Sheffield Wednesday 0 Derby 0

We are reaching that pivotal point of the season when the cream begins to rise to the top of the Championship table. Teams can get to the top of the table in the first half of the season, but one injury to a key player during the busy Christmas period can spell disaster if there's no one to replace them - case in point being Derby last season. Already this season we can see a group of five teams springing clear of the rest of the field leaving a melee for the final play-off spot, with one of these teams being Sheffield Wednesday.

I have to admit I wasn't sure what to make of the Owls going into the match, partly because I haven't really seen them in action. They've had some impressive performances this season, particularly at home; beating Arsenal 3-0 in the Capital One Cup and holding unbeaten Brighton to a 0-0 draw. In fact, their only loss at home this season came courtesy of the Rams fellow promotion chasers Middlesbrough in August. On the other hand they lost 3-1 to Charlton, a team seemingly destined for League One. It was very much a case of wondering which Wednesday team would turn up.

Wednesday Head Coach Carlos Carvalhal (Ed Sykes)

Derby made two changes from the team that swatted aside Hull more than a week earlier with Lee Grant replacing the injured Scott Carson in goal and Bradley Johnson replacing Jeff Hendrick in midfield. It's not quite clicking for Hendrick at the moment - he's playing well enough to fill in when someone get suspended or injured but not quite well enough to force his way into the team - but I'm sure he'll get more opportunities to impress over the festive period.

The match kicked off and it was clear that Wednesday's Head Coach Carlos Carvalhal had done his homework with  Lucas Joao and Fernando Forestieri taking turns man marking George Thorne. Saying that, the match that followed could have been very different if an early decision had gone Derby's way. In the third minute Thorne lofted a superb through ball towards Andreas Weimann who had sprung the Wednesday offside trap and with only goalkeeper to beat, he was pulled up by the Linesman's flag. Replays showed that he was onside and an early chance was gone. That was Derby's warning and the team from Yorkshire took note and reacted. No longer was Thorne to be allowed time on the ball and it showed as Wednesday took control of the game.

Bradley Johnson chases the ball (@dcfcofficial)

For all of their dominance though, they lacked a real cutting edge up front as Derby moved back into their defensive shape, packing the middle of the park. Forcing the Owls out wide, the onus was on their wingers and full backs to put in some high quality crosses for Joao to get his head on and to their credit they did. The only problem was the immovable object that is Jason Shackell was there every time. This pattern was repeated again and again, so much so that I think Shackell might have lost a few brain cells over the course of the 90 minutes.

Wednesday were restricted in general to long shots. Shackell headed the ball clear and it fell to Ross Wallace (who seems to have been around forever), who smashed a looping half-volley that Grant palmed over. Not the best save in the world, but a tricky one to make none the less. Derby had a poor first half going forward, but defensively were so solid, I didn't doubt for one second we would finish the game with a clean sheet.

The game opened up a bit more in the second half, with Clement having told his players to be more proactive. Johnson headed the ball over from a free kick, when he really should have hit the target. Then came the one time in the match Wednesday got the ball on the floor in our box. Shackell was drawn out wide to clear the ball, which fell straight to an opposition player. Joao picked the ball up and played it into Forestieri, who then shuffled the ball bagged to him. Joao's snapshot was blocked by the returning Shackell and the ball fell to Pudil, who shot wide. Midway through the half, Derby broke with Weimann working the ball out wide to Chris Martin who then fed the ball into Johnson. His curling shot was at a nice height for Westwood to make his first save of the afternoon.

Chris Martin challenges a Wednesday player for the ball (@dcfcofficial)

Clement then decided to wring the changes with Darren Bent and Johnny Russell arriving to help find a breakthrough. Bent nearly made an immediate impact; Martin flicked on a long ball and Bent started chasing. Put under pressure Glen Loovens passed the ball back to Westwood and Derby had an indirect free kick in the box. Johnson took charge and cannoned the ball off the underside of the bar, with Westwood plucking Martin's follow up out of the air. Down at the other end, Loovens got free of Shackell at a corner but planted his header wide. In the final minute of injury time, Martin looped a ball to Bent who returned it and Martin smacked the ball wide - it wouldn't have counted even if it had gone in, Bent as he so often is, was offside.

So full time and a dull game mercifully ended. I was impressed with Sheffield Wednesday; they were very well drilled, knew exactly when to press us and every player knew where they ought to be when not on the ball. That being said, they didn't carve us open (but then again, who has this season). I was impressed with Liam Palmer who bombed up and down the right wing all day long, very much like Cyrus Christie and Forestieri was his usual nippy, annoying self. They're a good bet for the play-offs I'd say if they can perform like that on the road.

Player Performances

Lee Grant - Only had one save to make and had all the others covered. His distribution could have been a little better, but he did everything that was asked of him.

Cyrus Christie - Good defensively, forcing his man out wide again and again. Mixed going forward, he was manfully covered by the tireless Barry Bannon, but was still able to get some joy down that flank.

Richard Keogh - Had a tough game as more often than not Joao took up residence on his shoulder and made his life difficult. Unable to bring the ball out of defence as often as he would've liked, but his main job is defending and he did that well.

Jason Shackell - Absolutely superb, his best performance since he returned to the club. Dealt with everything they lobbed in the box, and made a cracking block to make up for one of his errors.

Stephen Warnock - Had a very good first half, but I do still worry about some of his passing. On more than one occasion he put the team in danger with loose passes behind his man, nearly allowing Wednesday to counter.

George Thorne - Was marked out of the match really. That third minute through ball was superb, but he was shutdown after that. He'll have to learn from this and find a way round it in the future as more teams take notice of him.

Jacob Butterfield in action on a mixed afternoon fro him (@dcfcofficial)

Jacob Butterfield - Tried to make things happen, but was ineffectual. Wasn't near enough to Martin to make any sort of impact going forward. Should be on notice, because Hendrick and Bryson are breathing down his neck.

Bradley Johnson - Looked most likely to get a goal for us and his added bite in midfield helped us no end. He'll be dissappointed he only hit the bar for the free kick, but we still look better with him in the team.

Tom Ince - It's been the tale of his season really, double marked out the game. Defensively, as ever, he's doing well, but it's still just not clicking for him. He was poor in terms of his effect on the game and I don't think it's a coincidence that we did better after he went off.

Andreas Weimann - If he hadn't been given offside in the first minute, things would have been so different. Worked hard as ever, but some of his control left something to be desired.

Chris Martin - Ineffectual to say the least, he was far too isolated. With no one up there to pass to, how is he meant to keep the ball. To be fair Wednesday's midfield and defence combined well to shackle him.

Johnny Russell - Worked hard as usual, but he needs to stop trying to hit the ball past players. The opposition are getting wise to it.

Chris Baird - Came on at left back, which is nowhere near his best position. Did well enough, made no glaring errors.

Darren Bent - How many times this season am I going to day he changed the game. He may have been offside half the time, but we looked so much better with him on. He'll force his way into the starting eleven soon enough.

Parting Thoughts

• We got the point without playing anywhere near our best and even then, only the woodwork and a dodgy offside stopped us taking all three. This bodes well for the rest of the season.
•  The difference Shackell has made to this defence has been amazing - whereas last season we looked like conceding every match, now we don't. The fact we have the bet defence in the league tells it's own story. 
•  We aren't the free flowing team we were under McClaren, but that's no bad thing. If you want to get up to the premier league and more importantly, stay there, you have to build from the back and that's what Clement is doing.