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Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Town - Match Report
Saturday, 16th Apr 2016 17:37

Sixteen-year-old Andre Dozzell came off the bench to score a debut goal as the Blues drew 1-1 at Sheffield Wednesday, but Town would now appear to have no realistic chance of making the play-offs. Dozzell came on at half-time and headed home Liam Feeney’s cross in the 71st minute, Fernando Forestieri having given the Owls the lead three minutes before the break.

The Town starting line-up featured five changes with David McGoldrick making his first start since October, while Kevin Bru, Jonathan Douglas, Liam Feeney and Tommy Smith also returned to the team.

Luke Varney (hamstring) and Cole Skuse dropped out through injury, Luke Hyam due to suspension, while Ben Pringle moved to the bench and Ainsley Maitland-Niles was left out of the 18.

Dozzell was amongst the senior subs for a second time, alongside fellow youngsters Adam McDonnell and Myles Kenlock.

The Blues, wearing their orange third kit, started in a 4-4-2 system with Feeney on the left and Kevin Foley on the right, Bru and Douglas in the middle and McGoldrick and Freddie Sears up front.

Town threatened for the first time in the third minute when Sears escaped down the left but his low cross was cut out.

The former Colchester man came close to opening the scoring a minute later when he was sent away on the left following a quickly taken freekick - too quickly according to the home players - but Wednesday keeper Keiren Westwood diverted his shot from a tight angle wide.

The Owls’ first chance came from a ninth minute Ross Wallace corner on the right but Daniel Pudil headed well over.

The Blues were having the better of the opening spell and on 11 McGoldrick, who spent time on loan at Hillsborough in 2011, turned a shot a couple of yards wide of Westwood’s right post.

The Wednesday keeper came close to creating a goal in the 17th minute when his long kick deceived Christophe Berra, allowing Kieran Lee to take the ball down and find Lucas Joao, who broke into the box and hit a low shot across Bartosz Bialkowski but wide of his right post.

Three minutes later, with the Owls now on top, Joao was sent away through on goal on the left by Pudil but was thwarted by the advancing Bialkowski.

On 28 Wednesday skipper Glenn Loovens headed wide from another Wallace right-sided corner.

Just after the half hour, the Owls broke down the left and Wallace whipped over a dangerous ball which Bialkowski punched against Bru at the edge of the box with the ball falling to the Mauritius international rather than a home player. After his initial clearance had cannoned back into the area, Bru eventually saw the ball out for a goalkick.

Barry Bannan scraped a shot wide in the 38th minute after good work from Joao on the right with Wednesday still in charge and with Town rarely getting into the final third.


Three minutes later the home side came even closer when a dangerous ball from the right appeared to catch both Blues skipper Luke Chambers and Forestieri as it flew across the six-yard area before being claimed by a grateful Bialkowski.

But a minute later the Owls went in front. Wallace crossed from the left, Berra’s stooping header hit Joao and fell to Forestieri, who smashed the loose ball past Bialkowski from 10 yards.

Neither side threatened again before the break with the Owls going in deservedly in front.

Having made a bright start with Sears having had a couple of opportunities, the Blues had allowed the home side to get on top and Wednesday might have gone in front prior to Forestieri’s goal with Bialkowski doing well to save from Joao when the Portuguese striker was through on goal.

Town had a lot of work to do in the second half to claim the win which would reignite their play-off hopes.

The Blues handed first-year scholar Dozzell his senior debut ahead of the second half in place of Foley, the academy scholar aged 16 years and 350 days, older than his father Jason who made his famous goalscoring bow aged 16 years and 57 days back in February 1984 in a 3-1 home victory over Coventry at Portman Road.

Town began the half with McGoldrick up front ahead of Feeney, Sears and Dozzell in front of holding pair Bru and Douglas.

Wednesday had the better of the opening quarter of an hour but without seriously threatening to add to their lead, Forestieri lashing over right on the 60 minute mark.

The Owls should have made it 2-0 in the 64th minute when Forestieri broke away on the right and fed Joao, who found Bannan breaking into the area to his left, but the Scotland international scuffed his shot at Bialkowski when he really should have done better. On 70 Wallace and Bru were both booked after an off the ball clash.

