Sheffield Wednesday (U21s) 0-2 Ipswich Town (U21s)

Sheffield Wednesday (U21s) 0-2 Ipswich Town (U21s)

Professional Development League

Monday 1st May 2023

On a Bank Holiday Monday with quite a few sports events happening in South Yorkshire, this was the only one I was interested in.

Forget the snooker. Forget Rotherham United… I’m really not bothered about them!

For my sins I haven’t watched Sheffield Wednesday at U21s level anywhere near as much as I’d have liked to have this year - so going to this game was an opportunity to learn (more in some cases) about their players, see a few new faces - and basically see what they’re all about right now.

And even though it was a poor performance from a Wednesday perspective; lacking in quality at times with all the cutting edge shown by Ipswich who were the better team and clinical in the moments which mattered, there were a few good individual performances by those in blue and white stripes and I learned things from seeing this game.

So, in spite of the scoreline, it was very much a worthwhile trip!

On a pleasant enough afternoon at Hillsborough - the sun shining in the blue sky above as things got underway at midday, initially the game took a while to get going and the first 20 minutes or so were scrappy with Wednesday perhaps shading things but also being a bit loose when it came to retaining the ball.

There wasn’t too much to get excited about until Rio Shipston (the best player for the Owls) let fly with a swerving strike from about 25 yards on 25 minutes which had power behind it, but not quite the accuracy as it bent away from goal at the last moment. Just prior to that, Joey Phuthi - another of the more dangerous and lively players in blue and white stripes, did well when he got into the box and saw his ball inside cut-out by an Ipswich defender.

Wednesday were forced into defensive work just as much as Ipswich were in the first half and Jay Glover showed a brilliant bit of intelligence when he recognised the danger, covered about 20 yards of ground and slid in with a perfectly-timed tackle - right infront of the visitors’ dugout, to stop a potentially dangerous situation from arising close to the half-hour mark. Top class and effort which certainly didn’t go unnoticed from the birthday boy!

The Owls looked vulnerable when they played around with the ball at the back and Ipswich nearly capitalised on this a couple of times, but as half-time approached, the Owls put together one of the best moves of the afternoon from which they were unlucky not to score as Rio Shipston turned well under pressure to firstly receive possession and then instinctively slot an eye of the needle ball through to Sean Fusire who was clean through, did the hard bit in rounding the advancing ‘keeper, but having been slightly forced wide - and with a defender covering ground, the big man could only fire wide.

Joey Phuti then saw a drive go over following a good transition in a move involving the trialist (who looked an awful lot like Dan Gallimore - but I’m not sure if it was him), and those misses proved costly because right before half-time, Ipswich’s No.9 - listed as the illustrious and well-traveled TRIALIST on the team-sheet was released down the left, beat Mackenzie Maltby to cut inside from the byline and then unleashed a bullet strike into the top corner in emphatic style to put Ipswich 1-0 up.

A bit harsh on the Owls but that’s what you get if you don’t take your chances!

The second half then proved to be one of similar frustration because Ipswich remained difficult to break down - and when Rio Shipston did so just after half-time and put a decent ball towards the back-post from which Sean Fusire (I think) forced a save, the linesman put his flag up anyway.

And then soon enough Ipswich doubled their lead in a well-constructed move as Michael Lavin and Osman Foyo combined inside the Owls’ half, with the latter finding Jack Manly inside the box who rifled a low drive past Pierce Charles and into the back of the net - and at 2-0 up, make no mistake about it, Ipswich were now in full control.

Wednesday lacked a bit of a spark despite the good individual players they had on the pitch and they couldn’t quite break the visitors down or build up a real and sustained head of steam when they needed to get back into the game.

Their cause wasn’t helped when Joey Phuthi went off injured with about 20 minutes remaining and, aside from a speculative attempt by Rio Shipston which was never troubling the ‘keeper, their best chance in the latter stages came from a set-piece as the delivery towards the back-post was headed back across goal and dropped inside the six-yard box for Mackenzie Maltby (I think) who stuck out a leg yet somehow looped up and ended up landing on top of the net rather than in the net.

And as the Owls tried to ‘force it’ a bit late on - leading to a few turnover of possession, the only other chance of note in the latter stages came for Ipswich as Pierce Charles got in the way of an attempt from distance which was on target but routine work for the ‘keeper really.

