Sheffield Wednesday hold Stockport in goalless draw
Sheffield Wednesday drew 0-0 with Stockport County in League One's seventh round on Saturday. The result keeps the hosts top of the table with four wins, one draw and one defeat from six games, while Stockport remain eighth on nine points after three wins and three losses.
The match was decided in the twenty-first minute. Stockport had the better of the early exchanges and Reece James picked up a yellow card as the visitors pressed. By then Stockport had already moved ahead in possession, 52 per cent to 48, and were probing the Wednesday back line with more attacks — 77 to 54 — but could not find the breakthrough.
Wednesday showed their defensive discipline in the second half. They created only one big chance compared to Stockport's three, and their two shots on target were enough to keep a clean sheet. The visitors fired off ten shots off target and two on target, but their accuracy rate of 11 per cent told the story of a side that dominated territory without converting pressure.
Substitutions came thick and fast after the hour mark. Mason Burstow went off for Stockport in the 56th minute, followed by Harry Wood and Davis Keillor-Dunn for Wednesday. Ben Osborn and Oliver Norwood were paired together for Stockport in the 78th, while Wednesday brought on Barry Bannan, Ricardo Almeida Santos and Jack Diamond in quick succession. Kyle Wootton completed the changes for Stockport in the 87th minute.
The disciplinary record was light. Yellow cards for Reece James, Eoghan O'Connell, Liam Cooper and Yan Valery were the only bookings. Stockport's goalkeeper Oliver Watmuff made two saves, while Wednesday's Joseph Patrick Lamli had one to make. The match ended with Wednesday leading the aerial duels 32 to 31 and completing 457 passes against Stockport's 502.
The result means Wednesday extend their unbeaten run to seven games — a sequence that includes two goalless draws and five victories. Stockport's recent form has been more erratic, with wins over Wigan and Wycombe alongside defeats to Leicester, Luton and Blackpool. Our preview had backed the visitors at 91 per cent confidence, but the match refused to follow the script. Stockport controlled the ball and created more chances, yet Wednesday's organisation in the final third and Lamli's single save proved sufficient to hold them off.
