Wednesday 0-0 Plymouth

Date:  Tuesday 22nd November

Venue: Hillsborough, Sheffield

The relegation six pointer tag certainly lived up to expectations at Hillsborough on a cold wet Tuesday night as the Owls failed to break down a stubborn Argyle defence.

Owls boss Paul Sturrock made a surprise choice of attacking partnership with defender Graeme Lee partnering on-loan Gaby Agbonlahor up front. The decision was made after Lee Peacock was ruled out, and David Graham had a slight knock and was dropped to the bench. Frankie Simek returnbed from suspension and came in at left back, with Drissa Diallo moving to centre back.

Plymouth boss Tony Pulis kept with the side that beat QPR 3-1 at the weekend, with the hope of getting their first back to back wins this season, and also their first away victory since the first game of the season.

The game never got out of first gear and the only half chance early ni the game came when Gaby Agbonlahor and Chris Eagles linked well on the right wing, only for Eagles' attempted through ball to be thwarted before it could find the feet of the on-loan Villa man.

The game was more of a physical battle than a skillful one, and Richard Wood and Nick Chadwick were forced off after a clash of heads.

Argyle then had their own opportunity through Chadwick, who had his close range effort smartly blocked by Nicky Weaver in the Wednesday goal.

Chances were very few and far between though, as neither side could build-up a momentum to get the opening goal of the evening.

Lee was trying to make his prescence felt as the Owls new centre-forward but struggled to get in to the game. His sole opportunity came from a Chris Eagles cross, but his header drifted wide of the Pilgrims goal.

Halfway through the second half Paul Sturrock made changes in a bid to change the shape of the game after an even duller start to the second half. Gaby Agbonlahor and Lee made way for David Graham and Barry Corr.

Corr was making his prescence known but did little in creating chances for his strike partner Graham.

The Owls best chance came when Chris Brunt fired a low free-kick which was well saved by Romain Larrieu. The chance came in a sustained spell of pressure by Wednesday who were looking to break the Pilgrims defence down.

The chance of the evening came minutes later when Paul Heckingbottom's cross found Richie Partridge unmarked in the box. Partridge caught the ball well enough on the volley but Larrieu made an outstanding save to keep the scores level.

A poor performance from two poor teams. Sturrock must look to sign a new striker as soon as possible if Wednesday are to survive in the Championship this season. Certainly two points dropped as far as Wednesday are concerned.

WW Man Of The Match:  Chris Brunt

Wednesday:

Weaver, Heckingbottom, Wood, Diallo, Simek, Whelan, O'Brien, Brunt, Eagles (Partridge 75), Agbonlahor (Graham 60), Lee (Corr 60).
Subs Not Used: Adamson, Rocastle.

Plymouth Argyle:

Larrieu, Barness, Doumbe, Aljofree, Connolly (Ward 90), Norris, Buzsaky (Lasley 84), Capaldi, Wotton, Evans, Chadwick (Djordjic 84).
Subs Not Used: McCormick, Derbyshire.

Paul Sturrock told the official SWFC site:

Paul Sturrock told BBC Sport:

"It was not a classic. In the cold and damp, it wasn't the best of games. I'm not going to watch the video, I assure you of that.

"We've got two days and I will be on the phone for most of them. But I will not bring jersey-fillers in."

Attendance:  20,244

Referee:   C Webster (6/10)

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