“No wonder they love him” “They’ll win the league” Former Sheffield Wednesday striker on Owls’ Portsmouth triumph

Guy Whittingham played 113 league matches for the Owls between 1994 and 1999 and made quite an impression on the Owls support for five years of whole-hearted effort and some important goals along the way.

But as a former player, manager and now pundit for Portsmouth, his leaning will have been towards the home side as he watched Pompey lose 1-0 in a fiercely contested League One clash at Fratton Park on Saturday.

A robust defensive performance led by Aden Flint was the again the catalyst for Wednesday victory after Josh Windass’ early goal – but it was a win they had to fight for in the face of a strong Portsmouth effort and a raucous home support.

Speaking to BBC Solent, Whittingham spoke glowingly about Wednesday.

“It was a good competitive game, a tight game, and poor defending from Portsmouth has been the one thing that has cost them,” he said.

“But Sheffield Wednesday, defensively, you can see why they’ve got such a good record. They’re so hard to break down and Portsmouth weren’t able to do it today.

“Portsmouth had lots of possession, decent shots but they got blocked or went wide.

“Look, Sheffield Wednesday have conceded 22 goals in 34 games, and three (of them) was the first game of the season, so 19 goals in 33 games!”

Asked of Wednesday’s position at the top of the division, which was extended to three points with two games in hand as Plymouth Argyle lost 3-0 at Barnsley, Whittingham, who also played for Aston Villa and Wolves among others, made clear his feelings on their ability to hang on to top spot heading into the business end of the campaign.

“I can’t see anybody catching them,” Whittingham said. “They’re on a great run – and even if they drop a few points, they’ve got games in hand still."

The clean sheet was Wednesday’s 21st of a record-breaking season on the defensive front. Though Flint takes the central plaudits for a robust showing, as ever Darren Moore’s side fought to defend as a team. The player that epitomised that spirit was, Whittingham said, captain Barry Bannan.

He continued: “Their three centre-halves were very solid for balls coming into the box, there were recovery runs from midfield players and Barry Bannan? No wonder they love him, the Sheffield Wednesday fans. He was all over the place.

“Pompey couldn’t force the keeper into any saves because they couldn’t create that one chance that would give them an opportunity to score.

“They kept putting decent balls into the box but Sheffield Wednesday just defended well and didn’t allow (Colby) Bishop to have a free header.

“A couple of times when you thought someone would get on the end of something, and it was a decent cross, there was always a Sheffield Wednesday player there to clear it, to block it. You just didn’t get that drop down that fell for a Portsmouth player.”

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