Championship
Huddersfield
Nov 22, 2014 12.15pm
0
0
HT : 0 0
FT
Sheff Weds
  • Diego Poyet 83' yellowcard
  • yellowcard Royston Drenthe 20'
  • yellowcard Stevie May 64'
  • yellowcard Glenn Loovens 80'
  • yellowcard Chris Maguire 85'

Live Commentary: Huddersfield Town 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday - as it happened

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Huddersfield 0-0 Wednesday - as it happened
© Getty Images

Both Huddersfield Town and Sheffield Wednesday went into Saturday lunchtime's Championship match a little low on confidence.

The hosts had lost two in a row, while Wednesday were without a win in over two months. In the end, it finished goalless at the John Smith's, but it wasn't without incident.

Read how the game unfolded in our minute-by-minute updates below.

2.13pmWe've got to dash off, but thanks for joining SM for coverage of what turned out to be a corker. Click here to find out how the table looks after that one. Do have a click around on site to find plenty more Saturday action on site. Enjoy!

2.10pmSomehow, somehow it ends goalless at the John Smith's Stadium. I really have no idea how!

90+4 minFULL-TIME: HUDDERSFIELD 0-0 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

90+2 minSCRAMBLE! The mad finish to this game continues as Loovens meets the corner powerfully, but his header hits another player before Nuhiu prods at goal twice but can't manage to force it over the line.

90+1 minCHANCE! Soon after three minutes are added on, Wednesday have a fantastic chance to win it as they win the ball in midfield and have a 4-on-2 situation. Drenthe has it on the right and goes for goal instead of passing to his teammates. Murphy makes the save and somehow it's still goalless!

89 minAnother deliciously vicious corner by Drenthe that curls in right under the crossbar. Once again, there's not a Wednesday player arriving at the back post to head home.

87 minWells again gets in behind the Wednesday backline and this time cuts in onto his left foot before his shock is deflected up and over the bar. We've had enough action in this last 20 minutes to make up for the borefest of a 70 minutes we had before that!

85 minBOOKING! Ooh, this is a big call for Salisbury. He books Maguire for diving, but Lynch definitely slid in and didn't get the ball. Wednesday are incensed and, for me, they certainly have a right to be. It might not have been enough for Maguire to go down, but Lynch didn't get the ball and obstructed his run.

84 minCHANCE! What a chance for Wells to break the deadlock! The offside flag doesn't go up and the ball is bouncing invitingly. The Huddersfield striker decides to just hit it as hard as he can at Westwood and, unsurprisingly, it doesn't go through him. Why not just dink it over him? Use your brain lad!

83 minBOOKING! The first Huddersfield player in the book is debutant Poyet, who trips up Wednesday new boy McGugan.

81 minWells steps up to have a go at goal with the resulting free kick, curling it high and wide of the target. Ten to go.

80 minBOOKING! Blatant booking for Loovens as he brings down Wells, who was sprinting at the tired Wednesday defence with his fresh legs.

78 minReally good ball in from the right by Palmer, but the Wednesday players in the box had either gone near post or far post, not slap-bang on the penalty spot.

77 minWEDNESDAY SUBS: Gray makes his first changes, taking off Taylor-Fletcher and Maghoma for Nuhiu and Maguire.

76 minI can barely keep up! Smith wins Huddersfield a free kick just outside the box on the right that Dixon fires in low and it takes a deflection off a Wednesday player to go out for a corner.

74 minOFF THE BAR! So, so close to the opener as May's left-foot shot after being found by Maghoma slaps down off the underside of the bar before coming back off the post!

72 minCHANCE! So much action!! Wednesday again go close as defensive hesitancy at the back by Huddersfield allows Drenthe to beat Murphy to the ball and knock it past the keeper. Luckily for the hosts, Hudson is on hand to get to the loose ball first and hack it away.

70 minCLOSE! How has that not gone in?! It's a vicious corner from Drenthe that just beats Semedo and then Lees can't divert it in when sliding in at the back post. Good, alert play from Holt to clear his lines.

70 minAll of a sudden, this game has come to life and we might just have an exciting last 20 minutes or so on our hands.

68 minSAVE! Wells is instantly involved and denied a sixth goal in seven games by Westwood's superb save low to his right. It all came after McGugan cheaply gave away the ball and Loovens allowed Wells to win a 50-50 tackle.

67 minHUDDERSFIELD SUBS: We have our first changes of the afternoon and it's a double-sub from Powell as Nahki Wells and Danny Ward replace Bunn and Coady.

65 minSHOT! A shot on target! A shot on target! It's a good counter-attack by the visitors as Maghoma manages to find Drenthe on the right and he cuts inside onto his stronger left foot before travelling across the edge of the box and finally squeezing off a shot that's too close to Murphy.