Town had made little impression since the break, but in the 71st minute they got on terms with the sub Dozzell following in his father’s footsteps by scoring a debut goal.

The England U17 international fed Feeney on the left before making his way into the area and flicking the on-loan Bolton man’s cross past Westwood from the edge of the six-yard box before celebrating wildly with his team-mates.

Wednesday went about looking to restore their lead and a minute after the Blues’ goal Joao just failed to connect with Bannan’s cross from the left.

The Portuguese frontman went close again soon afterwards with a low shot which Bialkowski bundled behind to his right.

Brett Pitman replaced Bru for the Blues on 75, then moments later Gary Hooper took over from Alex Lopez for the Owls. Pitman quickly got his name in referee Robert Madley’s book for a late tackle on Pudil.

As the game moved into its final five scheduled minutes the Blues were suddenly looking the more likely scorers with Wednesday looking vulnerable on the break. On 86 McGoldrick curled a shot from 25 yards out on the left but was unable to seriously test Westwood.

Two minutes later, Bialkowski did well to get down to save from Wallace and then claim the loose ball with Wednesday now putting the Blues under pressure.

Within a minute Town almost scored a comical own goal when Bialkowski cleared against Chambers, but fortunately the ball rebounded wide.

In the final minute of normal time Bialkowski again saved well from Wallace, before a loose ball fell to Pitman in the Wednesday area but his shot was blocked.

During four minutes of injury time McGoldrick shot too close to Westwood from distance, then Chambers was booked for a foul.

The Blues just about defended a goalmouth scramble from a Wednesday freekick with Bialkowski doing well to punch away under pressure, then seconds before the whistle they had a chance to claim the win.

Feeney broke away on the left and turned the ball back to Knudsen with Pitman unmarked in the area and screaming for the ball.

However, the Dane opted to shoot from distance, well wide as it turned out, rather than pass, much to the anger of the striker, who made his frustration very clear in the remaining moments before the referee’s whistle and manager Mick McCarthy had to say a few calming words as he made his way onto the pitch to issue his usual handshakes.

In normal circumstances the result would be a good one for the Blues but only a win would have been enough to keep them in a play-off hunt which in any case looked unlikely.

Goalscorer Dozzell will make all the headlines and he played a role in creating his equaliser as well as scoring it and never seemed overawed by his call into senior football.

Town having got back on terms both sides had chances, with Bialkowski the more stretched of the two keepers, and a draw was probably a fair reflection of the second half, although Town could - and probably should - have won it at the last had Knudsen picked out Pitman.

The Blues remain eighth, still eight points from the play-offs but only a remarkable series of results could now see them finish in the top six for a second successive season.

Sheffield Wednesday: Westwood, Hunt, Loovens, Lees, Pudil, Wallace, Bannan, Lopez (Hooper 76), Lee, Joao (Nuhiu 84), Forestieri. Unused: Wildsmith, Sasso, Bennett, McGugan, Matias.

Town: Bialkowski, Chambers, Smith, Berra, Knudsen, Douglas, Bru (Pitman 75), Foley (Dozzell 46), Feeney, Sears, McGoldrick. Unused: Gerken, Digby, Kenlock, McDonnell, Pringle. Robert Madley (West Yorkshire). Att 25,082.


Photo: Action Images



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Keaneish added 07:37 - Apr 17
Just seen Nigel Pearson is 8/11 for the Villa job with Montonous Mick an outside 6/1...

Bohslegend - I think people are quiet because they've had the passion and life strangled out of them this season. Here's hoping for a good Euros to peak some interest in football again.
10

GiveusaWave added 07:50 - Apr 17
Jas0999
Do agree with you, but we both know flair and creativity costs money. Like it or not, we seem to need to sell a fair amount every year to break even. Wickham, Cresswell, Mings...it always seems to be about 6M worth of talent every year. Unfortunately, with the players we have we do seem to only be able to play one way. I'd love to see Dozzell and Bishop play every game next year but it's highly unlikely that's going to happen. They won't last the pace/get injured etc. We do have a strategy and most of the time we are hard to beat with our rotating defensive midfield players. Teams get exhausted playing against us and we've always got a chance of hitting them on the break. I think MM was going for a 0-0 with the possibility of winning it in the last 20 minutes,but strategy had to change after their goal.

