Derby County v Sheffield Wednesday: Owls show why they are still not quite the finished article

The stage was set for the Owls to take hold of top spot in League One after Friday night indiscretions by Plymouth Albion and Ipswich Town.

On their day, however, the Owls were not fab-u-lous.

As Bruce Forsyth used to say, points make prizes. Darren Moore mentioned the glittering prize that was potentially theirs before the game, but one point will have to do.

Wednesday remain third, although the top two are feeling their hot breath for sure.

It might look like a better point in May. In the here and now, there are some lingering questions surrounding the Owls’ numbers against sides in the top half of the table – the only teams they have beaten in the top 11 are Port Vale and Bolton Wanderers.

In a tight promotion race, it could be important in the final analysis.

Given that Derby – discounting penalty shoot-outs – came into this game on the back of a nine-match unbeaten sequence does provide some form of mitigation.

It was a game which had the look of a draw before a ball was kicked. Events on the pitch did nothing to suggest anything otherwise in truth.

An ugly win would have been beautiful, but at least Wednesday are doing the ugly things pretty well at present. The distances between defenders, overall organisation and shape without the ball was spot-on at Derby and a testament to the work of all and sundry at Middlewood.

Wednesday’s backline registered a third successive league clean sheet in relative comfort with the ‘sticking plaster’ of Reece James on the left of a central three working well.

Dom Iorfa did his bit on the right flank and Liam Palmer was as dutiful as ever. It was his sort of day and not a Barry Bannan day and aside from one early faux pas, Mark McGuinness was steady. He will need to continue to be without Michael Ihiekwe and Ben Heneghan.

Here’s the rub. With the ball, the Owls weren’t sharp or quick-thinking enough and it was no surprise when Moore spoke about brushing up in that area this week. They have not got the balance quite right at the moment as he acknowledged on Saturday.

His assertion that he would rather have to work on polishing up his team’s attacking side in mid-season as opposed to having structural issues to address in regards to defensive ailments was a point well made.

He will just be keeping his fingers crossed he does not lose any more centre-halves before January. Then he might have a big problem.

The game’s best players were defenders. None were better than Derby’s Craig Forsyth, who gave a very passable impersonation of Richard Wood, who led Paul Warne’s backline so well at Rotherham.

In a city famed for the railways, Derby looked like getting up a head of steam on the resumption.

Lewis Dobbin fired wide at the far post, while there was consternation after David Stockdale coughed up a free kick floated in from deep by Conor Hourihane. The hosts prevaricated and Wednesday cleared.

In the event, the big chance would come to the visitors. Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, who can look a million dollars and a million lira within the space of five minutes, wriggled free and saw the whites of the eyes of ex-Owls keeper Joe Wildsmith, who blocked.

The first half was much ado about nothing in truth with a rare moment of animation arriving when Stockdale blocked a pile-driver from David McGoldrick, regularly given the bird by those in the away section for his Blades links.

Rival fans had an amusing sing-off around the half-hour mark, as much to alleviate the boredom and cold as anything. It was a game of torpor which had the feel of the morning after the night before.

Plenty of Wednesdayites would have known that it was likely to be be the case. Their side are now winless in fourteen visits to Derby and have won just once in this quarter of the East Midlands since 1958.

This particular draw was eminently more forgettable than the drama on the last day of 2021-22 when the Owls saw their Championship status slip through their fingers.

Regarding their prospects of returning to the second tier this season, Wednesday won't be far away. It might just be close. Very close.

Derby County: Wildsmith; K Smith, Forsyth, Cashin; Dobbin (Knight 81), Bird (Roberts 89), Hourihane, Sibley; Barkhuisen (Mendez-Laing 72), McGoldrick (Osula 72), Collins. Unused substitutes: Foulkes, Thompson, Davies.

Sheffield Wednesday: Stockdale; Palmer, McGuinness, James; Iorfa, Dele-Bashiru, Vaulks, Bannan, Johnson; Mighten (Wilks 59), M Smith (Paterson 59). Unused substitutes: Dawson, Brown, Famewo, Bakinson, Hunt.

Referee: Dean Whitestone (Northamptonshire).