Huddersfield 0 Sheffield Wednesday 0: David Wagner’s side fail to capitalise on dominance as Owls hold firm in first leg
Championship play-off clash remains finely poised as Carlos Carvalhal's men visitors secure goalless draw
SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY have the advantage after holding Huddersfield to a goalless draw in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
The Terriers dominated throughout but were unable to find a breakthrough, with Izzy Brown clipping the crossbar in the first half and Nahki Wells twice testing Keiren Westwood in the visiting net.
David Wagner and his men will see this as a missed opportunity given their total domination.
In contrast, his opposite number Carlos Carvalhal will be delighted with his side’s containing away performance.
And the stalemate means they return to Hillsborough for the second leg on Wednesday favourites to reach the Wembley final for a second successive year.
The pattern of the game was set early on and after a tense start, the Terriers began to take the ascendancy and had a chance to break the deadlock midway through the first half.
Wednesday defender Glenn Loovens failed to clear Wells' header across goal and the ball landed to Brown eight yards out, but he was falling backwards when he connected with his shot and it skimmed the crossbar and went over.
That turned out to be the best moment for either side in the first half, as although Wagner's men dominated the ball and territory, Wednesday's resolute defending prevented them from creating anything remotely dangerous.
Indeed, the opening 45 minutes ended with neither side managing a shot on target.
The second period followed an identical pattern, with the hosts in control and finally they tested Westwood in the Wednesday goal 10 minutes after the restart.
The dangerous Wells turned his marker and produced a chip that had Westwood back-peddling before tipping over from underneath his crossbar.
It was all Huddersfield and Tommy Smith fired over before Wells had another chance when a loose ball fell kindly to him eight yards out but Westwood was out quickly to deflect it wide.
There was a sense that Huddersfield really needed a goal to take to Hillsborough in midweek, but Wednesday were remaining defiant and continued to restrict their hosts, who threw everything forward in an attempt to break the deadlock.
It was certainly not pretty from the Owls, who did not force Town goalkeeper Joel Coleman into a save, but it was effective as they are now just a home win away from a Wembley return.