Sheffield Wednesday Dealt Further Blow In Championship Survival Race

Sheffield Wednesday suffered a devastating 6-0 defeat on Saturday afternoon to title-chasers Ipswich Town and now could be without two key players after the international break.

The Owls had an eight-day rest between the heavy loss at the weekend and the 2-0 defeat at Hillsborough against Leeds United, giving head coach Danny Rohl plenty of time to get his players prepared to take on the Championship’s surprise package at Portman Road.

Before the game against Kieran McKenna’s promotion hopefuls, Ipswich were the top goalscorers in England’s second tier by one goal. This has since been extended to seven as the East Anglian side ran rampant in front of their own fans.

Prior to the defeat against Leeds almost two weeks ago, Sheffield Wednesday had picked up five wins in six league games, putting them within merely a point of safety, the closest the team had been to getting out of the relegation zone all season. The gap has now remained at one point but time is running out for Rohl’s side.

Unfortunately for the South Yorkshire club, the fixtures don’t get any easier, with important matches coming up at home to Swansea City and away at Middlesbrough and fellow relegation-threatened Queens Park Rangers.

Shipping six goals was not the only negative for Wednesday on Saturday. After the match, Rohl also confirmed that both captain Barry Bannan and Ian Poveda could be a risk for the game at home to Swansea in a fortnight [quotes via Sheffield Wednesday News]:

“They [Bannan & Poveda] could be a risk for the Swansea game, but the good thing is that we have one week where we can recover, and then a second week – but we then have a game on the Friday and the Monday.”

In a report on Monday morning, journalist Joe Crann stated that Poveda even pulled out of international duty with the Colombia national team, backing up Rohl’s claims.

Writer’s View

This is a huge blow for Sheffield Wednesday. Losing Poveda is one worry but potentially not having your captain available ahead of such a crucial run-in over the coming weeks will certainly be difficult for Rohl and his players.

Swansea are a decent side, proven by their victory in the South Wales Derby at the weekend. However, this is a winnable game for the club and now the manager will need to possibly deal with the loss of two key men while trying to pick up three points.

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