Saturday 18 November 2017 19:05, UK
Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City were made to settle for a point apiece after a disappointing 0-0 draw at Hillsborough.
The sides struggled to break each other down in a frustrating contest, with the game's first chance going Sheffield Wednesday's way as Morgan Fox found space on the left to deliver a cross, which was headed over by Jordan Rhodes in the game's first minute.
That could have signalled a lively first half, but it was anything but with both sides lacking intensity. Aden Flint had Bristol City's first opportunity, hitting a shot wide from inside the area.
Ross Wallace was the man who provided the impetus for the hosts on the right-hand side, but he wasted two chances in quick succession in the opening quarter. He first powered an effort wide after cutting inside, before spurning another, skewing the ball off target.
Rhodes then saw another opportunity go begging. Barry Bannan clipped the ball into Gary Hooper who nodded the ball into the path of Rhodes but he headed over.
Wednesday had the majority of the opportunities in the opening 45 but it was Bristol City who should have gone into the break ahead.
On 35 minutes, Callum O'Dowda provided a cross from the right for the Robins which found Bobby Reid open in the box. However, his header was tame and straight at Kieren Westwood in the Owls goal.
The second half meanwhile offered more of the same as the Robins looked the more likely of the two teams to come away with the win. On the hour-mark, Josh Brownhill was able to gather the ball on the left before cutting inside and firing an effort wide of the far post.
Brownhill then turned provider, as he set substitute Milan Djuric free through the centre. He was able to bear down on goal only to see his shot stopped by Westwood. The Owls failed to clear however and the ball eventually ended up on the boot of Flint but his acrobatic effort bounced wide.
As for Wednesday, they were starved of clear-cut chances. Adam Reach had a speculative effort from range blocked by Nathan Baker before Rhodes headed wide from Jacob Butterfield's corner with 68 minutes played.
Substitute Steven Fletcher then saw a late effort blocked by Baker. However, they were potentially denied a late penalty. Bannan exchanged passes well before going down under a challenge inside the box but referee Tony Harrington waved away the protests.
Carlos Carvalhal: "I will not say anything about the referees. We have played 17 games and had no penalties. The game was very balanced - we played against a team doing really well in away games. They've just lost one game so far. We had chances and they also had chances. These types of games, if you score, it's a massive advantage.
"I think the score is correct. There are three or four games in the competition like this. Let's see if this point will be important at the end of the season. I think our team misunderstood what they had to do. We missed a lot of passes which usually we don't do. We try to press the opponent. But when we go to press they use long balls over the back of our defenders. It was difficult for our team to put the ball on the floor like we usually do."
Lee Johnson: "I'm pleased with a point at a tough place to come. We had the better chances. If we'd come away as 1-0 winners I don't think it would have been a smash-and-grab job. We wanted to win and we felt we had the tools in our armoury to win. That showed on certain occasions. We nullified our opponents. The Wednesday fans got frustrated and to be honest that was because my boys shut the passing lines off.
"The game-plan was to come here and win. We came with a 'plan B'. We just need to be a bit more solid in midfield. The plan was to play our game - the high press. But we have to respect they have good players. The only criticism is we couldn't put a foot on it in the last 15 to 20 minutes. That's our ninth clean sheet this season and that's important."
