adminSheffield Wednesday were forced to settle for their second consecutive goalless draw at Hillsborough on Saturday against Stockport County.
For Owls legend Barry Bannan, it was another frustrating afternoon in which he was clearly targeted by the opposition. The previous weekend, Wigan Athletic boss Gary Caldwell admitted to man-marking him throughout the match, and against Stockport, he had even fewer touches of the ball.
That’s a tactical problem that Wednesday boss Henrik Pedersen will need to address with Bannan over the international break, and with two weekends without league football, there will be ample time to work on a solution.
On Sunday, however, Bannan’s attention turned to his beloved Celtic and the second Old Firm Derby in the space of a week against Rangers.
Barry Bannan would have been frustrated by Old Firm derby result
Bannan is a lifelong Celtic supporter and spent time in the Hoops’ academy before moving to England to play for Aston Villa at the age of 14.
The 36-year-old makes no secret of his support for the Scottish giants, but after the events of the past week, it would be understandable if he was disappointed.
Despite a beginning to the campaign that saw Celtic win each of their opening six league matches, performances in Europe and Old Firm derbies have placed Hoops boss Martin O’Neill under some pressure.
The collapse against LASK in their UEFA Champions League qualification round second leg cast a shadow over that impressive start, and three successive defeats in all competitions this past week haven’t helped matters, particularly with two of those losses coming against bitter rivals Rangers.
Derek McInnes’ side defeated Celtic 3-0 in the Scottish League Cup eight days ago before securing a 1-0 victory at Celtic Park in the first league meeting between the two sides this season on Sunday.
Barry Bannan takes a swipe at Rangers after Old Firm victory
Despite suffering their first league defeat of the campaign against Rangers on Sunday, Celtic remain top of the SPL, although their rivals are now only two points behind them.
Taking to his Instagram story after the match, Bannan shared a screenshot of the table, accompanied by the caption, “Calm down, I’ve seen this story before
Despite the setback, Celtic enter the three-week international break with the comfort of still sitting at the summit of the Scottish top flight. Nevertheless, those defeats will hurt, particularly the losses against Rangers.
Unless they meet in a cup competition, Martin O’Neill’s side will have to wait until late January for an opportunity to respond to those two Old Firm defeats.
Barry Bannan will be hoping for a reaction after the international break from both Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday
In some respects, Celtic and Sheffield Wednesday’s respective domestic campaigns have followed similar paths. Both enjoyed positive starts, but a pair of disappointing results has brought some negativity into the picture during the international break.
For Wednesday, they were knocked from the top of the League One standings after their second consecutive goalless draw at Hillsborough, with Bradford City’s 1-0 victory at Luton Town seeing them move above them.
With the Owls among the third-tier teams with enough players away on international duty to have their matches postponed, they could find themselves falling further down the table before returning to league action on October 10th against Yorkshire rivals and fellow top-six side Huddersfield Town.
A strong response will be required from Henrik Pedersen’s team to ease any concerns emerging after these two 0-0 draws, in which they could arguably count themselves fortunate to come away with points.
As for Celtic, Bannan will be hoping his side can avoid suffering a fourth straight defeat in all competitions when they return to action against Motherwell following the break.
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