A Fistful of Dollars: A Wayne Rooney Story

[Soapy]

Struggling to get time to post my next few games. Have the next 3 played. Stuck correcting December exams before 5th Jan and school going back

pay the teachers

[RMJH4]

Oxford United 0 - 2 Sheffield Wednesday | Sky Bet Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday continued their outstanding run of form with a composed and professional 2–0 victory away at Oxford United, making it five league wins on the bounce and further underlining the transformation under Wayne Rooney.

An early red card swung the balance firmly in Wednesday’s favour, and the Owls showed maturity and control to turn numerical advantage into another crucial three points.

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Early Drama Tilts the Contest

The game’s defining moment arrived inside the opening ten minutes when Oxford captain Michal Helik was shown a straight red card in the 7th minute for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity. Reduced to ten men, Oxford were immediately put under sustained pressure as Wednesday stretched the pitch and dominated possession.

Oxford attempted to regroup in a compact 4-5-1 shape, but Wednesday’s wing-backs and midfield trio patiently probed for openings.

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Clinical Wednesday Take Control

The breakthrough came on 36 minutes. Sustained pressure finally told as Charlie McNeill found space in the box and finished confidently past Cumming to give the visitors a deserved lead.

Just six minutes later, Wednesday doubled their advantage. A sweeping move down the right ended with Iké Ugbo applying a clinical finish, leaving Oxford with a mountain to climb before the interval.

Despite Oxford’s best efforts, the Owls went into the break firmly in control, both on the scoreboard and statistically.

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Game Management and Control

Rooney made a double change at half-time, introducing Fusire and Otegbayo to freshen things up, and Wednesday never looked like surrendering their grip on the contest.

Oxford pushed forward in spells, but struggled to create clear chances against a well-organised Wednesday back line marshalled by Iorfa and Bernard. Any faint hopes of a comeback were further dampened by bookings for Currie and Brannagan.

Wednesday continued to threaten on the counter and comfortably saw out the remainder of the match, making a series of late substitutions to preserve energy and protect key players.


Team Lineups

Oxford United 4-1-4-1: Cumming, Currie, Davies, Helik (C), ter Avest, Brannagan, Dembele, Goodrham, Harris, Romeny, Prelec.

Subs: Pfacheta for Romeny (67'), Davies for De Keersmaecker (82'), Harris for Prelec (90')

Sheffield Wednesday 5-3-2: Horvarth, Kobacki, M.Lowe, Bernard, Iorfa, Siqueira, Bannan (C), Valery, Haas, Ugbo, McNeill

Subs: Fusire for Haas (45'), Otegbayo for M. Lowe (45'), J. Lowe for Ugbo (82'), Cadamateri for McNeill (82'), Amass for Kobacki (82')

Player of the match: Charlie McNeill 1 Goal.

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Another Statement Win

With 52% possession, 12 shots and an xG of 3.2, Sheffield Wednesday were full value for their victory. Oxford, despite their endeavour, were undone by ill-discipline and struggled to cope with Wednesday’s numerical and tactical superiority.

The result keeps Wednesday’s momentum rolling and further cements belief that this side are still clinging to faint hopes of escaping trouble and looking firmly up the table rather than looking at minue points anymore.

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Another assured performance, another clean sheet — and another reminder that Sheffield Wednesday are becoming one of the Championship’s most in-form sides.

Match Facts
48% - Possession - 52%
7 - Shots - 12
1.3 - xG - 3.2
3 - Corners - 2
3 - Free Kicks - 2
0 - Penalties - 0
2 - Yellow Cards - 0
1 - Red Cards - 0

Match Events
7' M. Helik (OXF)
30' J. Currie (OXF)
36' C. McNeill (SHW)
42' I. Ugbo (SHW)
76' C. Brannagan (OXF)

[ShireNiner]

5 straight wins, 15 points or Rooney is more than anyone would have expected already. Really good start.

[kibaxx7]

Nice to see the .gif working properly Great start.

[RMJH4]

Middlesbrough 2 - 1 Sheffield Wednesday | Sky Bet Championship.

Sheffield Wednesday’s winning run came to an end at the Riverside Stadium as a clinical brace from Tommy Conway earned Middlesbrough a hard-fought 2–1 victory, despite a spirited and youthful display from Wayne Rooney’s injury-hit side.

