Johnstone’s Paint Trophy: Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 Notts County, Match Report
Sheffield Wednesday booked their place in the next round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy with a hard fought home win over Notts County. James O’Connor’s brace was too much for Notts County to recover from who just could not find their rhythm in the match.
The match was off to a blistering start with James O’Connor being fouled early on by Notts County’s John Spicer. O’Connor wasn’t just content with winning his team a free kick though, and he was first to react to Chris Sedgwick’s delightful ball and found the back of the net from close range. Sheffield Wednesday now had the lead as early as the first minute.
If anything, this set the tone for a spell of play in which Sheffield Wednesday dominated the game. Notts County’s inability to deal with the lively O’Connor cost them dearly not long after. Former Liverpool and Bolton man, Jon Otsemobor played in a superb cross which found O’Connor, who made no mistake of guiding the ball into the bottom corner of the goal and doubling Sheffield Wednesday’s advantage within the opening 15 minutes.
Yet, Sheffield’s second goal seemed to bring a greater sense of urgency in the Notts County players who seemed to spring to life. O’Connor gave away a silly free kick when he fouled John Harley in a dangerous position outside the box. Ben Davies stepped up to take the free kick and found the back of the net for Notts County with a sublime effort; His free kick beat the Sheffield goal keeper and crept into the bottom right corner of the goal. Twenty two minutes gone and the score was 2 goals to 1. The next goal would determine the game and there was plenty of time for both teams to get it.
Davies had the chance to level the scores in the 32nd minute but his header flew over the cross bar. Miller came on to replace Chris Sedgwick for Sheffield Wednesday in an attempt by the manager to try and control the game more.
Sheffield Wednesday managed to hang on to the lead till the referee called for half time, and both teams made their way to the dressing rooms for their respective half time lectures.
Sadly it seems the managers half time team talks were far from inspiring if the second half performances were anything to go by. Sheffield Wednesday seemed content to hang on to possession and protect their lead which seemed an easy enough task against an uninspired Notts County team. Both teams made changes in the second half with Notts County replacing Jervis, Smith and Hubbins with Hawley, Pearce and Westcarr respectively, but to no avail.
The match fizzled out in a flurry of yellow cards as Pearce and Harley were both booked late on for unsporting behavior. The referee blew the final whistle after 3 minutes of added time and the match ended with the same score line as the first half. Sheffield Wednesday were the more composed of the two and Notts County just couldn’t recover from the early damage inflicted on them by James O’Connor who also won the man of the match award.
It brought Notts County’s cup run to an end for another season but Sheffield Wednesday march on to the next round taking confidence from what can be termed as a solid performance.
Teams
Sheffield Wednesday: Weaver, Purse, Jones, Beevers, Otsemobor, Potter, O'Connor, Teale, Sedgwick (Miller 38), Tudgay, Morrison (Mellor 68)
Substitutes Jameson, Buxton, Miller, Heffernan, Mellor
Notts County: Edwards, Thompson, Chilvers, Harley, Ravenhill, Davies, Hubbins (Westcarr 54), Spicer, Smith (Pearce 80), Jervis (Hawley 66)
Substitutes: Grof, Lee, Pearce, Hawley, Westcarr
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