Leeds United 1 (Harrison 65)
Sheffield Wednesday 0
That was without doubt the most one-sided 1 – 0 I’ve ever witnessed! Leeds managed 28 goal attempts in the 90 minutes which I would guess is the highest this season (though I haven’t actually checked that!). We also had our usual domination of the possession,recording a 61% share of the ball. It was as tight as most folk predicted though, with the Man of the Match undoubtedly the Wednesday keeper, Keiren Westwood, who pulled off a string of fine saves –particularly from Tyler Roberts and Jack Harrison. The save from the Roberts’ header in the first half was incredible.
It took a moment of magic from our pint-sized talisman Pablo Hernandez to unlock a typically well organised Steve Bruce inspired defence and, thankfully, when it came, Jack Harrison was able to apply a perfectly weighted and directed finish to it too.
This was not the perfect performance by any means – too many of those 28 goals attempts tested the agility of fans in the Kop and the South Stand, a failing that continues to hamper our best shot at promotion for many-a-long year. Quite why we are so poor with our finishing is a mystery to me and it’s not just the finishing, too many crosses were far too long as well.
But let’s not quibble, this was a dominant performance against a side that, under Bruce, has become one of the most difficult sides to beat in the Championship having lost just 1 of his 13 games in charge of the Owls before today.
In the Centenary Pavilion before the game there were high jinx as we were kept abreast of the Sheffield United game with Millwall. We all knew the Blades had led since the 51st minute but then, with only a few minutes left, Jeff Stelling relayed news that brought a hush throughout the building. “Penalty at Bramall Lane!” he shouted. It was for Millwall and we watched as Alan McInally watched and then… “Oh he’s hit the bar”. There was a huge collective sigh and everyone shrugged and went back to their pints.
There had been another huge cheer when it was announced that Billy Sharp had limped off with a hamstring injury and a bigger one still when we learned of a Blades’ red card, but too much time had now passed we reckoned the game must be almost over. And then…
With mobile phones relaying information almost instantly these days, it was the mobile watchers who picked up the news first. There was a murmur , a little group of lads were cheering. Then it grew more and then up on the screen Stelling was saying something about a goal at Bramall Lane…. And then when the screen switched to McInally again we could see it now read Sheffield United 1 Millwall 1 up in the corner of the screen. We all saw it together, we all roared our approval together and a few lads couldn’t resist the urge to launch their pints in celebration! It was a big moment and, if we do go on to secure promotion, no one who was there today will ever forget it!
Game Statistics
Leeds Utd Sheff Weds
Possession 61% 39%
Shots 28 8
On Target 6 2
Corners 8 2
Fouls Committed 7 13