Sheffield Wednesday hit big milestone and close in on club record after battle with Fleetwood Town

It wasn’t the best of starts for Wednesday in what was a bit of a sleepy performance in the early stages, Fleetwood asking a few questions of their backline and certainly having the best of the chances.

But Moore’s side composed themselves, and found a spark through Liam Palmer as he picked the ball up in the middle of field before slipping in a delightful ball to Josh Windass.

Windass, with plenty of goals himself in 2023, turned provider as he cut it back to Johnson at the far post, the wingback finishing with aplomb into the roof of the net to give them the lead.

Fleetwood’s away record is impressive, losing just three all season, and it wasn’t difficult to see why as they battled to get back into it, but the Owls’ defence held firm.

The second half started with much of the same, the Cod Army frustrating the hosts and showing just why they’ve been so difficult to beat on the road.

Wednesday introduced Callum Paterson for Michael Smith to inject something different up top, and the tide did shift – the Owls seemed to be on the ascendency.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Tyreeq Bakinson followed as Moore brought another couple of fresh faces into the fray, and the changes nearly paid off as Lee Gregory raced free in the final seconds only to be clattered by goalkeeper, Jay Lynch.

It wasn’t to be, though, and he blazed over with the last kick of the game – leaving it at 1-0.

Dennis the Menace

It must have been a lovely moment for Dennis Adeniran as he made his first league start of the season after a 2022 to forget, and it was great to see him bombing about the pitch again with exactly the sort of energy that Moore will have wanted from his side against a dogged Fleetwood. He was a real menace for the visitors, not giving up on anything.

He put himself about well, showed some really nice touches, and it’ll have been a massive confidence boost to not only get the win but play his part in another clean sheet before coming off for Tyreeq Bakinson.

That back three

It was always going to be a tough game against this Fleetwood side, but the back three once again showed why Wednesday have conceded so few goals over the course of this season.

Today’s clean sheet was number 16 for the campaign, and Palmer, Dominic Iorfa and Akin Famewo had to work hard for it, repelling a number of crosses and long balls thrown their way.

Palmer – a consistent performer all season – played a big part in the opening goal, and Iorfa/Famewo were as solid as you like – fending off a final few waves as the game came to an end.

The stats look good

Not only was it now 15 unbeaten in League One, but Wednesday have now won five league games in a row for the first time in 2017, it’s 20 matches since defeat in 90 minutes.

One more clean sheet will equal the club record of 17, and they’re now seven points clear of third placed Ipswich Town.

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