Hooper nets brace as Wednesday down Leeds

LONDON: Gary Hooper scored twice as Sheffield Wednesday beat Leeds 3-0 to prevent their Yorkshire rivals climbing back into the top two of English football’s second-tier Championship.

Victory for visitors Leeds at Hillsborough would have put them level on points with second-placed Wolverhampton in a division where only the top two at the end of the season are guaranteed promotion to the lucrative Premier League.

A Leeds win could have seen them leapfrog Wolves on goal difference.

But that was never an issue as Wednesday kept a clean sheet that buoyed their supporters after successive losses to Sheffield United – a particularly painful defeat in the “Steel City” derby – and Birmingham.

Hooper scored twice in the first half before Kieran Lee put the result beyond doubt with a third goal late in the game.

Leeds had a couple of early chances, with Kalvin Phillips heading wide and Samuel Saiz off-target with a shot from the edge of the area, while Ezgan Alioski heading into the side-netting.

But from then on, Wednesday took charge of the first half and the home side opened the scoring in the 25th minute when Hooper finished from close range after former Leeds defender Tom Lees headed down a Ross Wallace free-kick.

Steven Fletcher headed wide from close-range after meeting Wallace’s cross when it seemed easier to score.

But the second goal Wednesday had long been threatening arrived four minutes before half-time when Liam Palmer’s deep cross was nodded back across the face of the goal and Hooper headed in off the inside of the post.

Leeds nearly pulled a goal back early in the second half when PierreMichel Lasogga’s shot came back off Joe Wildsmith’s right-hand post.

Lee made the game safe for Wednesday, beating Leeds goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald with a well-struck shot from just outside the box. — AFP