Sheffield Wednesday faithful won't share Danny Rohl confidence over £3m deal | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl has backed striker Ike Ugbo as his wait for a first league goal of the season continues.

It was an incredibly disappointing afternoon for Sheffield Wednesday as they were beaten 1-0 by bitter rivals Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Sunday, with Ike Ugbo's struggles in-front of goal once again continuing.

The first Steel City derby in over five years proved to be a tight affair with chances at a premium, and there was little to separate the sides in the first half, with Wednesday arguably edging the opening 45 minutes.

However, United came out strongly after the break, and they produced the only real moment of quality of the game in the 50th minute when Tyrese Campbell fired home after a well-worked set piece to seal all three points and the local bragging rights.

The defeat means that the Owls head into the November international break sitting 15th in the table, and in what is shaping up to be a competitive division, they are only three points clear of the relegation zone.

Given that the Blades are second in the table, Wednesday will have been relatively pleased with their performance on Sunday, and in particular the way they were able to limit the hosts to few chances, but they will have been disappointed not to have offered more of an attacking threat of their own.

One player who struggled to make an impact at Bramall Lane was Ike Ugbo, and as his wait for a first league goal since making a £3 million move to Hillsborough continues, Owls supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated with the striker.

Danny Rohl makes confident Ike Ugbo claim

Ugbo initially joined Wednesday on loan from French side Troyes in January, and he scored seven goals and provided one assist in 19 appearances in the second half of last season to help the club to survival.

The Owls faced strong competition for Ugbo's signature in the summer, with Stoke City, Birmingham City, Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland all said to have been keen, but they eventually secured a permanent deal for the Canada international in August, and the transfer fee paid for him marked a significant shift in approach from owner Dejphon Chansiri, who has been reluctant to spend in recent years.

Big things were expected of Ugbo after he returned to Hillsborough on a full-time basis, but he has scored just one goal in 17 appearances this season, with his only strike coming in the 5-1 win over League Two side Grimsby Town in the EFL Cup in August.

Ugbo was substituted in the 75th minute after another ineffective performance at Bramall Lane on Sunday, but Rohl delivered an emphatic response when asked post-match if he was concerned by the 26-year-old's poor form.

"No," Rohl told The Star. "Because I saw in the last games that he played that he had more and more moments. The moment will come, I trust him and I believe in him. You can speak about him, him, him, for me it is a step forward in his moment. His moment will come and then it will be easier to speak about him.

"If you count our chances together you see that only one of our guys had a chance today, it was just Musa (Musaba) in this one situation. It was not about Ike Ugbo or anything like this, it was how much we created as a team. Neither team created anything if you look to the data, it was 0.57 to 0.6 xG, it means there was really nothing."

Sheffield Wednesday doubts about Danny Rohl's Ike Ugbo comments

Rohl is right that Ugbo was not to blame for his side's failure to get on the scoresheet in the Steel City derby, and it is tough for the striker to thrive in a side that does not create too many chances.

Ugbo's current lack of confidence was underlined by his miss from a few yards out in Wednesday's 2-0 home win over Norwich City last Tuesday night, and it is impossible not to feel some sympathy for the former Chelsea man.

However, Ugbo scored just once in the final two months of last season, so his underwhelming form in the early stages of this campaign is a continuation of an alarming trend, and Owls supporters are increasingly starting to fear that he could become a costly transfer mistake.

In total, Ugbo has found the back of the net just twice in his last 26 appearances for Wednesday going back to last season, and that statistic does not provide much justification for Rohl's confidence that the goals will soon come for him.

With Ugbo and fellow summer signing Jamal Lowe struggling for form, much of the goalscoring burden has fallen to Michael Smith, and the 33-year-old has performed well this season, scoring three goals and registering four assists in 17 games.

Given his strong physical presence, it was a surprise to see Smith on the bench against Sheffield United, and he once again made a difference after being introduced in the second half, so he could regain his place in the starting line-up against Cardiff City next time out.

However, while he does cause problems for opposition defences, Smith is not a prolific goalscorer at Championship level, and it is looking increasingly likely that Rohl may have to enter the transfer market in January to bolster his forward line.

Rohl is understandably keen to defend Ugbo publicly, but his patience will not last forever, and should the striker fail to rediscover his form between now and the January window, he could soon find himself being pushed down the pecking order by any potential new arrivals.

Ugbo does still have credit in the bank with Owls supporters after the crucial goals he scored last season to keep the club in the division, and many are desperate for him to succeed at Hillsborough, but while Rohl retains faith in him for now, doubts are undoubtedly starting to grow among the fanbase.