Sheffield Wednesday got their play-off push back on track with a 3-1 over Charlton Athletic on Saturday afternoon.

The Owls ended a run of five games without a win with a comfortable win over the Addicks at the Valley. Wednesday’s last victory before Saturday came in late October so Garry Monk and his side will be relieved to get back towards the play-offs.

The victory now sees Wednesday move up to within two points of the play-off places heading into December with some testing fixtures building up toward Christmas. 

Goals from strike-partnership Steven Fletcher and Atdhe Nuhiu were enough for the Owls who scored three goals in a game for just the second time this season, having put four past Middlesbrough early in Garry Monk’s tenure. 

Here, we take a look at three things we learnt from the Owls after their win over Charlton…

They stopped the rot

 

As mentioned above, Wednesday had previously not won in five league games, seeing them drop 12 out of a possible 15 points available, meaning they slumped from within touching distance of the top two to outside the play-off places. 

Heading into this game and the tough month coming, they needed a result to build on with the fixtures coming thick and fast in the next weeks, which they certainly did.

Ending that winless run means that the Owls will have a large boost in confidence going forward which will do the side a world of good as they look to break back into the play-off places and cement their position there.

Fletcher is proving his quality

Steven Fletcher is an experienced striker who knows what it takes to achieve success in the Championship, as he has done on many an occasion. This game was proof of his value to Garry Monk’s side, scoring a brace to clinch the three points.

His first was a very well-taken header from behind the penalty spot as he deftly guided Barry Bannan’s cross into the far corner, while his second was a confidently dispatched penalty which saw the Owls regain their lead with just 10 minutes left to play.

If Wednesday are to mount a serious push for promotion this season, they need Fletcher to continue his great run of form.

The wide men are producing more

A problem Monk has faced this season is having little end product from players operating out wide for him, such as Adam Reach, Kadeem Harris and Jacob Murphy.

This game saw those players look far more lively in the final third than we have seen in recent weeks which will be great news for Monk going forward. There had been times where Wednesday’s play had become too predictable with the wingers lacking any creativity or craft out wide, but this game saw much more invention when it mattered. 

Both Jacob Murphy and Adam Reach registered assists with Harris very unlucky not to score after a superb save from Dillon Phillips.