"A little blip": Sheffield Wednesday midfielder reflects on 'lapse in concentration' in late defeat at Blackburn Rovers

Wednesday's Adam Reach cut a frustrated figure at times out on the right of midfield in their 2-1 defeat at Blackburn

The 26-year-old, who was substituted on the hour for goalscorer Jacob Murphy, admitted the five-minute flurry was uncharacteristic of a Wednesday side that has been praised for its resolute defence since Garry Monk became manager two months ago.

Despite the Rovers double, Monk’s side still have the second-best defensive record in the league having conceded 12, though they are now four worse off than league leaders Leeds United.

Reach told The Star: “Collectively as an 11 I think we’ve been really good defensively. And I think we can carry on being good, it was just a little blip, a little lapse in concentration, maybe a little bit of fatigue coming in at the end.

“For 85 minutes I think we did OK, we stuck to the game plan and managed to get into the lead and that lack of concentration just cost us in the end.

“We’ve got to learn from those things and make sure that if we can’t win those games we’ve got to come away with a draw.

“To win games you’ve got to be perfect for 90 minutes but we’ll dust ourselves down.”

The match itself was a nip-and-tuck affair that saw neither team take control of its direction. Reach admitted he was marooned out on the right at times and that he struggled to get into the game.

The winger echoed Garry Monk’s assertion that the rhythm of the game played out as they had suspected.

“It wasn’t the best game,” he said. “It was a bit scrappy, which it can be away from home. But we knew that was going to happen.

“We got the goal and there was just that lack of concentration twice. It’s bitterly disappointing to come away with nothing but we’ve got to bounce back now and win the next game.

“I don’t think you can be too disappointed with how we played because it’s hard to come here and get the ball down. We knew it was going to be a scrap.”

Having dropped out of the top six, Reach said the side will not dwell too long on the defeat and that they are already looking ahead to a clash with second-placed Swansea City next weekend.

Such is the tight-knit nature of this season’s Championship, a win would see the Owls leapfrog them in the table on goal difference.

He said: “We’ve got a week to prepare for the next game. What’s good about the Championship is that the games come soon enough.

“The good teams, the teams who get promoted, they’ll lose games, but they’ll never lose two in a row, they’ll come back and get the win.”