It is very negative, ugly, turgid and dire football but (somehow) we are 8th in the league. I find that unbelievable given our squad of players vrs others in this division. Many teams with parachute payments are below us. I predicted 10th at the beginning of the season but 8th would prove some result. I feel we may get a 1-0 against Fulham which might mean we finish in 7th.

Maybe I'm just less optimistic. I never thought we'd make the play offs this year given the depth of our squad. When we go outside our first 18 we start having to play players who are nowhere near Championship standard. Most other squads in this division don't need to do that, they have way more strength in depth. I'm not optimistic about next year either. Villa/Newcastle/Norwich have unbelievable resources at their disposal and a huge number of international and u21 internationals to choose from. Other clubs (Brighton, QPR, Fulham etc) have already said they are going to spend big before the start of next season. A top half finish next year would be a good season. The financial differences between those clubs who have been in the Premiership the last 3 years and those that have not is frankly enormous. I just hope we don't end up losing Sears, Smith, Dozzell, Bishop or Bialkowski between now and the beginning of next season.

We do need 4/5 players. Absolutely. We do need to spend money. But we haven't got that money. Milne has already said the investment in the squad will be the same as ever. The budget won't change. We can hope for 3 or 4 young superstars on-loan. It's the best we can hope for. It's a bit depressing, yes. But unless we get an insane offer for Bialkowski or something (AC Milan bid 15M for Bialkowski) we will be bringing in more of the same kinds of player. Grafters who battle hard and give an honest shift.

I'd love to see another Peralta, Civelli, Dos Santos or Taricco at the club, but unless we somehow gain promotion that's a very distant dream. Much more likely to see another Coke, Toure or Douglas in the coming transfer window. Veteran players who can give a good shift.
0

grumpyoldman added 08:39 - Apr 17
Guentchev
0

warktheline added 08:44 - Apr 17
@bohslegend, you've been the biggest culprit for childishness on forum for quite awhile, apart from your recent spell of silence! You unfortunately are beyond seeing what really is going on at our club, and yes McCarthy has sold his soul to the devil too! That potential talent he played yesterday, will be sold at Evans earliest convenience. Shop window parade that at Wednesday.....Mr Capitalism, go and take McCarthy with you. One is only interested in making money, the other picking up his wages.
7

grumpyoldman added 08:48 - Apr 17
Guentchev yes I understand that the youngsters will not play every game and there will be slip ups along he way, but setting up the team in a must win fixture to defend is cautionary in the extreme, having no shots on target in the first half in a must win game is pathetic. Take a close look at our squad and ask yourself apart from a few who would get into the first team of a championship rival on a regular basis. Most would be subs at best, some who post on here need to take off their blue tinted glasses and wake up to reality. That was not aimed at you Guentchev.
4

bohslegend added 09:12 - Apr 17
@warktheline - thanks for the usual b0ll0x0l0gy.

Yeah, sure, MM has a history of selling players at the drop of a hat (especially because the owner forces him to). NOT!

Didzy, Murph and even Mings - all pursued by Prem clubs but we held out. I don't think anyone can argue that we got a great deal for Mings. And we kept our two star strikers despite intense pressure to sell.

But because you choose to believe the kids were only in the "shop window" yesterday it justifies your usual brown liquid vitriol.
-5

runaround added 09:36 - Apr 17
In isolation a draw at Hillsborough is a very good result however in what was a must win to keep the VERY slim hope of top 6 alive it makes no real difference. For me the season cannot end soon enough. What was a positive though was the debut & goal from Dozzell. Hopefully this is a preview of things to come next season. If Evans is unwilling to give a manager funds to compete financially with teams with parachute payments, then blooding some of our promising youngsters, trying to build a team with them over the next few years is the only way forward & something the fans can buy into & get behind
3

Bluetone added 09:40 - Apr 17
@bobslegend quote "@warktheline - thanks for the usual b0ll0x0l0gy."


another quote from bobslegend "Hmmm, childish name calling because someone has a different opinion."

