Penalty saves, awards and plaudits: It's a big season for Bailey Peacock-Farrell – and Sheffield Wednesday feels like the place he needs to be

Peacock-Farrell joined Sheffield Wednesday in July on loan from the Clarets in a decision that was made by his parent club to send him out in search of some much-needed game time… Darren Moore was looking for a shot-stopper, and in BPF there was a player who is probably too good for League One.

Rotherham United’s manager, Paul Warne, has already called him the best goalkeeper in the division after a world class penalty save in the Owls’ 2-0 win at the New York Stadium, and his record of having only conceded one (an own goal) in his six games for Wednesday should speak for itself.

On Monday it was confirmed that fans had voted for him as their Player of the Month for August, and he’ll be hoping that there are plenty more clean sheets to come as he looks to add a League One promotion to his CV.

But it’s not just his exploits for the Owls that are earning the 24-year-old plaudits, with another penalty save last week giving Northern Ireland the building blocks for a 4-1 win over Lithuania in a crucial World Cup Qualifier.

It was 2-1 at the time, and NI manager, Ian Baraclough spoke afterwards of the importance of the save given the timing.

He told the media, “It was a big, big moment in the game. Lithuania were on top of the game at that time… I’ve looked at it again, whether or not it was a penalty is irrelevant now but I’m disappointed it was given and my man was booked.

“But when (Peacock-Farrell) was asked the question, he’s a big goalkeeper, it was a big performance… He’s done it before and he’ll do it again.

“He’s only a young lad, 24, he’s gone on loan to Sheffield Wednesday from Burnley and you can tell he’s getting regular games. It was a key moment and it shifted the momentum again. We had to go and make sure we worked hard to create the chances and take the chances when they came.”

Those comments come after the NI manager previously praised the decision to join the Owls, where he said, “It was massive for all of our goalkeeping department to get game time. Bailey has taken that decision along with Burnley to move out of there for the time being to get game time on loan.

“A club like Sheffield Wednesday should be, or will be, at the top of League One and pushing for promotion. Bailey is sharper, bright in his movements and the way he’s playing he will come into the camp in a different frame of mind, I’m sure.”

After beating Lithuania, though, there’s another challenge on the horizon for the former Leeds United man – and it may well be his toughest so far this season.

The Green and White Army go up against Switzerland tomorrow night in their fourth WCQ game for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and it’s been given added importance after the Swiss held group leaders, Italy, at home on Sunday.

He was rested for the 1-0 friendly win over Estonia at the weekend, but it’s expected that BPF will be the last line of defence against the likes of Steven Zuber and Haris Seferovic tomorrow, and Baraclough’s men could take a big step closer to World Cup qualification if they manage to get a result at Windsor Park.

In 450 League One minutes so far, Peacock-Farrell has made 10 saves, won 100% of his aerial duels and made eight clearances on his way to becoming the club’s undisputed number one for the season ahead.

A key component that Moore was looking for in a goalkeeper was the ability to play it out from the back, and in BPF he’s got a player who is more than capable of doing so.

Only four Wednesday players so far this season have made more passes than the goalkeeper (148), and while his pass success rate (54.1%) drops because of his long balls, he’s still completed more passes (90) than many of his teammates. And shown some good footwork in his box along the way.

After his heroics against Rotherham, Moore said of him, “This is why I was so keen to bring him to the club… He’s a first-class goalkeeper. He’s calm, he’s confident and he gives confidence to those around him.”

Look, it remains to be seen if the Owls have any chance of getting the Burnley man on a more permanent basis if he continues to excel at Hillsborough, because that is all in the hands of the Clarets and their goalkeeping department, but if he can keep up the good work then it’s no doubt a question that Moore will be asking come the end of the season.

For now though, Wednesday and Northern Ireland will keep reaping the rewards of Peacock-Farrell’s resurgence in S6, and if he can keep another couple of clean sheets this week – against Switzerland and Plymouth Argyle – then he could see his international side climb into second place in Group C and his club climb to the top of League One. As weeks go, it’s safe to say that that that would be seen as a pretty good one.

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