Football

Barnsley vs Sheffield Wednesday player ratings: Last gasp winner takes Wednesday back to the Championship

May 29, 2023 6:00 pm
wembley stadium
A general view of Wembley Stadium before the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Final between Coventry City and Luton Town at Wembley Stadium, London Picture by Darren Woolley/Focus Images Ltd 07590188758 27/05/2023 - Photo by Icon sport

  • Sheffield Wednesday will be playing in the Championship next season following victory over Barnsley on Monday afternoon at Wembley.
  • The game looked like it was destined for a penalty shootout before a Josh Windass header in the third minute of stoppage time of extra time won it for the Owls.
  • Barnsley’s Adam Phillips was sent off early in the second half following a late and reckless challenge on Lee Gregory.

Barnsley player ratings:

Harry Isted 9/10 – Made countless miraculous saves throughout the match to keep his side level. Got a hand to the winner but couldn’t stop it from going into the back of the net.

Bobby Thomas 7/10 – His long throws became very useful after his side went down to ten men.

Mads Juel Andersen 8/10 – Headed everything away and was tracking the forwards for the goal so can’t be blamed.

Liam Kitching 8/10 – Came close to scoring for Barnsley when his header rattled the crossbar and made some huge blocks.

Nicky Cadden 6/10 – Had a quiet game and was beaten too easily at times down his side.

Herbie Kane 7/10 – Was over ran after Barnsley went down to ten men and he was substituted not long after.

Luca Connell 8/10 – Looks a really good player at 22 years old and got the better of Bannan in midfield. Will feel that he could have won the game, though.

Adam Phillips 3/10 – The heated start to the second half got the better of him and he can have no complaints about the red. Ultimately, he cost his team the match.

Jordan Williams 6/10 – Worked hard but was targetted by Sheffield Wednesday.

Devante Cole 6/10 – Struggled to get into the game and substituted in the second half.

Slobodan Tedic 5/10 – Was anonymous in the first half and was taken off. Don’t think he’ll be making the grade at Man City.

Substitutes

James Norwood 9/10 – A superb display from Norwood. Battled for everything, held the ball up sensationally, won his team free kicks and very nearly scored a late winner in normal time.

Josh Benson 6/10 – Only lasted 20 minutes before being subbed himself.

Luke Thomas 6/10 – Defended well enough.

Jonathan Russell 6/10 – Gave it his all but was technically lacking.

Max Watters 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Sheffield Wednesday player ratings:

Cameron Dawson 8/10 – Made a phenomenal save to deny Norwood and was good value for his clean sheet.

Dominic Iorfa 7/10 – Didn’t have much defending to do after the red card but dealt with everything well.

Micahel Ihiekwe 7/10 – Dealt with Cole and Tedic superbly but struggled against Norwood.

Reece James 6/10 – Was caught out during a Barnsley counter attack which would have cost his team a goal had Connell found the back of the net.

Callum Patterson 6/10 – Worked hard as always and was subbed off late on.

Liam Palmer 5/10 – A disappointing display from Palmer who failed to assert himself when his team had a man advantage.

Barry Bannan 6/10 – Went from the sublime to the ridiculous throughout but you can never fault him for effort. Might have been guilty of chasing the wonder goal at times.

Marvin Johnson 7/10 – Caused problems for Barnsley and seemed to be the go-to guy for Wednesday.

Josh Windass 6/10 – If it wasn’t for the late winner he’d have been given a 3/10. Probably his worst performance of the season but he still came up with the goods when it mattered the most.

Michael Smith 6/10 – Missed a glorious chance and didn’t do much else.

Lee Gregory 8/10 – Never stopped trying and it was his play down the left flank that resulted in the Windass goal

Substitutes

Will Vaulks 7/10 – Scored a screamer only for it to be ruled out for offside.

Jack Hunt 6/10 – Needlessly strayed offside for the Vaulks goal.

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact.

Barnsley vs Sheffield Wednesday Match Summary and Highlights

In a game played in high temperatures at Wembley Stadium, the first half was perhaps a predictably slow affair. Although both teams had half-chances in the opening 45 minutes, the match didn’t really start until the referee kicked things off after the break.

After just four minutes of the second half, Barnsley found themselves down to ten men when Adam Phillips went flying in on Lee Gregory. The Barnsley midfielder was late and his challenge was deemed too reckless for both the referee and VAR and he was given his marching orders. Incredibly though, it spurred Barnsley on and they hit the crossbar just minutes later via a Kitching header.

The rest of the half was played like a basketball match but the game still somehow went to extra time, which Sheffield Wednesday dominated. Unfortunately for the Owls, Barnsley’s goalkeeper Harry Isted made a series of incredible saves to keep them out in the first half of extra time and then they had an effort ruled out in the second half for offside.

Just as the game looked destined for a shootout – just as the Championship playoff final did on Saturday and the League Two playoff final did yesterday – Josh Windass powered a header past Isted following some great work from Lee Gregory.

Sheffield Wednesday will now play in the Championship next season while Barnsley will be left rueing what might have been had Phillips not got himself sent off midway through the match.

Player of the match: Harry Isted

If it wasn’t for Isted then Sheffield Wednesday would have won the tie long before they did. His save from Michael Smith at the start of extra time was nothing short of extraordinary and will be replayed over and over again in the days to come. He made another fantastic stop to deny Barry Bannan not long after and came close to saving Windass’ header at the death. If there was ever a player who didn’t deserve to be on the losing team then it was Isted today.

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