Middlesbrough 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday: key winners and losers as Boro go top

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Sheffield Wednesday hosted Middlesbrough on Friday night in a battle of two Championship promotion hopefuls. 

The Owls went into the game in sixth place after a recent upturn in form, while Tony Pulis’ Boro side were fourth, despite a defeat to Bristol City before the international break.

The first half was a scrappy affair, with both sides struggling to string a run of passes together, while both defences were well and truly on top – Pulis, in particular, looked like an atom bomb ready to go off at the sight of his team’s sloppiness when in possession.

And, despite the best effort of Wednesday’s in-form man Adam Reach, who hit the crossbar with header before seeing an absolute rocket of a shot tipped over by Darren Randolph, the sides went into the half-time break at 0-0.

Tony Pulis must have detonated that bomb in the Boro dressing room at halftime as he watched his side race into a 2-0 lead just 10 minutes after the restart.

Muhamed Besic pulled the strings for his side as they terrorised Sheffield Wednesday into a series of mistakes and in reality, the Hillsborough side just couldn’t cope with the ferocity of their visitors after the break. Despite a late Adam Reach wondergoal and some Rugby Union style scrums in the Boro goal, the hosts just weren’t able to overturn the deficit.

Here are three winners and three losers of Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Middlesbrough.

1. Winner – Muhamed Besic

A goal and an assist constitute a very good night’s work for Muhamed Besic. The on-loan Everton midfielder spent most of his first half wiping out Sheffield Wednesday players and breaking up attacks but his second half took on a completely different role.

Whether it was Tony Pulis laying into the Boro players at halftime or just Besic’s natural desire to bust a lung for his teammates, the Bosnian midfielder raced into the second half as a man possessed. The 26-year-0ld threw off the shackles of the midfield ball-winning role and found himself involved in everything that Middlesbrough did well in the second period, orchestrating counter-attacks, causing havoc with his runs from deep and making Tom Lees look like an absolute fool with his opening goal. On top of all this, his assist for Britt Assombalonga’s goal earned him a much-deserved man of the match award.

2. Loser – Tom Lees

While Barry Bannan tried his best to get Sheffield Wednesday on the move, Tom Lees pretty much hit the self-destruct button for the Owls. In a theme that ran throughout the night in the Yorkshire side’s defence, Lees stood by the centre circle with the ball, totally out of ideas and like a rabbit in the headlights.

Boro striker Britt Assombalonga quickly seized upon the opportunity and took the ball away from Lees before giving it to Muhamed Besic. The Bosnian midfielder drew Wednesday goalkeeper Dawson out before squaring it back to Assombalonga, who slotted the ball into the open net, making it 2-0 to the visitors. This all happened shortly after Lees was turned inside out by Besic as the Everton loanee opened the scoring six minutes early – a night to forget for the former England U21 international.

3. Winner – Barry Bannan

Picture credit: Harry Marshall/Sportimage via PA Images

Despite both teams seemingly being obsessed with playing ‘who can keep the ball for the least amount of time’, Barry Bannan stood out among the crowd, especially in the first half, with the Wednesday playmaker being one of the few Owls players to even try and keep the ball on the floor.

The Scottish schemer moved through the midfield with poise and grace, shifting the ball from side to side and working his teammates out of some really tight spaces. Bannan was never a massive success during his Premier League days with Aston Villa and Crystal Palace, but you could definitely tell that he has been well versed at that level, with the 28-year-old winning the ball and then delivering an expert cross to the far post to Adam Reach, who was unlucky to see his effort hit the crossbar.

4. Loser – Adam Reach

After having one effort hit the bar and another tipped just beyond the woodwork in the first half, you could easily forgive Adam Reach for thinking that it wasn’t his night.

That sentiment will have been enhanced even more for anyone who watched the attackers that Reach had to play alongside for Sheffield Wednesday on Friday – Bannan aside, it very much seemed like a one-man band.

Reach was finally rewarded for his skill and persistence by hitting a wonderfully crafted volley home in the 82nd minute but falls into the ‘loser’ category due to the amount of sympathy you couldn’t help but feel toward him – instead of being rallied and helping him, the 25-year-old still seemed like the only one willing and capable of challenging up front for Wednesday.

5. Winner – Tony Pulis

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

If we’re being absolutely honest, Middlesbrough were absolutely terrible going forward in the first half. However, Tony Pulis must have put the fear of god into his players at halftime as they came ripped Sheffield Wednesday to shreds early into the second half.

Pulis’ men were quicker to every ball, strong in the challenge and decisive on the break as they raced into a 2-0 lead and eventually held out for a 2-1 win that sent the Welshman’s side top of the Championship.

You can say what you like about Tony Pulis’ methods but the effectiveness of them was shown in full on Friday night.

6. Loser – Boro’s title rivals

It’s tight at the top of the Championship, really tight. The likes of Leeds United, West Brom and even Sheffield United – despite their disdain for their Steel City rivals – were probably watching this game and hoping for a draw but Muhamed Besic, Tony Pulis and Co were having none of it.

Middlesbrough’s win means the Championship’s top 1o is separated by just seven points, but the team that sits on the peak of that pile is the northeast side. It’s early doors yet but, given their impeccable defensive record, who would bet against Boro going all the way and making a return to the Premier League this season?

The post Middlesbrough 2-1 Sheffield Wednesday: key winners and losers as Boro go top appeared first on Squawka News.



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