Young Sheffield Wednesday defender could get another chance to impress against West Brom
One young Owls defender made his Championship debut at the weekend
Young Owls defender, Mackenzie Maltby, could get another opportunity to impress in the last game of the season against West Brom this weekend depending on injuries.
The 21-year-old, who has come through the academy ranks, made his first appearance in the Championship in the 4-1 defeat to Oxford United on Saturday. The Scottish defender replaced Sean Fusire at half-time at the Kassam Stadium and did not let anyone down with his performance.
The centre-back, who had a productive loan spell at Scarborough Athletic last season, has been out injured for a long period but was given a chance by Henrik Pedersen to show what he can do.
With fellow academy graduate Cole McGhee, 21, on the bench, many probably expected him to have been the one to enter the pitch having played 10 times in the Championship this season but it was Maltby who got the nod.
Explaining the reason for the half-time change and why he chose to go with Maltby over McGhee, Pedersen told The Star: “I wanted to have Liam (Palmer) higher. We know where Cole is. We want to see MacKenzie to see how he performed at Championship level. So I think it was natural to to see him in a game like this.”
Gabriel Otegbayo was not in the squad because of a calf problem but Pedersen did not rule him out of making a return against West Brom. But should the Republic of Ireland under-21 international not be fit enough then Maltby could get another opportunity to make a positive impression.
“Yeah, let's see,” Pedersen said. “Gab is hopefully back for Saturday’s game. He was out with an injury today, but I hope he'll come back. So let's see. He has some calf problems, fatigue. We hope he can be a part again for next Saturday.”
The visit of West Brom is heading for a sell-out and it could be the biggest attended Championship match of this season. The Baggies were docked two points last week for breaching financial fair play rules but they secured their place in the Championship for next season with a goalless draw against Ipswich Town.