Sheffield Wednesday vs Southampton Post Match Review
The Owls lose their opening-day fixture under the floodlights. We break down the game.
The line-up & Game plan
Sheffield Wednesday looked to line up in a 4231, with Windass, Bannan, and Delgado supporting Gregory. That soon became as 4411 as Southampton dominated the ball, pushing Wednesday’s wide players back, see heatmaps of Windass and Delgado below.
With a match PPDA of 41, the game plan was clear. That means, that for every 41 passes in Southampton’s defensive 60% (their half and to the edge of the opponent’s centre circle) we made 1 defensive action. The average in all professional football is around 14.
The plan was simple: defend deep, protect central spaces, and take opportunities when possible, especially from set pieces. It was the plan I suggested in the preview.
How did it play out?
Whilst it was not pretty, and you would not like to see it every game, it was a plan that we had to install, and it nearly paid off.
Michael Ihiewke and Will Vaulks, the defensive CM, had the fewest duels of any Sheffield Wednesday player, with Iorfa only having a little more. The plot below showed how the wide players for Sheffield Wednesday were far more active as we blocked off Zone 14 (the area immediately outside the penalty area and statistically the most dangerous on the pitch) and forced Southampton out wide. There is, however, a flaw in that plan. Southampton are very good out wide, as the first goal showed.
The lack of an attacking outlet made it difficult to watch at times. Within the first 5 mins, Sheffield Wednesday had an xG of 0.91 through the mele that culminated in Lee Gregory’s blocked shot (below). Thereafter, we added just 0.05 to that expected total.
Lack of a counter-attack threat
If you are going to defend that deep, you need a counter-attacking threat, otherwise, you can’t keep the opposition off and you continue to creep further and further back. At the 30-minute mark, Sheffield Wednesday had a PPDA of 82. Allowing 82 Southampton passes per defensive action.
Sheffield Wednesday amassed just two counter-attacks during the game. Both were in the second half following the introduction of Fletcher and Musaba, as seen below.
Southampton, simply put, had no fear of our attack first half. Full-back Walker-Peters played an inverted full-back role and had an average passing position that looked like a RCM, as did Manning on the left. Allowing the central midfield players to play in fluid attacking positions. However, note the image below, the subbed players have red and blue over their numbers, the blue coming on the pitch. Note how the players who came on, despite the game at 1-1, and how they averaged a much deeper position compared to the replaced players. The introduction of Fletcher and Musaba gave Southampton something to worry about.
The introduction of Musaba and Fletcher
In the 68th and 77th minutes, Sheffield Wednesday introduced 2 forwards in Musaba and Fletcher. Both made a significant impact on the game and the way that Sheffield Wednesday played. The PPDA reduced significantly, from 69 in the 60th minute, to 29. Fletcher made as many recoveries, and more in the opponent’s half, in just 22 minutes than Gregory did in 72 and was involved in almost as many duels.
Musaba spearheaded a counter-attack that carried an xG of 0.14, and gave us a glimpse of what we can expect with his dribbling. Musaba attempted 3 dribbles in his 28 minutes on the pitch, the joint-highest for Sheffield Wednesday.
In a complete reversal of the Southampton subs, who played deeper than their replaced teammates. Musaba and Fletcher played higher, much higher, than their replaced teammates. Highlighting the impact they made and how they helped Wednesday up the pitch.
What impact has Munoz made?
There was a point in the first half where Wednesday looked a bit panicked by Southampton. Particularly their high press. Dawson picked up the ball following an overhit pass from Southampton in the 22nd minute and was shaping to kick it long. Munoz stepped in and demanded we play against the press. The clip is below. Showing a move to beat the press on the left-hand side and a switch through Bakinson, who perhaps had his best game in a Sheffield Wednesday shirt.
It was particularly the role of Michael Ihiekwe that stood out, with Munoz clearly working on playing out to the former Tranmere man to build the attacks and pass in the pitch to set up on the right-hand side.
Ikiekwe had the most passes of anyone in Blue and White (29), more received passes (20), and the highest pass completion rate of anyone with more than 3 passes (90%). Ihiekwe has never looked so assured on the ball, and neither did Akin Famewo or Bakinson. Munoz has clearly made an impact on the training ground.
Some player stats are below.
Final thoughts
We are as happy as we can be with a defeat at home where we had just 25% of the ball. This cannot become a regular occurrence. Munoz has promised the fans front-foot football. It remains to be seen how many of the 11 that played Friday will be in the starting 11 in September, but it was clear the team that started lacked the dynamism to fulfill that promise. More players are needed. More time is needed. But we should get there.
END ****
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Tom
Tom, are you aware of a lad called Han Noah massengo? This lad surely must be top of our recruitment list
- 22
- ex Monaco, likely from same group as musaba
- recently at Bristol city, likely knows bakinson
- affordable with the frugal new wage structure at about 5/6k a week
- current free agent
- plays primarily as a CM/CDM
- biomechanically much more mobile than vaulks
- natural aggression
- good range
- decent line speed