Sheffield Wednesday finally managed to pick up a point in September thanks to a 0-0 draw against Oldham Athletic at Hillsborough on Tuesday evening. The Owls came into the game having lost four in a row but never really looked like losing this one.
After a dour home display in last weekend’s defeat to Southampton, Alan Irvine made five changes to the Owls starting line-up. Tommy Spurr returned at left-back with Jon Otsemobor starting on the right. Both wide midfield players were altered as well with Chris Sedgwick coming into the team along with Tommy Miller. Clinton Morrison was given a chance and started upfront alongside Marcus Tudgay.
The first half saw few chances for either side of note though the Owls were on top in terms of possession and territorial advantage. Spurr started well and was heavily involved going forward, overlapping to good effect and providing some good crosses that the home side were unable to make the most of. His evening was cut short though as was forced off at around the half-hour mark following a clash of heads was subsequently replaced by Daniel Jones.
The first 45 minutes drew to a close with little to warm the fans of either side as both goalkeepers remained untested.
Morrison, Coke and Jones all fired efforts narrowly off target in the second half while Furman went close for the visitors. Teale replaced the out of form Sedgwick with half an hour to play and looked bright without being able to deliver the incisive pass or cross to cut the Latics open and Heffernan came on for O’Connor in the last fifteen minutes as the home side searched in vain for a winning goal.
Chris Taylor went close to winning the game late on for the visitors with a curling shot that went just wide but the would have been harsh on Wednesday, who enjoyed the lions share of the ball throughout the game but failed to open up a well drilled Oldham unit.
The point has to been seen as a step in the right direction for the Owls given what has gone before it and the fact Tommy Miller managed ninety minutes is also a positive. He clearly has the ability and the nous to be a threat going forward but would surely be an even bigger asset if utilised in central midfield from the start.
Defensively Wednesday are up there with the leaders in League One as far as the statistics are concerned but are struggling at the other end of the field. Oldham had failed to keep a clean sheet in their previous five matches but their hosts were unable to sustain any pressure on their goal for significant periods of the game. Goal scoring opportunities have been few and far between in the past handful of matches for Wednesday who have now drawn a blank in four of their last five fixtures and none of their strikers have managed a goal in the six matches since the 5-0 victory at Hartlepool.
The Owls next opportunity to build on this point comes at Notts County on Saturday where they are set to have the backing of over 4,000 travelling supporters. County are likely to go into the game high on confidence having won 3-2 at Peterborough on Tuesday evening.