Huddersfield Town 0-0 Sheffield Wednesday
- Published
Nahki Wells' strike was one of the few clear cut chances during the game
Huddersfield were left to rue missed opportunities after they drew the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final with Sheffield Wednesday.
Town controlled the first half and nearly took the lead when Izzy Brown's miscued effort grazed the crossbar.
Owls keeper Keiren Westwood saved well from Nahki Wells' chip before Adam Reach shot wide for the visitors.
Westwood then saved brilliantly from Wells to leave the tie perfectly poised going into Wednesday's second leg.
The Terriers went into the game looking to end a seven-match winless streak against the Owls and the visitors struggled to cope with their intensity in the opening exchanges.
For all Town's dominance, Wednesday, who conceded just 45 league goals in 46 games, managed to limit their meaningful first half chances to Brown's effort.
The Chelsea loanee could not quite sort his feet after Wednesday failed to clear Chris Lowe's deflected cross and his shot flicked the top of the bar on its way over.
The second half followed the pattern of the first with David Wagner's side enjoying the lion's share of possession but, thanks in no small part to smart work from Westwood, they could not find a breakthrough.
Owls continue Terriers hoodoo
Carlos Carvalhal has been Sheffield Wednesday boss since June 2015
Sunday's stalemate means Sheffield Wednesday are unbeaten in eight matches against their Yorkshire rivals, dating back to November 2013.
Although they created little with no shots on target, boss Carlos Carvalhal will be pleased with how his side soaked up the pressure and kept their positional discipline throughout.
Wednesday have now kept four successive clean sheets against the Terriers and if they extend that run to five in midweek then they are likely to find themselves heading to Wembley for a second successive season.
The winner of the tie will play either Reading or Fulham, who drew Saturday's first leg 1-1, in the final on Monday, 29 May.
Huddersfield head coach David Wagner:
"I'm happy with the performance. We have shown we are a competitor. I wish we got a victory because I think if one team deserved it, it was my team. Unfortunately we were not able to use one of the chances that we had.
"It was a very good performance and the result is ok.
"We dominated the opponent and we shouldn't forget they are one of the best defensive teams in the division. We had a good balance and they had more or less no chances.
"I have no idea what they will do on Wednesday and I am not worried about it. I'm not sure how their supporters will react if they play that deep at home but I'm not worried."
Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal:
"It is a positive result. If you go away in the play-off semi-final and you return to play the home game at 0-0, it is very, very positive.
"We are not favourites in this competition. Every team has 25% chance. There have been two draws so every team still has 25%. The value of all four teams are similar.
"We had a similar game to this here in the season, we tried to score but we must give credit to Huddersfield, they blocked our transition.
"At the end of the day, the most important thing is the semi-final is open, we must now play at Hillsborough and we have good expectations."