In a Sky Bet Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland at Hillsborough, Jack Clarke scored two goals, and Dan Ballard added one, compounding the troubles for the Owls. Here’s the report and highlights of the match:
Sheffield Wednesday’s season got even more concerning as they extended their winless streak to nine games with a 3-0 home loss to Sunderland. Earlier in the day, Owls chairman Dejphon Chansiri released a statement in which he declared that he wouldn’t invest any more money into the club, citing some fans’ behavior as crossing the line and endangering his family.
It was a turbulent day for Wednesday, made even worse by a double from the in-form Jack Clarke, who struck after Dan Ballard had given the Black Cats the lead within the first five minutes.
This defeat, their seventh of the season and the third in four games, kept Sheffield Wednesday rooted at the bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table. Meanwhile, Sunderland climbed to fourth place, moving above Hull City before the weekend’s remaining fixtures.
It was a night of contrasting emotions in South Yorkshire, with Sheffield Wednesday facing an uphill battle to climb out of their precarious position, and Chansiri’s statement adding to the gloom. The owner dismissed protests as ineffective, and the performance on Friday didn’t offer much hope for an immediate turnaround.
The game got off to a dreadful start for the Owls. Inside the first five minutes, they conceded a needless free-kick that resulted in a corner. From the left-wing delivery by Alex Pritchard, Dan Ballard headed in from close range.
The situation deteriorated rapidly when Jack Clarke, left unmarked, received a precise pass from Jobe Bellingham on the left flank, cut inside, and fired a shot into the bottom right corner to make it 2-0.
Just after the half-hour mark, Clarke added another goal from the penalty spot after Mason Burstow, on loan from Chelsea, was fouled in the box by Bambo Diaby. The halftime reception from the fans was frosty and filled with frustration and anger.
Throughout the match, Sheffield Wednesday struggled to pose a threat, registering an Expected Goals figure of 0.51. They came close to scoring in the 57th minute when Callum Paterson controlled a cross and unleashed a shot that Anthony Patterson had to save.
By that point, however, the damage was already done, and with numerous substitutions disrupting the flow of the game in the final quarter, neither team managed to change the scoreline.
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