Sheffield Wednesday remain sixth in the Championship after Tuesday’s 2-1 defeat against Brentford.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Jon Newsome jumps for a header
Former Sheffield Wednesday defender Jon Newsome has criticised the Owls’ approach during Tuesday night’s home defeat to Brentford – as well as the “excuses” that followed.
Wednesday could have moved to fourth in the Championship with a win against the Bees, who were given the weekend off as Carlos Carvalhal’s side travelled to and beat Nottingham Forest.
The Owls’ fatigue seemed to show in the first half, with Brentford going into the break 2-0 up courtesy of headed goals from centre-halves John Egan and Harlee Dean, although the hosts should have perhaps had a penalty before then after Dean bundled over Fernando Forestieri from behind.
And though Wednesday did find a second wind after the restart, they were left to rue a combination of their own profligacy and the excellence of Daniel Bentley in Brentford’s goal, who was finally beaten three minutes into stoppage time by Forestieri’s curled effort.
Sheffield Wednesday’s Fernando Forestieri finally finds a way past Brentford’s Daniel Bentley
Afterwards, Carvalhal labelled referee Darren Bond a “disaster” and attributed his side’s slow start, in part, to having played four games in 11 days (Sheffield Star).
But in a series of tweets posted after the match, Newsome refused to buy the latter excuse, questioning why, if this was the case, the team showed little sign of fatigue as the game wore on.
Asked if Wednesday’s performance had anything to do with Saturday’s trip to play-off rivals Leeds United, the 46-year-old wrote: “Doubtful. (The result has) been coming for a while in my opinion. Think we’ve started like that too many games and got away with it. Not tonight though.
Brentford’s Harlee Dean scores from a free header
“Forest on Saturday, Wolves etc. etc. Yet when we started quick versus Birmingham we looked great. The way we start most games by playing in our half, slow, lacking any meaningful penetration, we invite pressure.”
In response to one supporter’s comments in accordance with his own, Newsome added.
“(I) agree. We managed to up the ante second half, (we) didn’t look (tired) then. Already suspect (the same excuse) will be rolled out again before Saturday’s game.”
Is Newsome right about Sheffield Wednesday’s Brentford display?
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