Shrewsbury Town 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0: Window of opportunity if Owls are to rescue their season

Owls boss Darren Moore wanted to see a reaction after a humiliating 5-0 defeat at Sunderland on Thursday, but the players looked like they were suffering a New Year’s hangover at Shrewsbury in the opening 45 minutes.

All the problems which have hindered the club this season –few goal options in attack, an inability to defend set-pieces and a passive approach to tactics – were all in evidence as the hosts deservedly led at half-time, Matthew Pennington heading in a near-post corner.

Wednesday did improve in the second half, not too difficult with Lewis Wing’s 35-yard effort all they could muster in attack.

The visitors created chances for Wing, Saido Berahino, Barry Bannan, Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Theo Corbeanu, but Shrews goalkeeper Marko Marosi was never seriously tests.

At the other end, Liam Palmer produced an outstanding block to deny Ryan Bowman, who also spurned an open goal to make it 2-0, blazing over after good work from Rekiel Pyke.

Defeat leaves the Owls six points adrift of the top-six, and 13 days to assess the damage – before their next game against Plymouth Argyle on January 15 – and rescue their season.

Moore has struggled to get the best out of the players at his disposal – the club’s loan contingent have mostly struggled to make an impact – and the Owls will need a good January transfer window, with two central defenders and a striker or two the priority.

Travelling Owls fans greeted the final whistle with boos at Shrewsbury, and Moore accepted the criticism.

“I understand the reaction of the fans because I know the expectation levels at this club,” he said.

“When you are at a club like Sheffield Wednesday you’d be worried if that didn’t come. We have lost the last two games and of course it hurts.

“They care, we care, they have come here today wanting the three points and we didn’t get the three points.

“In football you have to earn the points and today we didn’t earn three points because we didn’t do enough to win the game,” said the former Doncaster Rovers boss.

“We lost the goal to a set play and that’s never pleasing to see as a manager and after that we’ve had large spells of the game, we dominated the second half, but we couldn’t get that final touch we needed for that killer instinct to get the goal.

“Over these last two games we’ve certainly not seen the rhythm and continuity we had before.

“We have to get back to being the team that was hard to beat and the team that was scoring goals.”

Shrewsbury Town: Marosi, Pennington, Ebanks-Landell, Nurse, Bennett, Vela, Davis, Leahy, Ogbeta (Pierre 75), Bowman, Udoh (Pyke 45), Pyke (Daniels 90). Unused substitutes: Cosgrove, Burgoyne, Caton, Craig.

Sheffield Wednesday: Peacock-Farrell, Palmer, Hutchinson, Johnson (Mendez-Laing 65), Wing, Paterson (Brennan 29),Bannan, Adeniran (Dele-Bashiru 58), Corbeanu, Gregory, Berahino. Unused substitutes: Boateng, Byers, Wildsmith, Sow.

Referee: M Edwards (Durham).