Sheffield Wednesday caretaker manager Neil Thompson admitted the quality might not have been there but could not fault his struggling side for their commitment in the goalless draw at home to Huddersfield.
It was a Yorkshire derby of few chances at Hillsborough where the two men on the respective benches provided an interesting subplot to on-field events.
Thompson was taking charge of his first game as temporary Owls boss following the sacking of Xisco Munoz, while Huddersfield counterpart Darren Moore was making his first return to Wednesday since leaving in the summer.
With rock-bottom Wednesday having not won in the Championship this season and 19th-placed Huddersfield coming into the match on the back of 4-1 mauling at Birmingham, Thompson admitted the clash was always likely to be “a bit cagey”.
Summing up the game, Thompson said: “Scrappy, a bit frantic. We are on the back of a bad run and they’ve come off the back of a bad result in midweek. It was always going to be tight, a bit cagey. Not a lot of quality possession but a lot of endeavour.
“I thought we had a little spell just before half-time where we got a bit of controlled possession in their half. Maybe we could have done a little bit more with it.
“In the second 45, I thought that we were the team probably that was going to score. It was a game of few chances, but if you’re not going to win it, you’re not going to lose it and we didn’t lose it.
“It’s a pre-requisite that you compete and we did that. That’s what I got from the boys today. They put a lot into the game.
“I think the players have had a right go today. Quality? Yes, that can be better, of course it can, but in terms of them committing themselves to the task in hand, I think they did it.
“You just step into the breach and do the best you can. I’ve been asked to do this game and I’ve done it.”
Huddersfield manager Darren Moore, who guided Wednesday to promotion via the play-offs last season before leaving the club, also admitted the game lacked any real quality.
He said: “I would imagine from a neutral watching the game, it wasn’t a great game to watch. I thought the game would settle down after about 20/25 minutes but it kind of kept up all the way through the game.
“What you got from the game was two teams committed to not giving anyone any space on the pitch to manoeuvre.
“I just thought on the balance of it we shaded it. A couple of chances better than they had. I thought the ‘goal’ in the 90th minute came and then I looked to see the referee signal and he said it was a foul on the keeper. It looked soft at the time.
“I thought we shaded the chances better and certainly off the back of the performance in the week, a clean sheet was really important for us.”
Looking ahead, Moore, who was named Terriers boss last month, said: “I’m looking at the next two weeks as an opportunity to work with the team. The players have been absolutely diamonds – every single one of them – because everything we’ve asked them to do in small pockets, they’ve been doing.
“We have a chance to get some work done on the training ground. When we do get into these threatening areas, where we can be more of a threat and more punishing to the opposition.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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