Sheffield Wednesday boss hails ‘fantastic’ Owl following reaction to ‘negative voices’

Anthony Musaba got the winner, of course, scoring late in the game against the Potters, but without Dawson keeping out Ryan Mmaee from 12 yards it’s unlikely that Wednesday would have been in a position to win it at all.

‘Daws’ has come in for some criticism from elements of the Wednesday support in recent weeks, but he has consistently been defended by his manager, Danny Röhl, and the German heaped praise on the shot-stopper after his role in setting up a three-game unbeaten run.

Speaking to The Star over the weekend, the Owls boss said, “In the past it was not always easy for Cameron, he got some negative voices against him. But he saved the point against Leicester, and now he was there in the key moment. It’s fantastic, and this was my way to protect my player. I believe in them, and if you can have a good relationship with them then it shows everybody that we want to win as a team. That was fantastic.”

For Dawson, though, it was about getting the result. The win was Wednesday’s first away from Hillsborough this season, and was enough to see them leapfrog Rotherham United in the Championship table. It wasn’t pretty, but it often isn’t at the bet365 Stadium.

“We were aware that we’d not won on the road as of yet this season,” Dawson said afterwards. “So to get that first win and get off the bottom of the table as well could be a big psychological boost… Credit to the lads for hanging in there right until the end.

“I think we’ve shown massive improvements in the way we can play football, I work with the ball and without the ball, but to come to this place - it’s never easy, and a tough place to come - it was important that we dug in. We showed another side to our game today.”

Dawson’s clean sheet in Stoke was his 45th in Wednesday colours, and he’ll be hoping to hit his half century as soon as possible after last season’s record-breaking season.