63 minBOOKING! May goes into the book to the delight of the Huddersfield fans after tripping up Lynch.

60 minFor the third time this afternoon, May barges into Huddersfield goalkeeper Murphy and this time the latter reacts. Looking at the replay, though, May was actually nudged into the path of Murphy by Lynch, so it wasn't his fault.

59 minCHANCE! This time Scannell does get in behind Helan, but the Wednesday left-back manages to get back and put him off enough so he skies his shot over the top with just Westwood to beat.

57 minButterfield has a go with his left foot but drags it horribly wide of the target. The wait for an effort on goal continues.

55 minCHANCE! May beats the offside trap and should be able to bring down a long ball, but instead lets it bounces and it squirms away from him into the arms of Murphy.

53 minMoments later, Holt gets up well at the back post but can only loop a header onto the roof of the net. That was a decent chance and he knows it.

52 minScannell is so close to going through on goal as Helan makes a last-ditch tackle to put the ball out for a corner.

49 minTaylor-Fletcher then wins a corner for the visitors, but it comes to nothing.

47 minCLOSE! Almost a tap-in for Taylor-Fletcher as May cuts in from the left and sends over a cross-cum-shot that just eludes Taylor-Fletcher at the back post.

46 minKICKOFF! We're back underway at the John Smith's. No changes from either manager at the break.

1.16pmLooking at the two benches, there's certainly attacking talent there for both teams. I expect that Maguire will come on soon for Wednesday, unless he's carrying an injury. For Huddersfield, Nahki Wells will no doubt come on shortly as he's got five goals in last six games.

1.14pmMore stats below:

1.12pmI said 1-1 in my pre-match prediction, but 0-0 looks the most likely result now as there hasn't been a single shot on target so far. There's been 13 attempts at goal in total, but not one has tested either goalkeeper (sad face).

1.09pmBoth sides come into this game lacking a bit of confidence and it really shows. Huddersfield lost two in a row before the international break, while, as I mentioned earlier, Wednesday are without a win in nine league games. There's been little to make me think that my prediction of a draw was wrong.

1.06pmNo goals after 45 minutes then and, to be honest, that doesn't particularly surprise me.

45+4 minHALF-TIME: HUDDERSFIELD 0-0 SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY

45+1 minTHREE minutes have been added on at the John Smith's, mainly because of that injury Murphy suffered a few minutes ago. You feel that half time can't come any quicker. Both managers need to sit their players down and try to drum some life into them.

45 minButterfield pokes the ball behind the Wednesday defence and Scannell takes it on but is flagged offside. Butterfield might have been able to sprint through and reach his own pass, but Scannell thought he was on and replays show that he might just have been. Tight call.

43 minGood goalkeeping from Westwood there as he read that Dixon would try to cut it back after surging into the area down the left. Had Dixon seen the keeper's movement, he could have gone near post and maybe snuck it in.

42 minCLOSE! Scannell again the creator for Huddersfield as his cross on-the-turn from the right of the area fizzes past everyone in the six-yard box. No-one really gambled on the ball and his teammates should know to do so given his prowess.

40 minPoyet certainly isn't the most exciting player to watch, but he's one you need. He never really gets forward, simply dropping deeper into space and knocking around short, simple passes. Think John Obi Mikel.

37 minOur first break in play at the moment after Huddersfield keeper Murphy clattered into May when clearing a ball on the Wednesday left. May shook off the challenge, but Murphy certainly came off worse. He's OK to continue.

35 minFrom the resulting corner, Loovens is the one that meets it, but he wasn't really looking at the ball and it just hits his head and goes over. Could have been a great chance.

34 minHuddersfield are furious with referee Salisbury after he failed to spot Maghoma treading on Smith's foot. Play continues and May works a wee bit of space in the box before his shot, yep you guessed it, is blocked.

32 minBunn is picked out on the left wing and cuts inside Palmer before his shot is blocked by Lees. Yet another blocked shot.

29 minTACKLE! Brilliant defending by Lees as he slides in to deny Scannell a certain goal after Butterfield had rolled in Smith down the right with a lovely pass. That really is fantastic from Lees.

26 minDrenthe tries to find May with an incisive through-ball, but it's easily read and cut out by the Terriers' defence. The former is certainly involved at the moment!

24 minWednesday have had five shots at goal, Huddersfield three. That's eight in total. How many on target? Zilch.

22 minFormer Real Madrid man Drenthe might be a bit of a loose cannon, but his goal against Charlton on the first of this month was the Owls' only goal in around 10 hours of football.

