EFL League One: How Big Dunc’s Forest Green pulled off upset to dent Owls title bid – tactical analysis

For a large part of this season, Sheffield Wednesday have been the team to beat in EFL League One, with Darren Moore’s side having a heavily impressive defensive record. However, over the weekend, they suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Forest Green Rovers, who currently sit bottom of the league table, which sees them lingering two points off the top spot, currently occupied by Plymouth Argyle (although the Owls do have a game in hand on Argyle).

Wednesday are still in the automatic promotion places, so earning a place in the Championship next season is still very much a realistic option.

This means that the Owls are now without a win in three, a worrying patch of form for Wednesday fans at the business end of the season. The win, while a big scalp for Duncan Ferguson’s side, does very little in regards to their fight for survival – this was just their sixth win of the season and they are still 11 points from safety, with a significantly worse goal difference than the teams around them.

This tactical analysis will look at the tactics deployed by Forest Green as they successfully kept Sheffield Wednesday at bay, while there will also be an analysis of Wednesday’s approach as we try to find out why it failed.

Lineups

Hosts Forest Green use a 4-4-2 these days, which harks back to Big Dunc’s time as an Everton player. Ross Doohan came into the side to make his 10^th league appearance of the season between the sticks. Udoka Godwin-Malife came back into the fold, partnering with Brandon Cooper in the heart of the defence. Ferguson made one change to his midfield lineup from their previous fixture, a 2-0 defeat away at league leaders Plymouth. That change came in the form of Jordon D’Andre Garrick, who replaced Corey O’Keefe on the left flank. There were no changes to the front line: Charlie Savage starting again with his father, Robbie, formerly of Manchester United and Leicester City watching on from the stands.

Visitors Sheffield Wednesday lined up in a 3-5-2 shape, making one change in defence – Reece James coming in at LCB for Akin Famewo. There was also one change in the midfield trio, with Will Vaulks starting ahead of Tyreeq Bakinson, with Barry Bannan also present. Michael Smith and Lee Gregory both kept their places from the Owls’ previous game, a 4-2 defeat to South Yorkshire counterparts Barnsley.

Wednesday wasteful in possession

Darren Moore’s side have scored 64 times in League One so far this season, with only Ipswich Town and Plymouth scoring more than the Owls – making it even more surprising that Wednesday came away from this fixture goalless. In fact, they only registered six shots in the tie (the same as Forest Green), with just one of those being on target. So it’s not even like they tested the keeper a great deal despite controlling a large portion of possession.