Sheffield Wednesday fans must have been fearing another defeat last night when Norwich City travelled to South Yorkshire, after a humiliating 6-2 loss at the hands of Watford in the Championship had seriously soured the mood at Hillsborough last time out.
But, the Owls bounced back with a comfortable 2-0 win over the Canaries instead of succumbing to another loss in the league, as Johannes Hoff Thorup’s away side offered very little in attempting to get anything out of the contest.
Hit by a worrying injury list, Norwich crumbled on the road, as Danny Rohl’s men eventually strolled to a much-needed three points with Josh Windass standing out in particular for the rejuvenated hosts.
Windass' performance in numbers
Windass got his team up and running with the opening strike of the contest, with the entertaining 30-year-old latching onto a Marvin Johnson through ball early into the first half to then power home an effort past a shaky George Long for 1-0.
Away from that crucial contribution, the Wednesday number 11 did fade in and out of the game with only 30 touches coming his way from the 66 minutes he was present for on the Hillsborough turf, but he would still manage to notch up a key pass for his efforts alongside winning two ground duels.
That strike is already Windass’ fourth goal of the Championship season for the inconsistent Owls, who know they can rely on their attacking midfield ace to come up trumps when they need a moment of magic, with six goals and two assists picked up last season in league action as Rohl’s men managed to beat the drop.
Rohl and Co will hope wins like these against Norwich can go far in steering them away from those dreaded relegation spaces again, with other midfielders on the night away from just Windass also impressing those watching on, especially Shea Charles who assisted the game-clinching second goal of the clash when Dominic Iorfa headed home the Southampton loanee’s delivery.
Charles' performance in numbers
The Northern Ireland international has been a steady performer for his new side ever since putting pen to paper on a loan switch to move to South Yorkshire in the summer, with the 21-year-old starting 11 games for Wednesday in the league to date.
This showing against a beleaguered Norwich side is arguably his most impressive, away from just picking up the assist for Iorfa’s decisive header.
The Owls’ number 44 was calm and controlled on the ball whilst also showing the necessary grit to protect his side’s clean sheet in the 2-0 victory.
Stat
Charles
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
1
Touches
48
Accurate passes
31/33 (94%)
Key passes
4
Big chances created
1
Tackles
2
Total duels won
4/7
Looking at the table above, it was a well-rounded display from the central midfielder, with only two passes misplaced all match seeing him end the game with a 94% pass accuracy in-tact, whilst also managing to win two tackles and four duels as a forceful presence in the middle of the park.
Sheffield Star journalist Alex Miller would rightly praise Charles’ performance after the game, gifting the 21-year-old a high 8/10 rating post-match and singling out the fact that the Southampton loanee ‘never stopped running’ amongst other glowing words.
Rohl will hope his team has turned a corner ahead of the Steel City Derby that awaits them in the next round of second-tier fixtures, with Bramall Lane no doubt bouncing this coming Sunday as the Owls aim to burst the Blades bubble with back-to-back wins.
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