sheer moment of lunacy. He's now going to be missing at a crucial stage in the season, letting himself and the team down and, in turn, the hard work he's produced over the past few weeks which had gone some way towards putting a final lid on that sorry saga at the beginning of the campaign has been undone.

Three of the best

We're all well used to Keiren Westwood pulling Wednesday out of a hole with some wondrous saves, but there haven't been many this season. Not that that's his fault - he's been at fault for hardly any, bar the obvious error against Brentford. On Saturday, though, he showed brilliantly a more fundamental side of his game; commanding his area. In the times when Wednesday were under the cosh he was storming out, claiming every ball and taking the pressure off. With the Owls down to ten men, this was crucial. Credit too, to right back Jack Hunt who has been in excellent form in the past few weeks and to Adam Reach who was superb at times on the other side. We're still yet to see Reach at his very best but you get the feeling it's coming.

That squad's not so big after all, is it?

Some - I was one - had complained this season that Carlos Carvalhal had assembled a squad that was too big and left too many on the sidelines. The head coach insisted that 'this is the right amount of players' and after Ross Wallace, Glenn Loovens and Will Buckley picked up injuries on Saturday, added to Forestieri's red card and Gary Hooper's injury a couple of weeks ago, Carvalhal has been proved right. That depth is necessary now, not least coming into the busiest time of the campaign.

Another new strike-force to come

With Hooper and Forestieri unavailable for next week;s game against Reading, we're likely to see another new pairing up front. Lucas Joao and Steven Fletcher would represent an interesting forward line and it would certainly be difficult for defences to play against, but the onus might end up being on the midfield pressing forward to make the most of it. Or Adam Reach, like he did against Cardiff, could be deployed up top again. Plenty for Carvalhal to ponder. And before anyone mentions it, George Hirst still isn't ready.

Sensational Sam

For all of the intricate play that Carvalhal loves his side to produce, there's nothing that British football fans love more than to see someone get stuck right in. That, as always, was Sam Hutchinson on Saturday. The short video put out by Wednesday's twitter account showing three tackles in a row, produced with reckless abandon was peak Hutchinson. While he's forever a yellow card waiting to happen, there's absolutely no doubting his commitment and his energy, not to mention the fact that he's a bloody good footballer and that's why Owls fans love him.

The Fighting Frontmen of North End

Simon Grayson was absolutely raging and so too was the Preston supporter who waited around at the players entrance after the match to have his say when Eoin Doyle came out (Doyle didn't react to that very well either). There'd have been 800 traveling fans just like that one, following the shameful, if somewhat entertaining, scrap between Doyle and his team mate Jermaine Beckford. The latter had a bit of a cry about not being passed to and then they started pushing and shoving with all the grace of a couple of drunken blokes at 2am on West Street. The referee sent them both off and with that went Preston's chances of a comeback. Grayson genuinely felt his team could have got a point; that might have been stretching it a bit but they were putting Wednesday under immense pressure at the time. Both players should be very embarrassed.