Joe Wildsmith was given a rare start in goal for Sheffield Wednesday in their 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday night and came away with a lot of praise from supporters. The 24-year-old has had to be patient for opportunities under Garry Monk but was given a chance to impress in midweek and fared well between the sticks.
Cameron Dawson has been Wednesday’s first-choice goalkeeper since Keiren Westwood was dropped in November 2019, but he dropped to the bench for the FA Cup Fifth-Round clash and may be sweating ahead of Saturday’s Championship meeting with Brentford.
How will Sheffield Wednesday fare against Brentford?
Win
Draw
Lose
Look at the number of likes, there is no agenda, Cameron Dawson is not our best keeper. Simple facts Joe Wildsmith was more impressive in one game than Dawson has been for most of the last two seasons. #swfc #wawaw #wewantjoenotdawson https://t.co/A1yfKgRrf3
— Oli North (@Owl79Oli) March 5, 2020
I thought he was excellent. Massive well done. I'd love to see him start on sat x
— Becky (@BeckyEls) March 5, 2020
Quality
— Jack (@jackswfc__) March 4, 2020
Played brilliantly tonight! Shame about the goal but so much for him and the lads to take from the performance.
— Adam (@Beardflaps) March 4, 2020
Positive from last night.
Always said I thought Wildsmith was better than Dawson.
I’d stick with him. #swfc
— neilbartrop (@neilbartrop) March 5, 2020
Thought Wildsmith did well last night under the circumstances, generally defended well all game and Hunt did well when he came on. Would've liked to have seen us go for it in last 15-20 minutes though 🤷🏻♂️ #swfc
— Kylewilliam (@TheWednesdayy) March 5, 2020
Only positive last night for me was Joe Wildsmith. Was brilliant for us before he was injured/dropped and was brilliant last night #swfc
— Ryan Chadburn (@Ryan_Chadburn) March 5, 2020
Starting to feel like I was the only one who a) wasn't remotely shocked that Wildsmith started and b) wasn't remotely shocked he played better than Dawson does #swfc https://t.co/GI8d68htCz
— Andy (@BroomOwl) March 5, 2020
Monk keeps saying he'll play on form and not slating Dawson but he's been poor for a while and Wildsmith was good tonight Dom was immense and is our best defender by some way how he hasn't been playing is a mystery
— Jay Frost (@JayFrost1978) March 4, 2020
Against Man City, Wildsmith played for 90 minutes, had 39 touches, completed 33.3% of his 27 passes and made eight saves. He tipped a fierce Benjamin Mendy effort against the bar and was unlucky to concede from Sergio Aguero’s low effort after getting down quickly to save it.
The 24-year-old has made only one appearance in all competitions this season, spending most of the campaign out of the matchday squad when Westwood/Dawson were first and second choice under Monk. He’s been an unused substitute for the last four months since Westwood was axed from the first-team but may have given his manager a selection headache.