20 minBOOKING! Ooooh Royston Drenthe you lucky, lucky boy! He goes in studs-up on Huddersfield left-back Dixon and some referees certainly would have shown him a straight red card. Today's man in the middle is Graham Salisbury, who lets him get off with just a booking.

17 minSHOT! May, who made his Scotland debut against England on Tuesday, has his first clear sight of goal after cutting in from the left. He feints past one man and it opens up, but his shot is blocked.

14 minScannell has been in excellent form for Huddersfield recently and earned himself a new contract. His direct running down the right and excellent crossing are his main attributes and they were both on show there when a low centre missed everyone.

12 minCHANCE! Clearest opening so far and it falls to Wednesday after a second impressive run down the left by Maghoma. May and Taylor-Fletcher are a new strike pairing and their communication is poor here. Taylor-Fletcher is the one arriving, but May comes out and tries to shoot as well and they get in each other's way.

11 minButterfield swings over a free kick from the left wing and Hudson gets up well for the hosts, but he can only flick it well over the crossbar.

9 minOf the two debutants, McGugan has had more of an impact than Poyet in the early stages. He certainly has a lot more experience in this league and it's really surprising that Watford were willing to let him go.

7 minHuddersfield win their first corner, but it comes to nothing and Wednesday try to break through Maghoma down the left. The winger is quick, but if there's one Huddersfield play he didn't want to be chasing him, it's Scannell, who catches up and slows the move down.

4 minThe visitors continue to impress as McGugan, who is always a threat from distance, takes on a difficult bouncing ball and swipes it over the top. A few seconds before May turned his man cleverly in the middle but then opted to shoot from 25 yards instead of rolling in Drenthe who was unmarked and charging forward.

2 minReally good start by Wednesday as they go straight on the attack through Taylor-Fletcher and Maghoma. It results in a corner that reaches Drenthe outside the box and he blasts it high and wide.

0 minKICKOFF! And we're off! Wednesday in their all-yellow away kit.

12.13pmAlthough Wednesday are desperate for a win, it's hard to beat Huddersfield at the John Smith's - the Terriers have won three and lost none of their last five games at home.

12.10pmGray tells Sky Sports News that today is the perfect day to end their winless run. He insists that he's been happy with the recent performances but they just haven't had the rub of the green.

12.07pmOne reason I think it will be a draw is the fact that Wednesday have drawn six of their last nine league games. The other three have been defeats and it's been over two months since Wednesday's last league win.

12.05pmPREDICTION TIME! Ten minutes to go in West Yorkshire so it's time for my pre-game prediction. As you'll see in the Sports Mole Sofa video below, I think it's going to be a 1-1 draw.

12.03pmClick here to see how the Championship table looks ahead of today's fixtures. Both sides just sit in the bottom half, but even if they win they won't be able to climb up into the top 12.

12.01pmThere's only 10 games in the Championship today as two were played last night. Read about Brentford's late triumph over West London neighbours Fulham here, while match report for Cardiff City's win over 10-man Reading is here.

11.59amThere have been 19 goals in the last six meetings between these two sides, though.

11.58am

11.56amWednesday also have two changes, with McGugan in for Giles Coke in midfield and Royston Drenthe preferred to Chris Maguire on the right wing. Maguire's absence is a real surprise as he's often the Owls' brightest spark.

11.54amPoyet's inclusion is one of two Huddersfield changes from the defeat at Fulham two weeks ago. He replaces Jonathan Hogg, while there is a change between the sticks too. Alex Smithies is out with a back problem, so Joe Murphy makes his league debut for the Terriers.

11.52amInteresting selections from both managers there! Chris Powell and Stuart Gray hand debuts to recent loan signings Diego Poyet and Lewis McGugan. Teenage midfielder Poyet missed out in Huddersfield's last game after joining on loan from West Ham United, but he gets the start today. As for McGugan, he joined Wednesday from Watford just three days ago and goes straight into the Owls' starting XI.

© Getty Images

11.50amWEDNESDAY XI: Westwood; Palmer, Lees, Loovens, Helan; Drenthe, Semedo, McGugan, Maghoma; May, Taylor-Fletcher
Subs: Dawson, Nuhiu, Maguire, Dielna, Lee, Lavery, McCabe

11.48amHUDDERSFIELD XI: Murphy; Dixon, Hudson, Lynch, Smith; Poyet, Coady, Butterfield; Scannell, Bunn; Holt
Subs: Allinson, Wallace, Robinson, Peltier, Hogg, Ward, Wells

11.46amMorning folks. How long did that two weeks feel?! Well league footy is back after the international break and we start with a Yorkshire derby on Saturday. Team news on the way...
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