Josh Windass may suffer a second consecutive relegation to League One, but he’s doing all he can to keep the Owls soaring in the Championship

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Josh Windass scored the sole goal at Hillsborough on Tuesday night as the Owls picked up a valuable three points to continue their search for unlikely survival, beating Blackburn Rovers 1-0.

The 27-year-old was found in the 18-yard-box after good work on the left-hand side from Kadeem Harris, and found the back of the net with a cool finish alongside a helping hand from the Blackburn defence as the ball took a deflection that put it beyond the reach of Rovers ‘keeper  Thomas Kaminski.

Both sides had decent opportunities to score throughout the game, with the hosts slightly edging the best chances. However, despite failing to extend their lead, the South Yorkshire club dug deep and recorded three points that could prove to hold immense value come the season’s conclusion in two-and-a-half weeks.

What made the result even more satisfying was the fact that fellow strugglers Derby County lost 3-0 away at Preston, meaning that the gap between the Rams and the Owls has been slashed to four points going into the final three games of the season. Oh, and should I also mention that the two sides play each other on the final day?

If all had gone against Wednesday on Tuesday night, they would’ve left Hillsborough a League One side, nine years on from their promotion from the third tier in 2012. They are, however, still fighting and have a handful of players to thank for that. Josh Windass is one.

You can draw parallels between the situations Sheffield Wednesday faced this term and that Windass’ former-side Wigan Athletic dealt with last season.

Wigan were relegated on the final day of the 2019/20 season as a 12-point deduction was brandished as a result of the club going into administration. Soon after, it was announced that Wednesday were going to have the same issue going into the new campaign.

Eventually, the deduction was halved to six points, but it was always going to prove to be a significant ask for the South Yorkshire club to hold on to their Championship status, with numerous key players departing for new pastures in the summer.

With Wednesday still on the brink of the drop, Windass could suffer two consecutive relegations to the third-tier, albeit not actually playing for Wigan when they faced the drop.

The 27-year-old joined Sheffield Wednesday on loan in January 2020 and was technically at Hillsborough whilst Wigan suffered relegation, despite still being contracted to the Latics as a permanent player.

Having impressed on loan, scoring three goals in nine appearances, Wednesday took the Hull-born midfielder on permanently, and recent performances may just make that decision look a masterstroke come the end of the season.

The goal against Blackburn was Windass’ eighth of the season, and his fifth in the last 12 league appearances. He also boasts four assists in the last seven games, with two coming in the 5-0 rout of Cardiff City earlier this month.

Middlesbrough away. Nottingham Forest at home. Derby County away. They’re the final three fixtures that will determine whether or not Sheffield Wednesday remain in the Championship, and the likelihood is that results elsewhere will have to go their way as well to give Darren Moore’s side a chance.

Rotherham United’s three games in hand aren’t pretty reading for the Hillsborough club, however, if the Owls could pick up four points from their next two games whilst Derby lose their next two, the final day clash could prove monumental.

Of course, both sides will be hoping that their extra games against Middlesbrough, Brentford and Luton don’t go to plan as well as the other three against Barnsley, Blackburn and Cardiff.

It may end up being that Sheffield Wednesday are relegated on the weekend, however, they showed on Tuesday night that they’re up for the fight, and they won’t go down with a whimper.

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