A climactic stoppage time equaliser by midfielder Jeff Hendrick saw bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday snatch a point from high-flying Leicester City in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough last night.
Ghanaian teenager Abdul Fatawu put the Foxes ahead early on under the Hillsborough lights after he successfully added to his campaign tally with an explosive left footed volley, pummelling it past the hands of Mads Hermansen.
Leicester City, who for most of the game seemed to be destined for another three points on the road, were pegged back in stoppage time by the Owls with a composed finish by Hendrick to put them on level terms.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl made four changes to the starting XI following Saturday’s trip to St Andrews, which ended in a 2-1 loss for the Owls, with 19-year-old Bailey Cadamarteri making his debut. Marvin Johnson, Di’Shon Bernard and Callum Paterson also appeared in the starting XI, as Michael Ihiekwe found himself on the bench.
Leicester boss Enzo Maresca made six changes to his starting XI, with Jamie Vardy earning a place in the lineup after the striker stunned Watford this weekend. Abdul Fatawu started up front alongside last week’s goalscorer, with Cesare Casadei, Yunus Akgun, Harry Winks and Conor Coady also in the starting XI.
It was only a matter of seconds before the Owls predominantly took control of the game and were off to what looked like a promising start. Wednesday captain Barry Bannan seized advantage of a mistake by Ricardo Pereira, advancing with an illustrious attempt on goal, but slotting it just wide of the post.
Not long after followed another fateful chance for the Owls, with the skipper once again involved in the box, feeding the ball to Paterson, which saw his efforts denied by City defender Coady.
City manager Enzo Maresca admitted ahead of their clash that it would be a ‘very difficult game’ for the visiting side, and indeed it was clear within the first 10 minutes that the Owls were not phased by the Foxes’ 36-point leverage.
Wednesday continuously sought opportunities to exploit Leicester’s defence and gain an upper hand against the league leaders, taking control of their commanding momentum when possible.
However, their chances in the final third were often squandered, evident in the clear-cut free kick towards Bambo Diaby, who bulleted a header straight towards City’s keeper.
Despite Wednesday’s consistent efforts to open the scoring, Leicester responded well to the pressure, as they finally broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute with Stephy Mavididi hurling a powerful cross towards the chest of unmarked man Fatawu, who meticulously controlled the ball and fired it past keeper Cameron Dawson with a left-footed strike to register his second of the campaign.
Rohl’s side, however, did not allow the leaders to break their morale, with Wednesday creating further chances in search of a response just minutes after the Foxes’ goal. The Owls attempted to respond, with a well-worked corner finding Johnson to volley it to George Byers, only for Paterson to narrowly miss the ball.
Cadamarteri strove to level with the Foxes just on the stroke of half time, carefully controlling a cross from Johnson and steadily pelting it towards the goal, but his attempt was bodied away City defender Jannik Vestergaard.
The hosts were eager to equalise in the second half, with Dominic Iorfa whipping the ball in front of Byers, but it was easily dealt with by Hermansen.
The Foxes also aimed to further their lead with a chance late on in the game. Former England international Vardy slotted it to the feet of Kasey McAteer, who nudged the ball just wide of the net.
Still aiming to salvage a point, Johnson saw off a skilful pass from Vestergaard, only to feed the ball straight into the keeper’s hands. Ashley Fletcher’s strike followed shortly after, which was once again denied by Hermansen.
Moments later came the anticipated equaliser, which saw a beautifully crafted flick by Fletcher towards Hendrick, who slyly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner.
This moment last night 🙌#swfc | #SHWLEI pic.twitter.com/3c2KlaYpH2
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) November 30, 2023
A marvellous left footed save from Dawson after a late attempt by Vestergaard meant that Wednesday were able to settle the score at a draw, pushing their points tally to seven from 18 games.
Manager Rohl said: “‘I think it was not lucky, it was deserved. I believe in my players, I believe in the ground, I believe in the club – I’m looking forward to Saturday to do this again.”
With Rohl’s team looking in fighting spirit after what can only be a positive result for the Owls, thoughts now turn to Saturday’s game against Blackburn Rovers with the hope that Wednesday can utilise this momentum to move up the table.
Image Credit: Sheffield Wednesday
