“Hard to accept” - Ashley Barnes sends honest Norwich City message after Sheffield Wednesday draw | OneFootball

Norwich City striker Ashley Barnes has admitted the team missed a great opportunity by not beating Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night, as he turned his attention to the weekend fixture at Preston.

Norwich City slip up at Sheffield Wednesday

David Wagner’s side made the trip to Hillsborough on a real high after they beat bitter rivals Ipswich Town on Saturday thanks to a Marcelino Nunez goal.

It appeared that positive momentum would take them to another three points, as they started quickly, as goals from Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz had put the Canaries two goals up inside 16 minutes.

However, despite having chances to extend that lead, Norwich couldn’t find a crucial third, and they were made to pay, as Michael Ihiekwe pulled one back in the 78th minute to set up a frantic finish.

And, Michael Smith would seal a point for the Owls, as he grabbed the equaliser with five minutes to go.

The result means Norwich remain in sixth place, and Coventry’s defeat to Southampton means they do have a five-point gap to seventh place, although that could be reduced as Middlesbrough and Hull face each other this evening.

Ashley Barnes reacts to Norwich City’s draw

Whilst a game against a Wednesday side battling to stay up was always going to be difficult, it certainly felt like two points dropped for Norwich given they were in total control.

The draw also puts extra significance on the game at Deepdale in a few days time, as Preston are one of the pack chasing down the Yellows.

Taking to Instagram, striker Barnes looked ahead to that game, as well as reflecting honestly on the draw in Yorkshire.

“Still hard to accept last night's result, which was in our hands and should have been put to bed with more goals from such a dominating first half! Joys of championship means we can't feel sorry for ourselves and we now prepare and put it right again on Saturday!”

Norwich City will still believe promotion is possible

There’s no denying that this was a frustrating result, as Norwich had appeared to do all the hard work by getting the early goals, quieting the crowd, and they looked comfortable for large parts.

But, the Championship is unpredictable, and, to their credit, Wednesday didn’t give up, and when they got their first goal, the whole dynamics changed, and they ended up rescuing a point, which could be massive for them as they try to avoid relegation.

As Barnes says though, it’s now about moving on and looking to Preston, and it’s at times like this that his experience can be pivotal.

He has been there and done it with Burnley at this level on different occasions, so he knows that poor results happen, but it’s about bouncing back and showing a strong mentality.

So, he will no doubt be urging his teammates to focus on Preston, and, realistically, if they pick up maximum points at Deepdale, it will end North End’s chances of making the play-offs.

It’s a critical period in the season, and Norwich will believe that they have enough quality to reach the play-offs and to ultimately win promotion.