Sheffield Wednesday squandered the opportunity to go top of the League One table yesterday afternoon as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Derby County, with both sides failing to do enough to win the three points at Pride Park.

David McGoldrick came closest to scoring in the first half - but he was unable to guide the ball past David Stockdale from close range who remained solid in the visitors' goal and managed to gather the ball.

The ex-Sheffield United tested Stockdale again before the interval - but he was unable to win his battle with the ex-Wycombe Wanderers shot-stopper who palmed the ball to safety.

 

 

It was the visitors' who probably had the best chance of the second 45 with ex-Owl Joe Wildsmith saving from Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, though the hosts had their own opportunities to win three home points.

Neither side could make their opportunities count though and following Plymouth Argyle's loss against Port Vale and Fleetwood Town's late equaliser against Ipswich, Wednesday will be frustrated that they weren't able to claim what would have been an excellent victory in the East Midlands.

There were promising signs though - and we take a look at three things we clearly learnt about Darren Moore's side following their away draw.

They have the potential to hold their own away at the biggest teams in League One

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They will be gutted with their losses away at Plymouth and Peterborough United earlier in the season - because today shows they can go away to the biggest teams in the division and not be overwhelmed.

In front of an intimidating atmosphere, they didn't exactly perform superbly but they did enough in the end and only needed to ride their luck a couple of times in the East Midlands.

Dele-Bashiru should have taken his chance in the second half and that would have allowed them to claim all three points - but a point away at Derby isn't bad on paper and they will surely take plenty of confidence from that.

They also had a number of important first-teamers out injured, something that ought to be borne in mind.

They need James and McGuinness to stay fit

With Michael Ihiekwe set to spend a lengthy period of time on the sidelines, they desperately need their existing centre-back options to remain fit to give themselves the best chance of securing a top-two spot.

Injury problems proved to be problematic for them at the back last season and they won't want a repeat of that, so keeping hold of loanees Reece James and Mark McGuinness could be crucial.

Considering the Bluebirds have had a change in manager though, it remains to be seen whether McGuinness will stay put.

Both loanees put in a decent shift at Pride Park, showing their second-tier class with the duo remaining solid at the back and keeping the experienced McGoldrick and James Collins quiet enough.

James seems to be perfect for the left centre-back role as someone who has played out wide several times before and understands how Marvin Johnson is likely to position himself and behave as a wing-back.

Will they be able to recruit the Blackpool man and McGuinness permanently though? It remains to be seen.

Mighten probably isn't the answer up top

Although Michael Smith wasn't hugely effective in the East Midlands, Alex Mighten's lack of presence in the final third was even more noticeable.

There are probably two reasons for this. Firstly, he's a Forest player and didn't receive the warmest welcome from the home crowd, something that has to be considered when evaluating his performance.

And secondly, he was placed in a new role as he took on a more central position, something that didn't seem to suit him for the vast majority of the game.

When in action for Forest, most of his promising play came from out wide and you feel that's where he would be most effective for the Owls as a player who can beat a man with pace and scare most third-tier full-backs.