With several senior players unavailable due to fitness concerns, Wednesday were forced to lean heavily on youth and new arrivals — and while the result went against them, there were plenty of positives for the Owls.

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Bright Start for the Owls

Wednesday stunned the home crowd inside seven minutes with a superbly worked opener. A quick transition caught Middlesbrough cold, and Jamal Lowe finished confidently to give the visitors an early lead against the run of possession.

The goal capped an impressive opening spell for Wednesday, who looked organised and fearless despite the occasion. Debutants Ayden Heaven and Shea Lacey settled quickly, with Lacey’s movement between the lines causing Middlesbrough early problems.

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Boro Respond Before the Break

As expected, Middlesbrough began to assert themselves, dominating possession and territory. Wednesday goalkeeper Pierce Charles, making his senior debut following the end of Horvath’s loan spell, was called into action several times and produced a composed performance.

The equaliser arrived on 40 minutes when Tommy Conway found space in the box and finished clinically past Charles after sustained pressure from the hosts.

Wednesday were left frustrated shortly after the interval when Darragh Lenihan escaped with only a yellow card for a strong challenge on debutant Shea Lacey, with the Owls bench feeling a red card was warranted.


Team Lineups

Middlesbrough 4-2-3-1: Dieng, Engel, Lenihan, Jones, Ayling (C), Hackney, Morris, Browne, Nypan, Whittaker, Conway.

Subs:N/A

Sheffield Wednesday 5-3-2: Charles, Alao, Otegbayo, Heaven, Palmer, Valery, Bannan (C), Shipston, Lacey, Lowe, McNeill

Subs: Amass for Otegbayo (70'), Bernard for Palmer (70'), Ugbo for McNeill (80'), Cadamateri for J. Lowe (80').

Player of the match: Tommy Conway (Middlesbrough) 2 Goals.

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Conway Decides It

Middlesbrough continued to press after the break and were rewarded on 65 minutes. Conway struck again, reacting quickest inside the area to fire home his second of the night and complete the turnaround.

Rooney responded with a double change midway through the second half, introducing Amass, Bernard and later Ugbo and Cadamateri in search of an equaliser. Wednesday showed admirable fight and discipline, but clear chances were hard to come by as Boro managed the game well.

Despite enjoying just 33% possession, Wednesday remained competitive until the final whistle and were unlucky not to force a late chance from set pieces.

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Encouraging Signs Despite Defeat

While the result ended Wednesday’s recent momentum, the performance offered genuine encouragement. Academy graduates Yisa Alao and Pierce Charles handled their debuts with maturity, while loan signings Heaven and Lacey impressed on their first outings in blue and white.

Middlesbrough’s greater control of the ball — 67% possession — ultimately told, but Wednesday pushed them all the way and left Teesside with heads held high.

A narrow defeat, but one that underlined the depth of talent emerging at Sheffield Wednesday — and the promise of a squad clearly being built with both the present and future in mind.

Match Facts
67% - Possession - 33%
7 - Shots - 4
1.6 - xG - 1.5
5 - Corners - 2
2 - Free Kicks - 2
0 - Penalties - 0
1 - Yellow Cards - 1
0 - Red Cards - 0

Match Events
7' J. Lowe (SHW)
31' B. Bannan (SHW)
40' T. Conway (MID)
53' D. Lenihan (MID)
65' T. Conway (MID)

[RMJH4]

5 straight wins, 15 points or Rooney is more than anyone would have expected already. Really good start.

Yeah really really good start. All against bottom half teams though, but still delighted with it.

Nice to see the .gif working properly Great start.

Thanks man, really adds to it, can tell a story with the images now too.

[James]

Tough to take a loss but I think you will be fine.

[Soapy]

welcome to gif gang

we pay homage to our fearless leader Agent

[RMJH4]

Tough to take a loss but I think you will be fine.

Yeah I expected that. They were very good. Probably get promoted.

welcome to gif gang

we pay homage to our fearless leader Agent

Yes I've joined the gang. Never knew how before. So good.

[RMJH4]

Gaming laptop battery bit the dust this week. So no access for a few more days while I get that fixed. Only reason I haven't been able to update more.