Sheffield Wednesday too reliant on Adam Reach's wonderstrikes

Sky Bet Championship
QPR 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday
Hemed 35
Freeman 57
Wells 83

The story of the match
There had been money for QPR on the day of the match with the hosts backed into odds-on in places for maximum points as Sheffield Wednesday drifted to bigger than 3-1 and that move proved inspired as Rangers ran out comfortable winners, even if the 3-0 scoreline was a tad flattering.

The tone of the match was set early as Wednesday playmaker Barry Bannan gave away cheap possession, allowing Eberechi Eze to feed Tomer Hemed, whose shot was saved by visiting keeper Cameron Dawson.

Hemed then saw another effort blocked, this time by centre-back Daniel Pudil, before the on-loan Brighton forward notched after following up Massimo Luongo's effort to give Rangers a deserved half-time advantage.

Bannan saw a long-range effort fizz wide but Wednesday, despite having 62 per cent of possession, were behind 12-6 on shots and 3-1 in attempts on target at the break.

Wednesday were a bit brighter at the start of the second half as an excellent Morgan Fox cross was knocked wide by Atdhe Nuhiu, who also inadvertently blocked a shot from teammate Lucas Joao.

However, Luke Freeman's goal after excellent work from Eze and Pawel Wszolek enabled Rangers to regain control before Adam Reach curled just wide from outside the box and Wednesday sub Steven Fletcher's shot was excellently saved.

The game was up when Michael Hector lost possession and Eze fed Nahki Wells to seal an emphatic win.

Overall Wednesday had 63 per cent of the ball but QPR had twice as many shots on target (8-4) and were worthy winners.

Tactics
Jos Luhukay made five changes from the 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough the previous Friday, using a 4-2-3-1 formation, and this was a disjointed performance.

The Owls tried to play out from the back but Rangers were ready for it and often pressed the Sheffield side into errors with the final goal a perfect illustration of Steve McClaren getting one over Luhukay.

Wednesday's best spell was actually when they went slightly more direct, got crosses into the often isolated Nuhiu and moved Bannan higher up the pitch.

Strengths
Everything goes through Bannan and he is capable of dictating matters, while Reach has become renowned for being a scorer of spectacular goals, bagging four from outside the box in this season's Sky Bet Championship.

Weaknesses
Not even Gareth Bale can consistently score world-class goals cutting in from the right on to his left foot and Wednesday's reliance on Reach providing the spectacular is unhealthy.

Bannan also had a couple of pops from distance and on this evidence it is easy to see why Wednesday are rated one of the worst teams in the league on expected goals, with more finesse required around the box to find better opportunities.

Hector, on loan from Chelsea and taunted by the home fans for being a Blues reject, had a tough time against Hemed. The centre-back was dragged out of possession for the opener, while also losing possession for the final goal.

Wednesday, the only team in the Championship not to have kept a league clean sheet this season, clearly have defensive issues.

Goalscorer notebook
Reach and Bannan were the two most likely for Wednesday. Both are happy to take responsibility in the final third but, if anything, are a little too ambitious.

View from the camp
Luhukay said: "We were not strong enough to win and the result of 3-0 says something about this game. In possession we were poor. We could not keep the ball and every time the ball went to one of our strikers we were losing the ball."

Prospects
Wednesday are not a side particularly well liked by the betting markets – they have been priced up as being in a false position in the table – and on this evidence the Owls are nowhere near playoff material.

Obviously, it is only one match but the numbers put up by Wednesday have been ordinary and this performance backed up the data.

They have a tough schedule to come against in-form Birmingham and Norwich before the big Sheffield derby and it could be a rocky road ahead.

Opposition
McClaren gets a lot of stick – or should that be 'schtick' in his infamous Anglo-Dutch accent? – but the turnaround at Loftus Road from the start of the season has been little short of remarkable.

QPR opened with four straight league losses by an aggregate margin of 13-1 yet have suffered only two defeats in the last nine and look a comfortable mid-table Championship outfit.

Solid enough in defence and well balanced in midfield, Hemed is a handful up front but the star of the show was Eze.

The teenage number ten was not always involved but oozed class on the ball and seems destined to make a name for himself having reportedly been scouted by a number of Premier League clubs, including Tottenham.

Teams
QPR 4-4-1-1: Lumley; Rangel, Leistner, Lynch, Bidwell; Wszolek, Luongo, Cameron, Freeman (Cousins 88); Eze (Scowen 84); Hemed (Wells 65).

Sheffield Wednesday 4-2-3-1: Dawson; Baker, Hector, Pudil (Thorniley 62), Fox; Bannan, Pelupessy (Penney 75); Reach, Onomah, Joao (Fletcher 75); Nuhiu.

Next three fixtures
QPR - Aston Villa (h), Blackburn (a), Brentford (h)
Sheffield Wednesday - Birmingham (a), Norwich (h), Sheffield Utd (a)

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