Weekly Wrap-Up: Owl's on the rise

Another action-packed week of sports has flown by, filled with electric performances, clutch plays, and stories that will be talked about for days to come.

Here in South Yorkshire, we saw an early kick-off for Sheffield Wednesday as they faced a strong West Brom side. Wednesday opened the scoring early on with an own goal from Albion defender Daniel Furlong. The Owls were on top in the first half and went into half time two goals up after a brilliant header from Josh Windass. 65 minutes into the game saw West Brom get a goal back, after championship top scorer, Josh Maja’s netted for the Albion. This was later followed by an equaliser after a shot from Alex Mowatt bounced into the turf and over keeper James Beadle. The visitors briefly had hoped they would continue their good run of form until Wednesday substitute Anthony Musaba perfectly placed the ball in the back of the net to make it 3-2 to the Owls.

Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United were away at Portsmouth, looking to continue their strong start to the season. The blades were close to going ahead in the first half but couldn’t manage to find the net. Both keepers were kept on their toes throughout the game, after shots from Tryese Campbell of Sheff Utd and Paddy Lane of Portsmouth were stopped. The game ended 0-0.

Rotherham were also away, this time at Shrewsbury and looked to improve their form.  It was a quiet opening 20 minutes from both sides, until Shrewsbury broke the deadlock after striker George Lloyd opened the scoring. The hosts had a couple more chances before half-time, but nothing converted. It was a slow second half again, with Rotherham coming close to an equaliser at the hour-mark. In the 70th minute, the Millers won a penalty, with Clarke-Harris converting, making it all level at full time.

Doncaster were at home to close rivals Chesterfield. It was a dominant first half for The Spireites, after Dunkley’s diving header put them ahead in the first half. It was quite the second half after Molyneaux received a second yellow for kicking the ball away. Soon after Doncaster’s task was made even more difficult as Chesterfield Striker Madden netted his first for The Spireites from the spot. Not too long later Rover’s defender Anderson was shown a straight red card after an off-the-ball incident. Chesterfield rounded of the scoring with a third goal in added time.

Barnsley had an unusual kick-off, that being 19:45 on the Saturday evening. Nevertheless, they looked to come out fighting following a strong win away at Burton. Adam Phillips scored early on for the Tykes, after being awarded a penalty only 4 minutes into the game. Phillips stepped up making it his fifth of the season. Stockport looked to equalise a couple more times in the game, but the next real opportunity came from Barnsley defender Earl, who could have doubled their lead with a couple of minutes to go. Unfortunately, for the Tykes, Stockport levelled in the first minute of stoppage time, making the final score 1-1.

With Formula one having a good few weeks of, the end of the Indy car season, and most other championships coming to an end we were sure not much would be happening in the motorsport. That however has not been the case. Last week, it was officially announced that Daniel Ricciardo would not be driving for the remainder of the season and would be replaced by young driver Liam Lawson. Daniel Ricciardo has been an influential character in the paddock and an incredible driver on track. Many fans were left not only upset but also frustrated at how RB had waited until after the Singapore grand prix to announce this news.

What does this mean for Riccardo’s future? Well, that is unknown. Many fans believe he should move to race in the Indy Car series in a country he clearly loves so much. Others believe he should take to TV and presenting. I know I don’t believe Daniel’s racing career is over just yet...

Though upsetting for Ricciardo, this is a huge step for Liam Lawson. Getting the chance again to show his abilities at the pinnacle of the sport is massive, let’s just hope the pressure isn’t too much for him.