Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore has picked out goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith for praise following his impact for the Owls in their 1-0 against Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
Wildsmith made a return to action for Sheffield Wednesday in the league with the keeper earning his first start in League One this season. That came with Burnley loanee Bailey Peacock-Farrell away on international duty with Northern Ireland.
The keeper had managed to deliver a strong performance for the Owls in their Papa John’s Trophy win at Mansfield Town during the week.
Wildsmith was able to follow that up with a solid display against Bolton that was enough to earn himself an all-important clean sheet.
The form of Peacock-Farrell has started to come under question from sections of Sheffield Wednesday’s fan base after the Burnley loanee has been guilty of making a few crucial errors over the last few weeks.
That means Wildsmith’s steady performance in the win over Bolton leaves Moore with a decision to make.
Speaking to Yorkshire Live, Moore heaped praise on Wildsmith for the impact he has had on the side over the last week against Mansfield and Bolton.
While he also suggested that he is open to assessing the situation over who his number one should be after the international break: “He did superb in the cup match on Tuesday and today. I thought his decision-making was good and he made a wonderful save in the second half. He kept a clean sheet so happy days.
“We will see how it goes in the week and look at the situation for next week.”
The verdict
Moore has been pretty adamant in his defence of Peacock-Farrell at times when he has made mistakes so far this season.
It is clear that the Sheffield Wednesday manager has a lot of faith in the Northern Ireland international and believes in his natural goalkeeping talents.
Therefore, it was always going to be tricky for Wildsmith to do enough against Bolton to convince Moore that he instead should be the Owls’ first choice between the sticks in League One for the foreseeable future.
However, Wildsmith’s performance against Bolton has to now put him a lot closer to getting the chance to start regularly for the Owls in League One.
A clean sheet where he made one excellent save means he could not have done much more than he did to impress.
It would be a brave call for Moore to stick with Wildsmith now even when Peacock-Farrell returns to the squad. However, there is certainly a case now that the keeper has earned a chance to have a run in the side.