REPORT: WOOD CLINCHES DERBY DRAW

REPORT: WOOD CLINCHES DERBY DRAW

Yorkshire derby spoils shared at Elland Road...

UNITED 1 (Wood 61), WEDNESDAY 1 (Matias 37)

United team:  Silvestri, Berardi, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor, Byram (Mowatt 56), Adeyemi, Phillips (Murphy 56), Dallas (Doukara 85), Antenucci, Wood. Subs: Turnbull, Wootton, Bellusci, Erwin.

Wednesday team:  Price, Palmer, Lees, Sasso, Wiggins, Lee, Semedo (Lopez 85), Hutchinson, Sougou (Hunt 62), Matias (Helan 75), Nuhiu. Subs. Wildsmith, Bus, De Havilland, Wallace.

Referee:  M Jones

Booked:  Phillips, Berardi (United), Lees, Sougou, Hutchinson, Helan (Wednesday)

Att:  22,597 (1,313)

Sheffield Wednesday were the visitors for Elland Road's first Yorkshire derby of the new season, and head coach Uwe Rosler made two changes from the midweek draw at Bristol City, recalling Gaetano Berardi and Liam Cooper in place of Scott Wootton and Giuseppe Bellusci.

It was the Owls who the game’s first sight of goal, Marco Matias driving forward before hitting a low strike which was comfortably held by Marco Silvestri. But Rosler’s side soon started to ask questions, with Stuart Dallas drilling over the bar from 20 yards out following a good spell of pressure inside the opening 10 minutes.

Otherwise, chances were scarce in a surprisingly subdued start to proceedings as both goalkeepers remained untested.

Mirco Antenucci did have Wednesday stopper Lewis Price scrambling across his line after unleashing a dipping, 25-yard half-volley which fizzed agonisingly wide of the far post after latching onto Chris Wood’s knockdown.

A moment of magic would be needed to open the scoring and that came on the 37th mark, only in favour of the visitors. Matias escaped the offside trap, racing onto Vincent Sasso’s through ball, before unleashing a looping strike in off the crossbar to stun to Kop end.

United looked to respond, with Dallas’ attempt taking the slightest of deflections off Wood as it flew behind, before Antenucci smashed over from a tight angle on the stroke of half-time.

Both sides re-emerged from the break unchanged and it was United who began on the front foot, winning an early corner which captain Sol Bamba rose to head into the arms of Price.

Rosler was then prompted into his first changes after 56 minutes, replacing Sam Byram and Kalvin Phillips with Alex Mowatt and Luke Murphy in a bid to get back on terms.

And Leeds managed to do so just after the hour-mark courtesy of Wood’s second goal in as many games. Some brilliant wing play down the right saw Dallas nutmeg his marker before delivering a low cross for the striker to guide home from close-range to level proceedings.

Silvestri then needed to be alert to hold Liam Palmer’s header, before Wood could have nodded United into the lead with a towering header from Charlie Taylor’s cross which flew just wide of the post.

Leeds were the ones looking more likely to come away with a winner, and Mowatt curled a long-range free-kick into the arms of Price before Antenucci had two efforts blocked from the edge of the area in quick succession.

A spell of late pressure followed as the fourth official indicated for five minutes of added time, but there proved to be no way through as the derby day spoils were shared.

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