Sheffield Wednesday 0 Bristol City 3: Weaknesses painfully displayed as Robins ease to win over troubled Owls
Sheffield Wednesday’s weaknesses were on full display as they suffered a bleak 3-0 home defeat to Bristol City.
Off-field issues are driving Wednesday into the ground and the turbulence away from the pitch is having devastating ramifications on it.
Bristol City simply did not have to be excellent to pull Wednesday apart, as a lack of investment in the Owls playing squad was again exposed in painful fashion.
Harry Amass was one of just two players signed during the summer and marked his debut with an own goal just six minutes in. Emil Riis doubled the advantage before Anis Mehmeti piled on the misery with a third.
First half
It did not take long for Wednesday’s shortcomings to become apparent, as Bristol City moved through the lines with dangerous ease.
The visitors had a lead after just six minutes, as a sliced Rob Dickie shot was turned in by debutant Amass. It would be easy to chalk a deflected shot down as bad luck, but the opener was the result of a catalogue of errors.
Charlie McNeill failed to clear his lines after a Robins corner, before Adam Randell was allowed to thread through to Mehmeti under little pressure. Mehmeti was then allowed to cut back to Dickie, who was in acres of space in the centre of the box as he miscued his effort.
Bristol City’s attacking contingent continued to circumvent the Owls defence with relative ease, with Wednesday all at sea.
Emil Riis doubled the lead before the 20-minute mark, slipping in behind to meet a Mehmeti pass and hammer home as McNeill played him onside.
Had Wednesday not descended into chaos as a club, there is every chance McNeill would be out on loan honing his craft or being used as an impact substitute. However, the 22-year-old was instead being given a harsh learning experience at Hillsborough.
He was at fault again as Bristol City made it three, misjudging a pass out to the left and allowing Mehmeti to get the better of Ethan Horvath.
Wednesday continued to lack quality as the half-time whistle approached and their misery was compounded when Ike Ugbo missed a gilt-edged chance. Max Lowe looped a teasing delivery to the back post, only for the Owls frontman to prod wide from mere yards out.
Second half
Wednesday tried getting their foot on the ball in the early stages of the second half but barely laid a glove on the visitors.
They came very close to leaking a fourth too, when Mehmeti escaped Yan Valery and unleashed an effort that rattled the post.
One of the many downsides to Wednesday’s lack of recruitment is the lack of game-changing power their bench possesses.
Jamal Lowe was among those introduced and worked tirelessly, but could not spark a comeback or even provide a consolation.
He did manage to peel away down the right as Wednesday countered, but ballooned his shot high and wide.
Bristol City barely broke a sweat as they saw out the game, finding little difficulty in dealing with a blunt Owls attack.
The stands at Hillsborough emptied long before the referee mercifully blew the full-time whistle, having watched another sorry episode of Wednesday decline.