Owls plummet further into trouble with Derby defeat

Wednesday's season plummeted deeper into trouble with a 3-1 home defeat to Derby County. The Owls had hoped to spark a glimmer of light into what had been an awful week for the club, having lost three senior management personnel, including manager Terry Yorath.

But three poor pieces of defending proved costly for the Owls, who dropped another place in the Division One table. The result also strengthened the cause for a new manager to be drafted in sooner rather than later, when it might be too late.

A free-kick from Matthew Hamshaw in the 61st minute was nothing more than a consolation goal, but the Sheffield born youngster showed how much it meant to him as he clenched his fists in the air and kissed the shirt. Terrible marking and a sloppy backpass from Ian Hendon contributed to Wednesday's downfall at the back.

Whoever the new boss will be will be keen to ensure these sorts of mistakes are few and far between. At present they seem to be every week.

This report from the BBC Football website:

Sheffield Wednesday are hoping to unveil their seventh manager in five years next week, and it is clear the appointment cannot come quick enough. If Wednesday's fans thought all their problems would be cured by the departure of Terry Yorath, then they were given a rude awakening by Derby. The visitors scored three times as Wednesday crashed to their seventh defeat in eight matches to remain rooted in the First Division's bottom three. Rotherham's Ronnie Moore is the Wednesday board's preferred choice to lead the Owls to safety.

Former Sheffield United manager Dave Bassett is also high on the list of candidates, with George Burley, Peter Reid and Chris Waddle also in the running. With the Owls £23m in debt and with no money available for fresh faces, Yorath's successor will have to find a cure within the squad for the shambolic defending which proliferated against Derby.

The visitors had just two chances in the first half and scored from both, while the Owls played the better football and created opportunities but could not finish them off. Lee Morris, a former Sheffield United player, bagged both County's first-half goals, albeit at a price.

After taking a 29th minute through-ball from Adam Bolder in his stride and rounding keeper Kevin Pressman before slotting home from an improbable angle, Morris' momentum saw him career into the advertising hoardings. While his team-mates celebrated, it was clear Morris was in trouble and after being attended to by Derby's physios and medical staff because of a head injury, he was stretchered off. Sportingly the Wednesday supporters, despite Morris' previous allegiance, gave the stricken player a round of applause on his way to the dressing room.

Morris had opened the scoring inside seven minutes after he finished off a scything move involving Izale McLeod and Bolder. If caretaker boss Bill Green, stepping up from his role as chief scout, had been banking on a second-half revival then such hopes were blown away inside three minutes of the restart.

The 17-year-old McLeod, who scored his first senior goal in the 2-1 win at home to Sheffield United in midweek, made it two in two matches after taking advantage of a woeful back pass from Ian Hendon. Wednesday rallied, but 56th-minute substitute Matthew Hawshaw's 20-yard free-kick five minutes after his arrival was all the Owls could manage as a week to forget ended in further misery.

Half-time: Owls 0-2 Derby