The opening minutes are scrappy that sees nobody really get a control of the ball, with both midfields wrestling possession off of each other & defences holding tight. Former Blade Paddy Kenny has an easy save to make after 5mins when a Michail Antonio floated cross is met by the head of Chris O'Grady. The keeper is fortunate not to be picking the ball out of the net on the 9th minute though when a 25 yard piledriver from Jay Bothroyd squirms through the keepers arms, only for the spin to take it onto the bar and back to the gratefully keepers grasp. The look of relief as he realises just how close it was is evident. Only moments later and Antonio is felled by Samuel Byram, the young Leeds defender and a free kick is awarded to Wednesday. The back post whipped ball in is met by Antonio but his header flies way over the bar. On the 16th minute, El Hadj Diouf wins a corner but wasted the ball in when a solid Wednesday defence see away the danger. The Senegalese attacker wins a free kick from a foul by Anthony Gardner minutes later and Michael Tonge fires a shot but Chris Kirkland palms it to safety. The crowd is electric as chants between the two crowds go back and forth. Diouf, booed by the home fans, wins another corner which doesn't beat the first man, the clearance sets Antonio on a lung busting run, riding a foul by Brown but Leeds ultimately have too many men back and halt the run. The crowd erupts as Wednesday force their own corner and Bothroyd swings it in, Luciano Becchio then gets away with a blatant handball as he dives and punches the ball away from Gardner at the back post. Unbelievably a corner is given!! Worst decision at Hillsborough so far this season. The resulting corner is cleared. With half an hour on the clock, this game firmly belongs to SWFC - the midfield of Jose Semedo, Ross Barkley & debutant Paul Corry doing especially well, with Bothroyd working his socks off. A good attack by Leeds sees Tonge fire a low cross in to Becchio but Llera blocks the diving header before Kirkland has to save and the ball gets cleared. The next attack is from the Owls and a fantastic cutting pass by Corry is caught by Buxton who beats Leeds captain Peltier and fires a cross in, only to be missed by everyone and cleared. The first real nasty tackle comes on the 35th minute when ex-Blade Michael Brown clears a ball but follows through deliberately on O'Grady with his right foot and scissor kicks with his left - all in mid air! On the 38th minute some of the best football played by Wednesday results in a Corry half volley being plucked out of the air by Kenny. The Leeds fans are in uproar as Brown is seen on the floor, replays shows he tried to block off Llera and the Spaniard brushed him off, prompting the Leeds player to fall theatrically. Only a minute later and one of the most hated players to ever set foot on English soil sees his opportunity to dive with no contact made, Diouf hitting the turf and squaring up to Semedo by forcing his head onto the Owls ace, cue "He's magic, you know - you'll never get passed Semedo!" from the home fans. A throw-in for the Owls, conceded by Kenny is launched in to the box by Antonio and Jay Bothroyd out jumps everyone to head home and put Wednesday 1-0 up on the 42nd minute. The game is held up for a minute when a flair is thrown onto the pitch by some mindless home fan. The half ends with the Owls firmly on top as Llera sees out a Leeds attack on the right, with Becchio going down holding his face after colliding with the Spaniard. Replays show Llera leading with his forearm and needs a word to be careful in the dressing room.
HT. A brilliant first 45mins by Wednesday, some fantastic football on show. No half time snack this week, just a pint of John Smiths!
The second half starts with Leeds on the offensive and Kirkland has to come out of his area to head a Leeds attack clear. The 48th minute sees Leeds forward Diouf remonstrating with the referee as he believes he was fouled by Llera outside the box, replays show the striker yet again dived, badly. The 51st minute brings out the first yellow card and its for Daniel Jones of Wednesday for a poorly timed tackle on Aidan White. The free kick is easily cleared but as Leeds break a few minutes later, the games second yellow is produced - for Anthony Gardner, blocking off Diouf. Replays again show the Leeds striker dived to claim the advantage!! Fortunately the free kick comes to nothing as Tonge sees his effort fly just over the bar. Bothroyd releases Antonio who does well to shake off Byram - his cross is overhit and goes for a goal kick. The impressive Corry wins a free kick after a foul by Brown but Bothroyds free kick is easily dealt with by a strong Leeds defence. On the hour mark, Diouf fires a good cross into the box after Peltiers throw but nobody chanced the forward to get the ball in and it's dealt with easily by the Owls. From that attack Wednesday spring a counter with Antonio leaving Byram on his rear-end with a great turn of pace, he crosses for Bothroyd who doesn't make a clean contact and the chance goes begging. A 62nd minute cross by Bothroyd is held up in the box by Llera who tees up Gardner and his shot from the penalty spot is blocked superbly for a corner by Peltier. A foul on Diouf by Semedo brings out an angry response as the Leeds man kicks out at the Owls midfielder - only to be laughed at by the Wednesday enforcer (see pic!) and a good bit if pressure by Leeds see 2 shots blocked (Brown & Norris) and a claim by Kirkland. A foul by Tonge on Barkley in the 67th minute sees a long free kick taken, into the box by Buxton and it fortunately lands at Antonios feet, only for his driven shot to be fantastically blocked by Sam Byram at point blank range. A good piece of play for Leeds between Diouf and Brown results in a cross caught by Kirkland. Brown tackled Bothroyd late and from behind to give the Owls a dangerously positioned free kick. Bothroyds cross ends with a scramble that Leeds do well to clear. Another foul by Brown in the 73rd minute sees him finally booked, the free kick is again dealt with by Leeds and Tonge breaks up the Owls attack, feeding Becchio to attack but the home defence do well. As the 76th minute arrives, good hold up play by Diouf out wide and a short pass to Aidan White ends with a layoff to Tonge and a brilliant right-footed shot from 24 yards nicks off an Owls defender and flies past Kirkland to equalise. What happens next sends shock throughout the nation as a Leeds supporter runs onto the field from behind Kirklands goal and with 2 hands to the face of the keeper, forces him to the ground before jumping back into a crowd of fans who congratulate him on his assault. As seats are ripped up and thrown onto the field by away fans, the famous chant of "We all hate Leeds scum" echoes around Hillsborough. In the 80th minute Byrams long throw into the box is cleared by Llera - the Wednesday back line have had a good game, just as the Leeds defence has too. Chris O'Grady gets replaced by Madine after 82mins and Corry sees his excellent debut end when replaced by Danny Mayor at the same time. The game seems to be petering out as the late minutes tick by until Antonio again goes on a speedy run and forcing a late corner, which doesn't beat the first man. In the 87th minute some sublime skill by Barkley, chipping it over his man-marker on the volley and lobbing a deft ball over to Antonio ends with another brilliant block when Bothroyd gets a shot away. Moments later, Antonio throws a long ball into the Leeds box and The defender Pearce heads over his own bar - just! The corner comes to nothing again. The 5 added minutes get frittered away as neither team can force any real chances.
FT. A good performance by the Owls, unlucky not to take all 3 points. The whole team need to perform like that weekly now. The set pieces were a huge improvement. Leeds seemed to be off their game, maybe due to how good Wednesday were. The Diouf antics were to be expected and he didn't fail to deliver. As for the assault, chants and missiles by the visiting fans - disgusting. I have a Leeds fan as a lifelong friend and he's as passionate as any of them so I won't tar all Leeds fans with the same brush but those trouble causers at Hillsborough were morons.
Attendance: 28,582
Man of the Match: Bothroyd
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