Please, just put the ball in the net; Atdhe does a job: Five things we learned from Sheffield Wednesday’s defeat against Swansea City

It was another frustrating day at the office for Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday as they were beaten 2-1 by Swansea City, making it two defeats on the bounce for Garry Monk’s new-look Owls.
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The most frustrating part for Monk will be that, once again, the new 3-5-2 formation being favoured looked to be working out, but Rhian Brewster and Andre Ayew punished SWFC’s poor finishing and Atdhe Nuhiu’s late-goal then proved to be nothing but a consolation.

I had a look at some of the talking points…

Please, just put the ball in the net

Play well. Create chances. Not take chances. Get punished. Sound familiar?

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Monk said after the game that Wednesday have to be more ruthless, and he’s obviously not wrong. Jacob Murphy (x2), Alessio Da Cruz, Dominic Iorfa and Massimo Luongo all had big chances to score, but – through bad finishing or good defending – none of them managed it.

If Murphy or Da Cruz take their big chances in the first half, Wednesday put that game to bed. Instead, they return to Sheffield with nothing.

Atdhe’s still doing a job

It was another frustrating result for Sheffield Wednesday. (Pic Steve Ellis)It was another frustrating result for Sheffield Wednesday. (Pic Steve Ellis)
It was another frustrating result for Sheffield Wednesday. (Pic Steve Ellis)

Look, he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but Nuhiu is now far and away the top scoring player at Hillsborough. He’s got 48 goals (26 more than the second highest scorer, Kieran Lee), and could soon become the first Wednesday player since Marcus Tudgay in 2010 to score 50 goals for the club.

His bullet header against Swansea wasn’t enough to get a point, but it was the fifth stoppage-time goal he’s scored this season, and as an impact player you can’t really doubt his worth.

Thoughts on Hunt?

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It was a big chance for young Alex Hunt today as he got a full half of senior football for the first time since 2018, but he had big shoes to fill as he came on to replace Lee and was used almost as a defensive midfielder.

His passing was a bit wayward and he gave away a few freekicks, but Monk has always said that he’s going to need time and patience. The manager will know best if he’s ready to start games, but Sunday suggested he might need a bit longer before that happens.

Poor Wildsmith

Spare a thought for Joe Wildsmith, everyone. The Owls academy graduate has now conceded eight goals in four games since getting his place back between the sticks, and none of them have been his fault.

With penalties, follow-ups, deflections and good finishing, I don’t think the shot-stopper can be blamed for any of the goals conceded, and I think we’d all just like to see him get his first clean sheet since back in 2018.

The Sky blessing is over

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Up until Sunday, Wednesday hadn’t lost any of their eight Championship games that had been televised on Sky this season, but all good things must come to an end of course.

More on Wednesday:

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