Barry Bannan opened the scoring in spectacular style in Sheffield Wednesday’s win over Millwall on Wednesday evening. The 2-1 victory was Wednesdy’s first win of the season at their fourth attempt.
Millwall on the other hand were coming off the back of a 2-1 home win over Frank Lampard’s Derby County, but goals from Bannan and centre-back Tom Lees ensured that Wednesday took all three points at Hillsborough.
The former Aston Villa and Crystal Palace man took up a position on the edge of the box after 16 minutes and when the ball popped up in the air he was there to volley a peach straight into the top corner with his favoured left foot.
The goal was the sweetest of strikes and the perfect start to what was an imperious performance by the diminutive central midfielder. Throughout the 90 minutes, Bannan had 106 touches of the ball, 37 more than any other player on the pitch, proving that everything was going through the Scotsman.
Bannan’s set piece delivery was also causing havoc for the Millwall defence and it was from his free-kick that Lees squeezed the ball home just after half-time.
It was after this that Bannan’s deep-lying midfield role became even more important. The 28-year-old made three clearances and 90 passes as Wednesday attempted to keep the ball while under increasing pressure.
Millwall’s Ryan Tunnicliffe netted on the counter to make the Wednesday fans nervy, and a goalmouth scramble in injury time would have had hearts in mouths, but their side held on to pick up the valuable points at home.
With four key passes throughout the game, Bannan was easily Wednesday’s creative player and he looks set to be key as the Owls attempt to better last season’s 15th place finish.
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