Sheffield Wednesday vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
HillsboroughAttendance26,717.
Report and highlights from Sky Bet Championship clash
Sunday 30 September 2018 17:33, UK
Adam Reach and Mateusz Klich each scored a stunning goal to earn Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds a point apiece as Friday's engaging Yorkshire derby ended 1-1 at Hillsborough.
The Owls took the lead on the stroke of half-time as Reach brought down Steven Fletcher's header and looped home a goal-of-the-season contender via the far post (45).
Klich concluded a spell of dominance for Marcelo Bielsa's men after the restart as he curled a delightful shot beyond home 'keeper Cameron Dawson (54) following neat interplay on the edge of the area.
Leeds move a point clear of second-place Middlesbrough, though their failure to take all three points means they could drop out of the top two on Saturday. Jos Luhukay's men move up one place to ninth.
With the Championship looking tighter than ever, the game had a high-energy feel from the first whistle and, inside four minutes, Fernando Forestieri was denied a penalty by referee Robert Jones after a tangle with Pontus Jansson.
Despite the Owls' high-pressing approach, though, Leeds undoubtedly looked like drawing first blood. Ash Baker almost diverted Jack Harrison's tame cross into his own net, before Douglas planted a disappointing header onto the post from just a few yards.
At the other end, Baker forced Bailey Peacock-Farrell to smartly tip his shot behind, but on the stroke of half-time, Reach put the hosts ahead with a goal-of-the-season contender.
Fletcher headed Barry Bannan's throw-in into Reach's path and the 25-year-old struck an audacious dipping effort that looped onto the far post, before nestling in the back of the net.
After Leeds' unbeaten start was curtailed by Birmingham last weekend, the desire to bounce back was evident and after a dominant start to the half, Klich went some way to matching Reach's strike with a sumptuous curling effort of his own.
The tempo moved up a notch in the final stages of the game and some alert defending from Michael Hector and then Jordan Thorniley denied Tyler Roberts from close range, but despite looking stronger in terms of statistics, Leeds' quest for an equaliser proved fruitless.
Sitting just in front of the Leeds defence, the Polish midfielder is fast becoming a favourite at Elland Road and the stats from this game make it easy to understand why. He suffered a difficult start to his career with the club and, after being dropped by former boss Thomas Christiansen, was sent out on loan to Eredivisie side FC Utrecht.
Now part of Marcelo Bielsa's plans, he capped a stellar performance for the Whites with a superb goal nine minutes into the second half and will no doubt continue to be an important part of the Yorkshire side's promotion push.
Jos Luhukay: "Today we played a very good first half. There were chances from both sides, an unbelievable tempo and from both sides always a very fast transition to create chances. We scored a brilliant goal from Adam Reach, which you don't see every game.
"In the second half I must say Leeds were the better team. They played with high pressure, high tempo…and had chances to score a second goal but we showed unbelievable defending to clear the dangerous situations. We saw today why Leeds stay as number one in the league."
Marcelo Bielsa: "We played well defensively and offensively. We had many chances to score but we could score only one and this explains the final result. Usually we need four chances to score a goal and today we needed 15 chances. Results are results and you have to take into account who deserved to win in the analysis.
"We had possession and when we had the ball we could hurt the opponent and I repeat, the analysis of the performance leads to very positive conclusions."
Both sides are in action as the Championship steams ahead in midweek. Leeds travel to the KCOM to face Nigel Adkins' Hull City on Tuesday night, with the action live via the Sky Sports Football red button. The Owls, meanwhile, host West Brom at Hillsborough on Wednesday evening, live on Sky Sports Football from 7pm.
