Huff, puff, blow the house down - Sheffield Wednesday dominate Morecambe in hard-fought but emphatic win

The Owls were good value for their victory at the Mazuma Stadium as they beat the Shrimps 3-0, though they needed to put in the work as the hosts defended well for over an hour prior to the deadlock being broken.

It was tough-fought, but emphatic in the end as Wednesday kept up the pace on those leading the pack at the top of League One.

Out of respect

Across the country this evening football paid respect to Queen Elizabeth II following her passing last weekend, and also ushered in the new monarch, King Charles III.

The players donned black armbands as they stood around the centre circle to observe a minute’s silence, while Moore, his technical team and substitutes – also wearing armbands – lined up on the touchline to do the same.

Stood to their right were Bob Thomson and Mal Neill – of the King’s Own Royal Border Regiment Veteran’s – as well as Flight Lieutenant Kris Bishop from the Royal Airforce, who raised their arms in salute.

Something a little bit different

After the Barnsley game many fans called for a ‘Plan B’ from Wednesday, a change from the 5-3-2 that they’d utilised most of this season so far.

The starting XI suggested that Moore had done just that, with lots of attacking players taking the field as he made three changes from the horror result against the Tykes.

But it felt more complex than just a single change in formation, because out of possession it still looked like a 3-5-2. But at various points Wednesday looked to be a 4-2-3-1, then other times a 4-3-3 when in possession. Almost a 4-2-4 at times as well with Josh Windass being handed a bit of a free role.

The Owls bossed possession throughout the game, and had by far the most chances – in that sense the change seemed to work – and they got what they came for in the end. Even though they had to work for it.

Huff, puff, blow the house down – Bannan at the heart of it

Morecambe did extremely well for 70 minutes, especially defensively. They got on the end of every cross, got vital touches to stop key chances, but Wednesday huffed and puffed, and – through two set pieces – finally blew the house down.

It took a lot to beat Connor Ripley between the sticks, who made save after save as Wednesday racked up 29 shots and finished with over 70% of the possession.

Bannan was at the heart of it, dictating everything from the centre of the park and grabbing two assists along the way. Had over 13% of the possession on his own and made more than double the amount of key passes than Morecambe’s whole team (10/4).

Liam Shaw’s boo boys

It was to be expected, really… Shaw is a lifelong Wednesdayite, but when he left the Owls for Celtic following relegation into League One it left a bit of a bitter taste in the mouths of Wednesday fans.

He was booed when his name was read out beforehand, and every time he touched the ball. They also took great delight any time the 21-year-old gave away a foul or lost possession.