Danny Rohl urges Sheffield Wednesday to keep battling after victory over Hull

Posted Tuesday, January 02, 2024 by PA

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl urged his side to keep battling after they beat 10-man Hull 3-1 in the Championship at Hillsborough on New Year’s Day.

Three second-half goals from Marvin Johnson, Djeidi Gassama and Josh Windass saw the Owls past their Yorkshire rivals, who had Tyler Morton dismissed in the first half.

Scott Twine’s goal from the penalty spot – with 14 minutes remaining – proved to be no more than a consolation.

Rohl said: “This was a great game between two teams that want to play football on the front foot.

“Sometimes it’s not easy to play against 10 men but today we did really well. We scored some fantastic goals.

“The key in the second half was to have a good counter press and the players did it really well.

“We have worked very hard in the last weeks and months. Our strength at the moment is our mentality; we are always pushing forward and we have to keep going.

“I still have ideas on where we can improve our game. It’s hard in this league. Nothing is handed to you and it will be a tough second half of the season.

“I was convinced if we stuck to our process, we could close the gap. We are close but we’re still not over the line and we’ve got some tough challenges ahead.

“It was a big opportunity for us to gain points on teams around us today and we did it. We have played really well against a team near the top of the table. It’s a good start to the year.”

Hull boss Liam Rosenior gave an honest assessment of the game and took a share of the blame for his side’s defeat.

Rosenior said: “I feel the red card is harsh. Being a referee is a difficult job and I can sympathise with him as it’s a Yorkshire derby. It changed the game for us.

“I’m a young coach and I’m still learning. We wanted to win the game even with 10 men but I think I might have got it wrong in the way I set us up to try and do that.

“Even before the red card, I think Sheffield Wednesday were better than us. They had more energy and were better on the ball.

“We didn’t start the game in our normal way. We made mistakes and we were mentally tired, it’s been a busy period and maybe I should have rotated the team.

“Wednesday are on good form but in the Championship, you’ve got to beat teams who are in good form if you want to do well.

“It’s disappointing to lose the game but in terms of the overall picture, we’re still in a very good position. We move on to the next one.”