Pot kettle black.
5

Pabloisgod84 added 10:07 - Apr 17
enjoyed the singing in the stand more than the game to be honest, great support as always.
Dozzel brightened the day up and feeney was a big plus.
how we are 8th i will never know we are a real awful side, but i wonder if we had a decent midfield with proper wingers we could be ok because defence could be ok and we have 4 decent strikers.
but the style and instructions for the team from MM are shocking, hoof it anytime instead of looking for calm pass, no structure in the middle to keep the ball.
we aint asking for barca football here but these guys should be able to make a few passes.
on to next season and lets hope for some more youngsters to come through, get rid of douglas, berra has had his best days now i think and move chambo in to centre back and get a new right back.
4

ChrisFelix added 10:13 - Apr 17
Again I believe Berra should have prevented their goal. Top player last season but now needs to be dropped to allow Chambers to play in his preferred position
2

runaround added 10:29 - Apr 17
Guentchev, have to disagree with one thing you put. Flair & creativity don't always have to cost money. Portsmouth showed that in January. Mick chooses not to let the players show it
3

HarryS_H added 11:11 - Apr 17
If a poor season is finishing 8th then think of what a good season will bring us.

Can we not try and be positive about the situation for a change??
-5

martin587 added 11:54 - Apr 17
HarryS_H. We are being positive,the style and tactics under MM are Dire.If you want to paper over the cracks then that's fine.!!
7

Ipswichbusiness added 12:18 - Apr 17
Now that the season is effectively over, let's use the few remaining games constructively. By that I mean give Dozzell a run in the side and bring in whoever is our best young right-back. That would solve two problems for whoever is manager next season.
2

thebeat added 12:50 - Apr 17
bohslegend Mings was sold as soon as we received a bid for him so factually you are wrong there.
But what does that matter you will defend the cowardly dinosaur regardless of facts as proven in the past
7

Seasider added 13:11 - Apr 17
I am pleased for Andre,as I am sure are his parents and the football club.

He was perhaps the bright spot in an otherwise rather drab game where Wednesday outclassed Town in the first half especially in midfeld;where the main weakness to McCarthy's side was of course midfield.

In the 2nd half following the introduction of young Dozzell,and a bit of tweaking by the Manager things improved a bit;but in no way is this team promotion material.

8

warktheline added 15:33 - Apr 17
@ Bohslegend , the only reason why those two weren't sold was because McCarthy no doubt told Mr Capitalism that to stand any chance of play offs these had to remain. We sell, sell sell and sell! No denying that my friend! McCarthy knows the crack, that being, anything that's young with potential is available to sell on for profit. If McCarthy still has a back bone, and believe me, over the years he's been one of the toughest, he should walk away. There's no potential at Portman rd presently, and God help the next man in, my only hope is our club 'accidentally ' inherits an up and coming hungry man who drives our club forward by the scruff of it's neck! For sure, there be no money to assist, and while he's at it, the club will continue on its merry way of selling! There you go, no insults or name calling, give it a try, you may just prefer if!
7

yorksblue added 15:43 - Apr 17
Hope Knudsen watched Cresswell today. How to hit the target under pressure with 3 points at stake
3

prebsa added 16:06 - Apr 17
@yorksbkue - He can watch Cresswell as much as he likes he still wont be a touch on him. Knudsen is a bang average championship player and that is all!
3

Elto added 17:12 - Apr 17
walktheline

'Mr Capitalism'. Not name calling then?
-7

Witchesaswell added 19:36 - Apr 17
Having not read all of the 70 odd posts and at the risk of repeating what others may have said if Andre Dozzell has a creative bone anywhere in his body MM won't play him, or if he does it will be out of position! The man doesn't seem to want to play creative football, end of.
5

warktheline added 22:41 - Apr 17
@elto, get a grip, it's reference to fellow forum users!!!! Calling someone a capitalist isn't using unacceptable language or tone.
2

Elto added 23:10 - Apr 17
walktheline

I knew what you meant, I wasn't serious. It was an attempted joke, a poor one apparently.
1

warktheline added 12:27 - Apr 18
@elto, that's the problem with text, can be misinterpreted. No worries. 😎
2


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