Sheffield Wednesday 1 Cardiff City 1: Absence of clinical edge proves costly as Owls held by lowly Bluebirds

Wednesday enjoyed the lion’s share of possession in the driving rain but were let down by their end product in the final third.

Ollie Tanner gave the visitors the lead, although their lead was short-lived as the Owls struck back through Di’Shon Bernard.

Painful losses like the one Danny Rohl’s side suffered to Sheffield United have the ability to galvanise a side and there was plenty of fire in Wednesday bellies early on.

The hosts pressed high and with aggression, seeking to unsettle a Cardiff defence that looked to play out from the back but lacked conviction.

Ike Ugbo had the ball in the back of the net with less than 30 seconds on the clock having capitalised upon uncertainty in the Bluebirds backline, but was denied by the offside flag.

A slick attacking move gave Ugbo another opportunity to end his league goal drought, but the frontman dawdled and saw his shot blocked.

Neither side have been lauded for their defensive solidity this term, therefore it was unsurprising to see some hairy moments in the opening exchanges.

Those moments, however, were considerably more fleeting for the Owls. Ugbo found himself in a promising position again after linking up with Marvin Johnson, but was bundled off the ball as he readied a shot.

Cardiff had not caused any real scares but did so at the first-half’s midway point, forcing James Beadle to push wide after latching on to a defence-splitting pass from Rubin Colwill.

Wednesday hit back with a stylish penetration of Cardiff’s defence, with Barry Bannan sending Josh Windass one-on-one with a sublime right-footed pass.

Bluebirds stopper Jak Alnwick raced out at pace, putting Windass under enough pressure to ensure his finish was on the heavy side and found the wrong side of the crossbar.

Both sides continued to trade blows throughout the first half, but it was the visitors who managed to draw blood first.

Callum Robinson skipped past Shea Charles and saw his shot pushed into the middle of the six-yard box, enabling Tanner to hammer home.

In keeping with the flow of the match, the lead was short-lived as Wednesday immediately went for the jugular. Windass slid the ball across the face of goal from the right, allowing Bernard to level proceedings at point blank range.

Buoyed by their equaliser, Wednesday went in search of a second to go into the interval with a lead. Ugbo was denied by Alnwick and Gassama fired a speculative effort wildly over after advancing with some deft footwork.

Cardiff were the first to threaten after the restart, making headway down the left with Robinson. He managed to send an inviting ball across the box from the left, only to see his teammates fail to capitalise.

The early scare was followed by a lull, as the game caught its breath after a hectic 50 minutes.

Windass has a penchant for creating excitement and sought to breathe life back into the game, unleashing a fizzing shot from distance. The effort had plenty of power but lacked accuracy and failed to test Alnwick.

Wednesday’s grip on the game strengthened, yet the Owls found converting their control into chances a tough task.

Their inability to work Alnwick invited Cardiff to step forward and Tanner rifled wide after finding a pocket of space in a dangerous area.

Rohl shuffled his pack in an effort to spark a late surge, as the likes of Pol Valentin and Anthony Musaba entered the fray.

Musaba drew a full-stretch save from Alnwick as the hosts chased a win but it was as close as Wednesday came in the dying embers at Hillsborough.