"Full throttle" "Dreadfully inconsiderate": Heroes and villains in Sheffield Wednesday's important Preston win

Sheffield Wednesday shrugged off the disappointment of a bruising midweek defeat to rally to a 1-0 home win – their fourth in a row – against promotion-chasing Preston.

Who were the heroes and villains in the piece? Let’s take a look..

Sam Hutchinson

You wonder whether the divisive issue of Sam Hutchinson’s Hillsborough return will be one that rumbles on for the rest of the season in some quarters.

Those against his signing scored a debating point in an understandably sluggish performance in defeat at Coventry. But those for? Take three points for a show of class yesterday.

Stepping back into centre-half, that was the exact display he was brought in for; assured, confident, full of experience. His reading of the game was top class and next to Tom Lees and Osaze Urhoghide, both heroes in their own rights for classy efforts, Wednesday kept Preston at a safe distance.

Osaze Urhoghide

There was a point in the second half that saw Urhoghide, so raw and full of enthusiasm, overstretch for a ball and give it away.

And then came two seconds of the young defender at his best; back-to-back tackles at full throttle that recovered the ball for Wednesday and stopped any notion of a Preston attack dead.

Urhoghide’s previous whirlwind time with the first team was rather split in half; man of the match outings at Brighton and Leeds were followed by a horror display against Reading.

With more senior figures returning, it may be that the exciting youngster is shuffled back into the pack. If he is given more opportunity, consistency is what he’ll be aiming for.

Derby County

Dreadfully inconsiderate of them to win again, wasn’t it?

Neil Thompson

The Owls caretaker faced one or two critics for how he set his side up at Coventry. Too cautious they said, not ‘front foot’ enough.

Any groans at the set-up this weekend were short lived. His decision to play Hutchinson in the middle of a three proved to be a masterstroke, with Preston largely nullified and kept to long range shots by a stoic defence.

He’s had an impressive run of results as stand-in boss. Will the club be tempted to keep him on?

Liam Palmer

What a strike, 3,430 days since the last. One of their own. Lovely stuff.

MORE FROM OUR WEDNESDAY WRITING TEAM

Big heart from Big O: Player ratings in Sheffield Wednesday's vital 1-0 win over Preston North End

“We’ve got compassion…” - Sheffield Wednesday’s match-winner on the wages situation

Liam Shaw's continued Sheffield Wednesday absence explained

*

SPECIAL OFFER: By subscribing to The Star’s sports-only digital package you help us to continue providing the best coverage of Sheffield Wednesday. Until February 1 there’s 20% off a year’s subscription, taking you through what is expected to be a busy transfer window. All the details are HERE, just use the promo code TRANSFER20.