Sheffield Wednesday fought their way to a 1-1 draw at the Liberty Stadium on Saturday, a result that maintains their position in mid-table in the Championship but in truth they were lucky to get anything from the game.
The previous three league games saw a pattern of inconsistency developing within the matches, where the Owls played well in the first half but performed poorly in the second.
There seemed to be more consistency in this weekend's performance but unfortunately it was of a negative nature with the Owls playing fairly poorly throughout the game.
Wednesday were lucky to go in only 1-0 down at half-time due to a performance that lacked cohesiveness in all areas of the field. Things did improve slightly in the second half but the home side still had better possession and chances and will feel they have let two points slip away.
Some fans criticised the 4-3-3/4-5-1 approach that Wednesday began the game with but this formation served them well in the first half at Wolves a couple of weeks ago and so is not a line-up that the players should be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with.
In truth only three or four of the Owls starting line-up can have come away feeling content with their personal performance. Marcus Tudgay has worked tirelessly and produced many of the sides' best attacking moments in the three games that he has been fit to play in this season and Lee Grant again made some vital saves to keep the Owls in the match.
Tony McMahon, playing only his second game for the club since joining on loan just over a week ago once again looked like our most accomplished defender, with sound positional play and an assured touch when in possession.
On this form it is a shame that we only have him for a month a things stand as Simek is unlikely to return until the end of September and it is understandable that Middlesbrough would be reluctant to let him leave permanently as he certainly seems to have the potential to be a solid Premier League player.
Regarding some of the others, Deon Burton looked jaded, unsurprising given his schedule recently regarding international matches. Tommy Spurr put in a somewhat out of sorts performance, much in he same manner as he finished the game against Preston last weekend and Jimmy Smith is yet to get anywhere near justifying the reputation that came with his summer loan move from Chelsea.
>> Terms & Conditions