Sheffield Wednesday picked up a well earned point in a 1-1 draw at Brentford on Tuesday evening. The Bees have been in good form at Griffin Park the season with Norwich the only side to come away with 3 points to date so a share of the spoils represents a fair return.
The problem is that Wednesday are finding it increasingly hard to score goals and are becoming too reliant on their defensive unit. Kieran Westwood made a rare mistake on Saturday against Watford having previously been one of the Owls best performers so far. In truth tonight he was solid but didn't have to be at his best as Brentford were generally kept at bay.
The Owls had chances in the first half with Stevie May going closest to breaking the deadlock, striking the post with a shot across goal from inside the penalty area. Royston Drenthe forced Brentford's keeper Button into a good save late on in a game that Wednesday might well think they could have won.
Despite his positive performance as a substitute on Saturday Drenthe found himself back on the bench and only used in the dying moments of the match with Gray choosing to air on the side of caution, opting for the more defensively reliable Helan to come in for a start.
This is often seen as a wise approach, protect what you have on the road, be solid and stay in the game before going all out for the win. However, given that the Owls are struggling to impose themselves on teams at home, not being positive enough to try and win tight games may be seen as an opportunity missed. Wednesday appear too predictable at the moment with few players able to provide a telling pass, an incisive run or a goal out of nothing. Drenthe showed glimpses of being capable of this on Saturday but Wednesday opted for safety first tonight.
In isolation, viewing results game by game this may be a good point but with just one home win to date this season the pressure is increasing to win games at Hillsborough and with Norwich next up that task is not getting any easier.