EFL pundit Dean Ashton has heaped praise onto Sheffield Wednesday defenders Osaze Urhoghide and Julian Borner following the Owls’ vital 2-1 win at Barnsley on Saturday.

Darren Moore’s side knew that anything other than a win, against one of the in-form teams in the country at the moment, would have left them in massive trouble heading into the international break. It was a performance that showed there is still plenty of fight left in the Owls and that they will be giving their all to try and bridge the six-point gap to safety.

Urhoghide was crucial to the win and to repelling Barnsley’s efforts to find a route back into the game, managing to make eight clearances and four tackles (Sofascore). While Borner was also on hand to deal with pretty much everything that the Tykes could throw at Moore’s side, with the 30-year-old making a huge 20 clearances and also three tackles (Sofascore).

Speaking on EFL on Quest, Ashton lauded the contributions of both defenders and suggested that they had a major impact on the game and helping to ensure that the Owls picked up a much-needed three points on Saturday.

He said: “He’s only 20-years-old, most tackles today, most people might have seen him in his interview after his debut (against Brighton in FA Cup tie) how happy he was that he was in professional football and I think it shows in his performances still that he’s so eager to impress.

“Borner as well, whose been in for a little bit of stick, was brilliant today, most clearances. So, they had to defend because Barnsley are naturally just going to keep wave after wave coming forwards. So, I thought they were really impressive today.”

The Verdict

It is hard to argue with the praise from Ashton here for both Urhoghide and Borner, who were both in excellent form throughout the game against Barnsley. They made it a real challenge for the Tykes to break them down and take advantage of the dangerous positions they were able to get into in the final third.

When you are in the position that Sheffield Wednesday are in, you need players out there giving their all and putting their bodies on the line to try and grind out results. The two defenders showed that they can be relied upon to do that and Moore will have been highly encouraged by the pair’s display and will be thinking he can build from solid foundations now.

Time is running out for the Owls to save themselves, but if they can produce more defensive performances as they did on Saturday then they have a chance of winning games at the other end Jordan Rhodes finding some form in front of goal. Urhoghide and Borner could therefore yet be key in helping them pull off a great escape.