Overall, Ipswich were the better team and deserved to win. They were clinical when it mattered, evidence being the two goals, but also got bodies behind the ball and defended in numbers when they had to in order to keep out the Owls who lacked that bit of quality and ‘cutting edge’ in certain areas at times.

That said, it was Wednesday who I was really watching and the best player on the pitch in blue and white stripes (and by some distance) was Rio Shipston.

He had a bite about his game and made three quality contributions; one being the pass to release Sean Fusire for the chance at 0-0, another being in the second half when his good footwork and technique allowed him to bring the ball out of defence under pressure and in a tricky situation, and then right at the end with a superb 50-yard pass to feet on the switch. He also did a similarly intelligent switch which led to the corner - and then Wednesday's best chance of the second half too. I know his name already via the fact he’s been in and around the first team and on this performance you can see why he’s rated. This was the first opportunity I’ve had the chance to sit down and watch him in a game properly - and specifically with a bit of elevation, and he made a really positive impression. He tired a little bit towards the end but overall a solid individual display, tidy attributes, and there’s a nice bit of physicality/attitude to how he goes about a game. Keep it up!

Jay Glover also made a number of good defensive contributions - including when he tracked back with a 20-yard run and made a perfectly-timed tackle to win the ball right infront of the dugouts in the first half. There were other instances too (one just before half-time) and he also got around the pitch well and showed lots of energy. He didn’t have his best day on the ball (it happens - but I know what he can do in that regard anyway) but I enjoy watching his out of possession work because it was good and I felt I learned about a different side of his game so it made the trip worthwhile. It made me smile when he stuffed the captain’s armband down his sock - and it’s a shame he didn’t get a goal when he burst into the box but was denied by the last defender (good technique though) but he’s a player I can respect with ability, and in the right environment, right team and right formation then he’ll shine at some point in the future.

It baffles me how Mackenzie Maltby has never been selected for Scotland before when he’s eligible (and is good enough which I know that for a fact). Whilst there’s bits for him to reflect on about this game and improve; such as one-v-one defending as Ipswich’s trialist skipping past him led to the first goal and he was beaten in a similar circumstance quite early in the second half, he did get better as the game went on. He won a one-v-one duel after those two instances, also slid in to make another challenge, and was good at reading the game at times - evidenced in the last five minutes when he made an interception on the edge of his own box which was a really good bit of defending. He showed a nice first touch; perfectly bringing the ball under control from a goal-kick, and I know he will get better over time. Like the others mentioned above, he’s got a good physique and frame (a bit of quadzilla going on) so his physicality will improve too once he’s exposed into mens football in the next year or two. I rate him. I know all about his career from the Wembley goal to the present day, and he hasn’t got this far, captaining the U18s and being in the U21s now, without a good reason. He could do with a haircut though as it looks like he's got a perm from 50 yards away, sat up in the stands with elevation!

Elsewhere, Joey Phuthi was lively for the Owls down the flanks and caused the visitors quite a few problems by showing tidy footwork and getting into high positions where he could flash balls back across the box. It’s a shame he got injured when he did as something via either him, or Rio Shipston, always looked likely to be Wednesday’s best chance of a route back into the game when they needed a goal. And when Will Trueman came on, he was busy and got himself involved in the play. I didn’t realise it was him at first but know about his spell at Mickleover on loan, and wouldn’t mind sitting down and watching him at some point because he wasn’t bad in his time on the pitch.

Again, however, Ipswich were the better team. They weren’t necessarily anything spectacular  for U21s level - and Wednesday collectively could have been a lot better than they were, but the away team were clinical when it mattered. When Wednesday played around with the ball at the back at times, it always looked like Ipswich might win the ball and capitalise - and they nearly did a couple of times, but both their goals were well-worked and had a bit of quality about them, whilst they had a little bit of dogged resilience in how they defended and put bodies behind the ball to keep a clean-sheet too. 

Good work-rate, good organisation and that little bit of quality further up the pitch got them this result and they were deserved winners… and Wednesday will wonder what might have been had Sean Fusire managed to slot hom when it was 0-0 in that chance just before half-time.

Sheffield Wednesday: Pierce Charles, Sean Fusire, Joey Phuthi, Josh Ashman, Adam Adetoro, Mackenize Maltby, Jay Glover, Rio Shipston, Luke Cook, Sam Durrant, Trialist. Subs: Will Trueman, Luke Jackson, Devlan Moses, Cian Flannery, Jarvis Thornton.