Sheffield Wednesday 1 West Ham 0: Weaver proves his quality to steer Owls to upset

CHRIS O’Grady’s late winner took Sheffield Wednesday into the fourth round of the FA Cup, but a Nicky Weaver penalty save was equally important.

Weaver, making only his third appearance since returning from a four-month absence due to knee surgery, saved Sam Baldock’s spot-kick three minutes after the interval.

It kept the scoreline goalless and paved the way for O’Grady to settle the contest three minutes from the end.

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The man-of-the-match champagne was awarded to the Owls striker but the tee-totaller said he planned to give it to his team-mate.

The Owls also had to hold on for an incredible 11 minutes of stoppage time due to a lengthy delay caused by a facial injury to Julian Bennett.

It could be argued that West Ham United deserved to lose after resting seven first-team regulars.

Manager Sam Allardyce, however, insisted that his side, currently second in the Championship, had created more than enough opportunities to stay in the competition.

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The Owls were without winger Ben Marshall – who had been prevented from playing by his parent club Stoke City – and defender Miguel Llera whose initial loan deal from Blackpool has expired.

Owls manager Gary Megson dropped striker Clinton Morrison to the bench and recalled Jermaine Johnson, Bennett, and captain Rob Jones who had recovered from a back injury.

There was no Kevin Nolan or Mark Noble in midfield for the Hammers, no Carlton Cole in attack, and Belgian goalkeeper Ruud Boffin made only his third start in English football in place of Robert Green.

Despite their ‘squad rotation’, the Hammers still had plenty of Premier League quality with players including John Carew, Jack Collison, and on loan Arsenal winger Henri Lansbury on show.

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It soon became clear that the Owls would need to work extremely hard to progress to the fourth round.

Weaver pushed an early shot from Lansbury onto the crossbar and the Hammers dominated the opening 15 minutes.

But the Owls stemmed the tide and would have gone ahead but for an awful miss by striker Jermaine Johnson.

Picking up a great ball from O’Grady, the Jamaican wrong-footed defender Winston Reid and had only Boffin to beat from 12 yards.

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However, as is so often the case, Johnson’s finishing proved a massive let down and Hillsborough was left open-mouthed as the ball fizzed wide of the post.

It might have been less of a surprise to Allardyce, of course, who released Johnson after three years waiting for him to make an impact at Bolton Wanderers.

In O’Grady, the Owls had easily the strongest man on the pitch. The burly striker muscled his way through a number of challenges and was always a willing worker. He deserved his goal and has been a superb signing by Megson.

The atmosphere in the stadium was strangely cordial due to a mutual loathing of Sheffield United.

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Home supporters had been applauded by the visitors for chanting ‘There’s only one Carlos Tevez’ and the Hammers repaid the compliment by singing ‘This city is yours.”

In truth, the game became a little stale at one point and needed something to focus attention on the football again.

Danny Batth planted a header narrowly wide for the Owls after meeting a long throw from Bennett while Freddie Sears missed a close-range header for the Hammers and Weaver saved from Collison.

Overall, defences were firmly on top during an evenly-balanced first 45 minutes, but the Hammers were handed a gilt-edged chance to take the lead three minutes after the break.

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Reda Johnson tripped Reid in the Owls box and Baldock stepped up to take the penalty.

But Weaver made a brilliant low save diving to his left and pushed the ball around the post.

The introduction of a third striker, Morrison, was a clear signal of intent by Megson with Bennett moving to left-back in place of Reda Johnson and Jermaine Johnson moving to the flank.

It almost paid instant dividends as Morrison set up O’Grady but Boffin produced a fine save.

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George McCartney blocked a goalbound shot from Chris Lines as the Owls moved up a gear. They also defended well during spells of pressure and home supporters were soon sensing the possibility of a Cup upset.

Weaver’s afternoon could have gone from the sublime to the ridiculous when he charged out of his area and knocked a clearance straight to Hammers midfielder Gary O’Neill.

Fortunately for the Owls, though, O’Neill also made a hash of his attempted shot with Weaver stranded in no man’s land.

Weaver made amends moments later with a finger-tip save to push Baldock’s shot onto the post.

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The Hammers came under mounting pressure as the game entered its final period.

The Owls suffered a late blow when Bennett had to be stretchered off following a clash of heads with Morrison when defending the same ball.

He eventually left the field wearing a neck brace and was taken to hospital for treatment on a facial injury.

Bennett’s replacement was striker Ryan Lowe and it was his pass that opened the door for O’Grady to hit the winner in the 87th minute.

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But victory was far from assured and the Owls had to survive a staggering 11minutes of added time, based mainly on Bennett’s injury and the six second-half substitutions.

Amusingly, Megson issued a hastily written note to his defenders in the final moments on how to hold onto the lead.

They still gave substitute Franck Nouble a chance to equalise but the Hammers substitute failed to deliver when it mattered, instead volleying high into the stands.

As supporters headed home, the stadium rocked to the sound of ‘Hammer to Fall’ by Queen. An inspired choice.