Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl feels his team’s hunger is powering their form and it helped them to beat relegation rivals Rotherham 1-0.
Ike Ugbo netted his sixth goal in five matches to hand Wednesday a valuable win in their relegation battle, taking them three points from safety and leaving Rotherham 19 points adrift at the bottom.
The Owls have now won three games on the bounce and continue to pile the pressure on the teams above them.
Rohl said: “It was a big one. I am very proud of my team at the moment. It is outstanding what they are doing.
“Everybody knows Rotherham are always difficult with the second balls and set-plays.
“At half-time I said it was great what we were doing. But we had to score with the next chance.
“It was a big impact from our subs. A draw was not enough. I had to change the shape and we scored immediately. Then it was about bringing the game home.
“Our defending at the moment is great to see. We are finding a balance between playing nice football and making the right steps.
“Rotherham did not really have a big chance. It was always about us. At the moment we are bringing the games home.
“The performances from my team are outstanding. The mentality we have – everybody is hungry and I am very proud of what we are doing.
“We are the hunter at the moment and we have the momentum.”
Rotherham weathered a storm throughout the first half with Wednesday coming close a number of times.
The visitors thought they had struck when Akin Famewo headed in Will Vaulks’ free-kick but it was ruled out for offside.
Wingers Ian Poveda and Anthony Musaba posed most of the danger themselves and both came close after cutting in off their flanks.
Rotherham threatened properly for the first time early in the second period when Sam Nombe’s effort glided just over the bar.
Wednesday built patiently for their opener and got it in the 66th minute with a flowing team move.
Barry Bannan and Ugbo were both involved before Dominic Iorfa picked out the in-form striker to stroke home.
Bannan was then pivotal at the other end as he got a desperate block on Andy Rinomhota’s effort to prevent a leveller.
It was actually Wednesday looking more likely in stoppage time and substitute Mallik Wilks’ header rattled off the post from Marvin Johnson’s cross.
Rotherham head coach Leam Richardson said: “It was frustrating and I am gutted for the fans really. In a derby you want to give a strong positive result for them.
“The lads got emotionally attached to the game a little bit.
“The second half was evenly balanced but the goal is horrendous from our point of view. They’re all avoidable but it takes the same pattern at the minute where we are competitive to a level but then we are looking for that quality and momentum to go our way.
“We are very fix and mend at the minute with players playing out of position. There is disparity in the squad. We are limited in a lot of areas and we have six players on the bench.
“Whatever we lack in certain areas it’s not a will to win. Our levels seem to drop after 60-70 minutes.”
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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