Source: PA
Irvine unaware of Cresswell absence
Sheffield Wednesday manager Alan Irvine claimed he was not aware Sheffield United's Richard Cresswell had been forced to leave the field during the Steel City derby draw because he had been elbowed.
Blades striker Cresswell required stitches in a badly gashed forehead after clashing with Owls winger Jermaine Johnson during the first half and it was while United were temporarily down to 10 men that Wednesday broke the deadlock through Darren Potter's fine volley.
Irvine, whose side were denied two crucial points after Lee Williamson's 60th-minute equaliser, said: "I saw Cressy after and asked him what happened and he said he got caught by an elbow and it was the first I had known anything about it."
The Owls boss, who included four strikers - Marcus Tudgay, Leon Clarke, Johnson and Luke Varney - in his starting line-up, explained his attacking policies for a derby clash his side needed to win in order to climb out of the bottom three with two games remaining.
Irvine added: "I couldn't have been much more attacking I don't think. It was like 4-2-4, so I did go for it. I wanted to win the game, I was desperate to win the game. I went with a team that I thought could win the game and they nearly did."
