This victory may not take up too much room on Sheffield Wednesday’s end-of-season DVD, but its significance must not be understated. Derby’s defeat by Leeds on Friday afforded the sixth-placed Owls the opportunity to open up daylight between the play-off places and the chasing pack – and although it was hard work on occasions, it was job done for Carlos Carvalhal’s side.
The desperation surrounding how close Wednesday came to a return to the Premier League seven months ago could have easily hung over them this season but, on this showing, they seem capable of winning even when they are far from their best: a hallmark of a side capable of going close again this season.
Wednesday have made wins over Huddersfield a regular occurrence in recent years, including a crucial 1-0 win in West Yorkshire earlier this season. Yet given results elsewhere this weekend, this represents the biggest of the lot as the Owls opened up a five-point lead on the seventh-placed Rams.
The nine-point gap to the automatic promotion places may yet prove to be a bridge too far for Wednesday – but with second-placed Brighton their next opponents, this win keeps the Owls on the periphery of the hunt for the top two. “It’s a great win against a tough team, so of course, we’re happy,” Carvalhal said. “I don’t worry about the table too much – my focus is Brighton because that’s the most important game of our season.”
That David Wagner’s Huddersfield have remained in the race for promotion following their blistering start to the season last summer is commendable but this was an afternoon to forget for the Terriers. On another day they may have been two or three ahead by half-time after completely dominating the first 45 minutes but ultimately they would live to regret their profligacy in front of goal and miss out on a glorious opportunity to go back up to third.
“We weren’t clinical enough and we’ve got to be honest about that,” insisted Wagner, who also pointed to a number of key decisions he believed cost his side dear, including the dismissal of Jack Payne midway through the second half. “We were the more dangerous side in the first half and until it was 11 against 11 – all the key decisions went against us.”
The smattering of boos at half-time from the crowd was no surprise following an insipid first 45 minutes from the hosts; the best chances all fell Huddersfield’s way, including for Nahki Wells, who headed straight at Keiren Westwood in the Wednesday goal.
It was clear Carvalhal needed to roll the dice and the introduction of Sam Winnall for his debut at half-time was a shrewd move. Just minutes after coming on, his movement afforded Ross Wallace a fraction of space to fire past Danny Ward from long range and turn the game on its head. From nowhere, Wednesday were ahead.
Wagner’s afternoon had, up until that point, been spent mostly with his hands on his head as he watched his side waste chance after chance – but as the second half wore on, both his and Huddersfield’s frustrations began to boil over, culminating in Payne’s red card on 69 minutes for a rash challenge on Sam Hutchinson. “It was probably a yellow – not a red,” Wagner said.
Huddersfield kept fighting despite that setback, going close late on via the makeshift strikers Michael Hefele and Mark Hudson before they were stung on the counter in injury time when Fernando Forestieri prodded in from close range, despite protests from Wagner and the Huddersfield bench that the striker was offside. A perfect performance? Far from it - but come May and the end-of-season shake-up, it may well prove to be priceless for the Owls.
