Henrik Pedersen identifies two improvements Sheffield Wednesday must make after Preston defeat
Sheffield Wednesday produced one of their best performances of the season so far against Preston North End on Saturday - but it was not enough to prevent another defeat.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Henrik Pedersen has admitted he has taken plenty of encouragement from the way his team has reacted to last Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Sheffield United - but has accepted they still need to improve at both ends of the pitch.
Despite suffering a fourth straight Championship defeat on Saturday, losing 3-2 to Preston North End at Hillsborough, Wednesday produced their best home performance of the campaign by some distance that, on another day, could have resulted in them clinching all three points.
A first half brace from Charlie McNeill, either side of a Ben Whiteman strike, meant the Owls took a fully deserved 2-1 lead into the half-time interval. However, they were pegged back for a second time shortly after the break when Lewis Dobbin headed in from close range, marking the second corner of the afternoon Wednesday had conceded from.
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Wednesday were presented with the opportunity to take the lead for a third time when Odeluga Offiah handled Sean Fusire’s cross, but McNeill, going in search of a first hat-trick of his senior career, saw his effort saved by North End goalkeeper Daniel Iversen in what proved to be a decisive moment in the contest, as Mads Frøkjær-Jensen, who had earlier come off the bench, scored to put the visitors in front just a few moments later.
The Dane’s strike condemned Wednesday to a fourth defeat on the bounce and an eighth at Hillsborough this season, meaning boss Pedersen was left to reflect on another deeply frustrating afternoon. However, he was encouraged by the manner in which his team built on their performance in their midweek defeat at Millwall, particularly their level of chance creation.
Pedersen confident Owls can take positives from defeats
Pedersen told The Star: “It was one game against United, but before this, what could we always say about the boys? They did everything, putting in all the effort that they could.
“We take Millwall and we take today and we competed with two of the top teams from the league, and I have no reason why we should not get a bigger confidence and a bigger belief in the things we are doing.
“We have to keep on going and be better to take the chances. We created more today, we were strong on the ball, we created big chances, but we have to score more goals. We are training to do that, and we have to improve our defensive set-pieces.
“We have to keep going and I am sure there will come more games where we can win. I would be much more nervous if we didn’t have a chance and had lost two games without any chances.
“In both games, tactically, we were so well-organised and well-prepared. I have the biggest respect for the boys for the performances from the boys in the last two games. This gives me belief that we can compete in many more games and we can get a lot of points also in the future.”