Sheffield Wednesday 2 Derby County 0 report: Lucas Joao double dents Rams promotion hopes to hand Jos Luhukay first win
Portuguese hotshot netted either side of half-time, with the second being a longe-range cracker
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LUCAS JOAO’S double earned new boss Jos Luhukay his first league win — and dented Derby’s promotion push.
The Portuguese hotshot netted either side of half-time, with the second being a long-range cracker.
It finally got Dutchman Luhukay off the mark in the Championship at the sixth time of asking.
The result was nothing more than Gary Rowett’s below-par Rams deserved and left them with just one win in five league games.
It was a blow to their bid for automatic promotion as they missed the chance to leapfrog Aston Villa back into second place.
Going into the game, Wednesday were short of confidence and even shorter of players, with Luhukay pointing to TEN first-team stars out injured.
That saw their Mr Versatile, Adam Reach, deployed at central midfield — and the gifted winger performed admirably in the role, running into the spaces left by the slower Tom Huddlestone and Joe Ledley.
Reach fired the hosts’ first proper shot in anger, driving from the halfway line before blazing over from outside the box.
Having won two Sky Bet Championship Goal of the Month awards already this season, it was worth chancing his arm.
The former Middlesbrough man then turned provider on 15 minutes.
His corner was whipped to the far post where defender Frederico Venancio headed straight at keeper Scott Carson.
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Three minutes later Wednesday took the lead and once again Reach was at the heart of it. His ball out to the right was so ‘on the money’ it allowed Jack Hunt to take it first time into the box, before cutting back inside and squaring for Joao.
The forward neatly tucked home from 12 yards.
It was only the 24-year-old’s fourth of the campaign but his second in three games, hinting that he could be the man to fire his shotshy side up the table.
Derby looked lethargic, perhaps energy-sapped from the recent run of fixtures and the sheer pressure of having to keep up with promotion rivals Villa, who have won seven on the trot.
The nearest they came to a first-half goal was through winger Andi Weimann, who headed Chris Baird’s cross down and just wide of the near post.
Two minutes after the break it looked like game over as Joao brilliantly drilled the ball low into the far corner from 23 yards.
The Rams had to step it up from there and Ledley was left frustrated when his protests that he had been fouled in the box by Sean Clare fell on deaf ears.
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Clare’s fellow academy product Joe Wildsmith then came to the fore, denying Weimann and then Matej Vydra with smart stops.
Vydra drove into the box with 15 minutes to go before screwing well wide, summing up his side’s night.
Derby have a recent habit of cracking up in the latter stages of the season. After their recent wobble, their fans will be fearing it could happen again.