A second-half headed goal from man-of-the-match Akpo Sodje ushered in a the new era at Sheffied Wednesday and gave the Owls a narrow but deserved win in the seasons’ first South Yorkshire derby played at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.
The striker climbed the highest on the hour to head past Heinz Muller and register his fourth goal of the season condemning the Reds to another defeat on Hillsborough soil after having lost the last ten games played there.
After the resignation of club chairman Dave Allen on Friday, Wednesday were embarking on a new era in the history of the club and it was they that probably edged a typically tense South-Yorkshire derby opening few minutes.
Jermaine Johnson, who looked lively all night, saw his deflected shot force a corner, from which Marcus Tudgay almost converted and then a drive from distance from captain Steve Watson flew into the grateful arms of Muller.
The visitors came close to converting from their first corner of the game a little later in the half when skipper Brian Howard’s corner was met by the head of Dennis Souza, who forced the in-form Lee Grant into a superb reflex save pushing the ball up over his crossbar.
The Owls, who at times played with a fluidity you see every week in the Premiership, constantly looked dangerous on the counter-attack, and one such sweeping move (that started on the edge of their own area) ended with the Watson chipping narrowly wide after intelligent link-up play between Sodje and Burton O’Brien.
Soon after, Frank Simek forced the Tykes goalkeeper into a spectacular diving save to turn the ball past his right-hand post, but both teams went into the changing rooms at the half-time whistle unable to break the deadlock.
It only took twenty seconds of the second half to send the pulses racing. Wednesday almost had the ball in the back of the Barnsley net after the ball bounced off the defender Dominic Werling’s knee onto the post. The on-rushing Tudgay then was unable to beat Muller who made himself big and blocked his rebound shot.
This was the turning point of the match as suddenly the Owls hit top gear and started playing with far more urgency - it was almost like it was this season’s cup final. A controversially awarded free kick gave Wednesday the chance to get the ball into the box, a ball which Sodje leapt above his marker and headed into the net to give the Owls a deserved lead, just past the hour mark. Wednesday had thirty minutes to hang on.
Sodje’s goal kick-started the Tykes, who before kick off sat proudly above both Sheffield teams in the table, and Istvan Ferenczi and Martin Delaney both went close in the short space of a minute as the contest suddenly sprang into life. Substitute Kayode Odejayi headed wide from six yards with the goal at his mercy, Howard arrowed a shot past Grant’s right post before Devaney forced Grant into a smart save at the near post prompting the 27.700 crowd to start chanting “England’s Number 1”…
Despite being given four minutes of injury time, Barnsley were unable to find the finish they needed to salvage a point and so with the final whistle Wednesday celebrated an epic victory. A victory, which elevates them up to fourteenth place in the table just a single point behind the Blades ahead of Colchester’s visit to Hillsborough this coming Saturday.
By Andrew Burgess
