Sheffield Wednesday drew 1-1 at home to Stoke City in the Championship on Saturday.
Sheffield Wednesday welcomed Stoke City to Hillsborough on Saturday afternoon, desperately needing a win against their relegation rivals.
Friday night saw Plymouth Argyle beat Leicester City and Saturday lunchtime saw Blackburn Rovers beat Leeds United.
So there was added pressure on the Owls who certainly dominated the first half.
Danny Rohl‘s side started aggressively and were somewhat unlucky to see Michael Smith‘s goal from a corner disallowed.
And Wednesday eventually got themselves in front after the break, with fan favourite Liam Palmer firing past Daniel Iversen in the 68th minute.
But Sheffield Wednesday were caught on the break by Stoke, who equalised through Luke Cundle eight minutes after Palmer’s goal.
Sheffield Wednesday lacking cutting edge
Once again, Wednesday’s main issue was a lack of cutting edge, of quality right when they need it most.
The Owls had their share of possession and chances against Stoke City (55% possession and 15 shots compared to Stoke’s 8) and whilst Palmer’s goal was well-taken, Wednesday should’ve had much more.
Stoke City were very poor throughout and were very lucky to take a point from the game.
And for Rohl, whilst he can do very little about the lack of attacking quality at his disposal, he can do something about Ike Ugbo and his poor recent form.
Ike Ugbo has lost his scoring touch for Sheffield Wednesday
Ugbo is Sheffield Wednesday’s top scorer in the Championship this season with six goals to his name in Wednesday colours.
But it feels like the 25-year-old hasn’t scored for a long time now.
His last goal was at the start of March with the Canadian international having gone eight games without a goal now.
And in recent weeks, Rohl has experimented with Ugbo in a no.10 role.
Rohl did so against Stoke City, but once again, Ugbo was largely ineffective.
Danny Rohl missing key part of the puzzle
It seems to have been the case all season, but Sheffield Wednesday really don’t have anyone to properly fill that no.10 role.
Josh Windass should be that man, but he’s been poor this season, if not injured.
Ian Poveda is another name on the sidelines but he’s arguably better as a winger, though Rohl needs a no.10 as this 4-2-3-1 shape is one of his favoured formations.
But Ugbo isn’t doing it for Sheffield Wednesday right now.
It’s hard to drop him as he’s the top scorer and, given the chance, nine times out of 10 he puts it in the back of the net.
With Smith looking good of late, maybe it’s time that Ugbo became an impact player for the Owls, coming on later in games.
But that doesn’t solve the issue of Wednesday not having a no.10, and it’s an issue that definitely needs addressing in the summer.
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