Sheffield Derby, one of the most famous rivalries in English football, is hailed for its highly competitive and high-scoring outcomes. Both Sheffield Wednesday and United have remarkably won the contest 48 times each whereas 44 of their meetings ended all square.
This fixture, however, was infrequent in recent years due to United’s presence in League One and Wednesday, an admirable Championship force, kept on pushing for a Premier League promotion for past few campaigns. Their Sunday afternoon meeting at Hillsborough materialized due to the Blades’ promotion to the second-tier of English football and Chris Wilder’s men were upbeat to continue their great run of form against the age-old rivals.
The Owls, under Carlos Carvalhal, narrowly missed out on Premier League promotions in past two campaigns. They, however, had a slow start in their new season and were determined to uplift their display against Sheffield United at historic Hillsborough.
The game, as predicted, was no short of excitement but the outcome proved to be a massive surprise as the new boys of the league grabbed a sensational 4-2 win from an adverse away outing.
Below are the Sheffield Wednesday players rated from their shambolic defeat.
Kieran Westwood: 5
An afternoon to forget for the veteran custodian who conceded four times against the bitter rivals and should have done better on a couple of occasions.
Jack Hunt: 6
Hunt was combining well with Wallace down the right-hand flank but faded away lately. Failed with his dribbling and his long balls lacked end product.
Tom Lees: 4.5
Was poor defensively as he failed to contain Leon Clarke repeatedly and was at fault in both of Clarke’s goal this afternoon.
Joost Van Aken: 5
The Dutchman was made a few crucial clearances, tackles and interceptions but was largely at fault in United’s second and fourth of the afternoon. Struggled against David Brooks pace and tricky runs.
Adam Reach: 5.5
Played a crucial role in Lucas Joao equalizer from the left-hand flank but struggled defensively and was at fault in Mark Duffy’s goal that put the visitors back in front within seconds.
Ross Wallace: 6.5
Did brilliantly to whip in a looping ball for Garry Hooper in the middle and the striker pulled one back late in the added minutes of the action-packed first-half. Faded away in the second-half and was eventually replaced by Jacob Butterfield.
Kieran Lee: 6
Tried hard to keep things under control in the middle of the park but lacked proper support around him that left his game with no such impact.
David Jones: 4.5
Jones had disappointing first-half as the former Burnley midfielder lost a number of duels and was being dispossessed in the middle of the park. His lack of pace allowed United to control the game centrally and Jones was replaced by Lucas Joao at half-time.
Barry Bannan: 6
Bannan tried his best to explore the width of the pitch but his final deliveries disappointed him the most.
Steven Fletcher: 5
Fletcher was well contained by the Blades defenders and was eventually replaced by Jordan Rhodes in the second half.
Gary Hooper: 7
Hooper continued his scoring run with a late first-half strike that brought the hosts back in the game.
Substitutes
Lucas Joao: 7
Joao made an immediate impact as he found the back of the net to earn his side an equalizer in the second half.
Jordan Rhodes: 5.5
Rhodes was introduced in place of Fletcher who had a quiet afternoon of football. The Scotsman too failed to deliver anything spectacular in order to avoid a shambolic outcome.
Jacob Butterfield: 5.5
Came in place of Wallace. Failed to alter the outcome.
