Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Reading FC: Player Ratings

Starting XI

Andersen - 7 - barely tested all afternoon, but did what was required of him. A shame to see him not lining up his own defensive walls.
Gunter - 7 - typical Gunter performance, kept the Wednesday left flank quiet all afternoon.
Obita - 7 - as Gunter, kept the Wednesday right flank quiet.
Pearce - 8 - commanding performance and excellent on the set piece drills.
Cooper - 7 - as Pearce, should have scored in the second half but for a Westwood point blank save, mark deducted for the free kick that led to the goal.
Taylor - 6 - sadly as anonymous as he has been all season, neat and tidy on the ball but doesn't look anywhere near as penetrating as he needs to be. Offers decent defensive cover though.
Blackman - 7 - looking for a big performance from him given his Sheffield United links and was decent. Unlucky with a partial block and his great free kick second half.
Akpan - 7 - not getting the Akpan hate this season, has really stepped up so far. Strong in the tackle, good on the ball, not a lot got past him on Saturday.
Norwood - 7 - neat and tidy as ever, has a left foot that can lay a 50 yard ball onto a sixpence. If we can get some good protection around him what an asset he could be.
Cox - 7 - busy as ever, broke away a couple of times and laid one chance on a plate for Murray to sidefoot wide. Just wish he would show more consistent goalscoring threat.
Murray - 5 - disappointing. No slur on his effort but finishing was lacking. Poor miss early on, hit the bar slightly unfortunately but all compounded by a poor penalty. Also struggled to hold the ball up well enough. Keeps getting in the right areas though, so goals will come.

Subs:

Pogrebnyak - 6 - some decent touches and excellent strength as ever but struggled to get anything in dangerous areas.
Mackie - 5 - struggled to get into the game up front having done well out wide previously. Lacks that yard of pace to take him beyond a full back, lacks height and presence up front.
Guthrie - 6 - not enough time to make a fair judgement but looked to spray the ball around well, didn't shy away from that responsibility.

Overall performance - 6.5 - Individually ok, just lacking that cohesive unit feel to us that shows consistent defensive solidity and consistent attacking threat.