SUNDERLAND, ENGLAND - MAY 06: Kyril Louis-Dreyfus owner of Sunderland and his wife, Alexandra Nowikovsky during the Sky Bet League One Play-Off Semi Final 1st Leg match between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday at Stadium of Light on May 6, 2022 in Sunderland, England. (Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images)
Sunderland must fear ‘nasty’ Sheffield Wednesday game plan as Danny Rohl’s comments prove he learned from heavy defeat
Friday night’s game between Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday will be a fascinating battle, as two teams in poor form look to get back to winning ways.
The Black Cats travel to Hillsborough later this week hoping to put an end to their slump, coming off the back of defeats to Leeds United and Hull City.
Those defeats have seen Sunderland’s automatic promotion hopes dashed, but Regis Le Bris’ men still have plenty to play for as they look to secure a play-off spot and build some momentum going into the business end of the season.
Wednesday go into the game on the back of a big 3-0 defeat against promotion contenders Burnley last Friday night, and will be eager to pile further misery on Sunderland this week.
We’ve already taken a shot at predicting Sunderland’s lineup for the next game, and Le Bris will have to take into consideration the fact the Owls will want revenge after a heavy defeat the last time these two teams met.
Danny Rohl learned a valuable lesson vs Sunderland
Back at the start of this season, Sunderland humbled Sheffield Wednesday with a massive 4-0 win at the Stadium of Light.
Goals from Dennis Cirkin, Luke O’Nien, and an Eliezer Mayenda brace sealed all three points for the Black Cats back in August.
Speaking after the game, Owls boss Danny Rohl had plenty to say about where his team went wrong, and pinpointed the strengths of the Sunderland squad at the time.
He said (via the Sunderland Echo): “This [defeat] is also because of our opponent, and we should never forget we always have an opponent who will try good things with good players.
“They did well today and for us it is still about learning, learning, learning, improve… I want to see a team that is nasty and able to be competitive.”
However, it sounds like Rohl learned a lot about his team and where they can do better against Sunderland in future.
He added: “Today we played too much into the six position. We know they are man to man press, especially in this position.
“From us, all the dangerous actions were from where we played behind instead of in front and this was a clear message in the match plan, where we want to attack them.
“They did well, we can learn from this game, we have to learn from this game. When you win games it is always easy to have togetherness but it’s also about staying together, taking the right things from the defeat and going forward.”
Sheffield Wednesday are a much stronger team these days, despite the recent run of defeats, and it’s clear that Rohl has instilled more fight and spirit into his side over the last few months. In this respect, Sunderland will have to be very wary, especially in front of the hostile crowd at Hillsborough.
