Yorkshire Post

KELLY IS LEFT UNSCATHED

Steel City derby unable to forge goal for third occasion running

- AT HILLSBOROU­GH RICHARD HERCOCK

NEW Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce’s repeated assertion that the fates of football seasons only begin to unravel “when the daffodils come out” held a particular resonance ahead of last night’s 131st Steel City derby.

A high-voltage occasion was afforded added weight by the collision of Wednesday and Sheffield United with the business end nigh in the Championsh­ip.

Storm Freya may have made a headline appearance in the past few days, but Bruce’s Owls were more concerned that their late push for the play-offs would not be gone with the wind by the final whistle, while Chris Wilder’s Blades were intent upon ensuring that their top-two push was not blown off course either.

It was a hugely significan­t convergenc­e of arch rivals, just as it was at the end of February 2012 when both were ferociousl­y jousting for automatic promotion from League One and met at Hillsborou­gh.

That seminal meeting went the way of Wednesday thanks to a solitary second-half goal from Chris O’Grady, but there was no separating these city neighbours last night as derby day ended goalless for the third successive occasion.

It was the first time since the period between 1992 and 1993 that three successive draws have been registered in this particular derby and replicated the scoreline when these sides last met on a Monday in April 1971, also at Hillsborou­gh.

A draw was the right outcome with neither side displaying conviction or doing enough to secure a memorable victory in the course of their campaign.

Bruce’s pre-match belief that the game could be settled by a moment of magic or a mistake was given credence by the vast majority of the evening, which was classic cagey derby fare.

It was an evening when Billy Sharp’s run without a goal in this fixture extended to six matches and an occasion when most of the attackers were kept under lock and key and both sets of centre-halves were particular­ly dominant. THWARTED:

That the big chance of the evening arrived midway through the second half to a wholly unlikely source in the shape of Sam Hutchinson summed up a pretty scrappy occasion.

Hutchinson was found unattended in the box by Rolando Aarons’s fine left-wing centre, but he fired straight at Dean Henderson with the goal at his mercy.

Ultimately it was a game as uneventful as last season’s meeting at S6 was pulsating.

Wednesday had the consolatio­n of extending their unbeaten run to eight league matches, while United – despite spurning the chance to move above secondplac­ed Leeds United with victory – picked up a point, which might yet be important at season’s end.

Quality can be a prized commodity on derby day, and an early moment was delivered from the Blades, courtesy of the impeccable Oliver Norwood.

His peach of a delivery on the right picked out the unmarked Gary Madine, whose powerful back-post header was blocked by the alert Keiren Westwood.

Wednesday’s opening salvo also carried encouragem­ent with Adam Reach’s tidy pullback finding Steven Fletcher, whose goalbound header was blocked by the recalled Chris Basham.

But itunfortun­ately, these episodes proved a bit of a false dawn amid worsening conditions.

The stakes were high, the tempo was frenetic and the commitment total on a slick, wet surface, but after the initial burst of activity the play became fragmented amid driving rain.

Set-pieces looked the most obvious route to salvation with one half-threatenin­g moment seeing John Egan head powerfully over following Norwood’s free-kick.

Wednesday palpably struggled to get the forward-thinking trio of Aarons, Fernando Forestieri and Reach into the game.

At the other end Sharp and Madine were policed well with Kieran Dowell, so effective at The Hawthorns in a roaming brief, much more subdued.

It was Bruce who played the first hand at the interval, with Forestieri’s first experience of a Steel City derby lasting just 45 minutes, George Boyd thrown on.

Boyd soon set up a rare chance with his centre met by Fletcher, whose acrobatic overhead kick flew straight into the Kop.

Sharp then agonisingl­y just failed to divert Norwood’s crossshot towards goal with the breakthrou­gh stubbornly refusing to transpire.

Play also began to take on a fractious edge as the free-kick count started to stack up somewhat and frustratio­ns grew deeper.

As far as Wednesdayi­tes were concerned these were magnified by Hutchinson’s miss, a huge moment in the context of the game.

As time elapsed it became clear RIVAL MANAGERS Steve Bruce and Chris Wilder were united in the view that neither side deserved to win in the Steel City derby last night after a scrappy 0-0 Championsh­ip stalemate.

For a third successive Sheffield derby neither side could conjure up a goal.

Owls manager Bruce said: “We all enjoy the spectacle of a derby game and we have witnessed them all over the weekend. They are not great.

“Both teams went head to head, but in terms of quality there was a lot to be desired. The intensity of the game, both sides got wrapped up in it. These games are like cup finals, but sadly they lacked a bit of quality. I can’t fault their attitude.”

Wilder – who confirmed defender Jack O’Connell had a coin hurled at him from a section of Owls supporters said: “I didn’t think either side deserved to win, or showed enough quality. The game was just littered with fouls, it never got going. Two clear openings, but I don’t think anybody deserved to win.”

The two chances alluded to fell to United’s Gary Madine, whose header was saved by goalkeeper Keiren Westwood in the first half, and Owls’ Sam Hutchinson was thwarted by Dean Henderson after the break.

that one goal would settle the issue, with Wednesday afforded a scare with Michael Hector making an important clearance following David McGoldrick’s dangerous low cross.

Despite late pressure a hero did not come calling with the most threatenin­g moment seeing Aarons fire over in stoppage-time.

Westwood; Iorfa (Fox 79), Lees, Hector, Palmer; Bannan, Hutchinson, Reach, Forestieri (Boyd 45), Aarons, Fletcher (Nuhiu 90). Unused substitute­s: Dawson, Pudil, Pelupessy, Matias. Henderson; Basham, Egan, O’Connell; Freeman, Norwood, Fleck, Dowell (Cranie 62), Stevens, Madine (McGoldrick 68), Sharp. Unused substitute­s: Hogan, Coutts, Stearman, Duffy, Moore. P Bankes (Merseyside).

 ?? PICTURE: SIMON COOPER/PA WIRE ?? Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp is beaten to the ball by Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood at Hillsborou­gh last night.
PICTURE: SIMON COOPER/PA WIRE Sheffield United’s Billy Sharp is beaten to the ball by Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood at Hillsborou­gh last night.
 ??  ??

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom