Daniel Farke frustrated as Leeds’ strikers pass up chances in goalless draw

By Sports Desk September 02, 2023

Daniel Farke was disappointed his side could not crack open Sheffield Wednesday’s dogged defence and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in the Championship at Elland Road.

Leeds dominated possession and created plenty of openings but could not find the finishing touch in front of a capacity crowd for this Yorkshire derby.

Farke admitted: “We dominated the game and in the end it’s just a draw. The overriding feeling is definitely disappointing.

“We expected an opponent who would sit deep, wasting time a little bit and breaking our rhythm.

“My players created more than enough to win this game. Normally it’s more than enough to win two or three games.”

Farke was left to rue poor finishing one more than one occasion.

He said: “If you don’t find the first goal it’s difficult. We found it difficult to find the back of the net. Today we lacked the quality to bring the ball over the line and sadly this is crucial.”

Farke had encouraging words for striker Georginio Rutter who wasted more than one chance.

Farke said: “I think he has proved performance wise he’s in really good shape. Sometimes as a striker you find it unbelievably difficult to take your chances.

“The solution is not to over think things too much. Don’t try to be too artificial in your approach. It doesn’t have to look great it just needs to find the back of the net.

“Sometimes the ball is deflected in and the curse is broken. All strikers have these periods.”

Leeds came closest to a first-half goal but Rutter’s shot from the corner of the six-yard box was kept out by the right arm of Wednesday keeper Devis Vasquez.

Crysencio Summerville saw Vasquez beat away his effort early in the second half and both Jamie Shackleton and Luke Ayling went close.

Rutter could have won it late in the second half but was guilty of poor finishing when he shot weakly at Vasquez from Ethan Ampadu’s floated pass.

There were also second-half openings for visiting pair Michael Smith and Josh Windass as the game began to come to life but both were denied by Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Callum Patterson then had the best of Wednesday’s chances but failed to find the target as his shot into the ground from a low Windass cross saw the ball bounce over.

Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz was happiest with the commitment of his players who earned their first point following a difficult start to the season.

He said: “Most important for me was the level of the performance of the players. We had spoken a lot about the consistency we need and to keep clean sheets.”

Munoz will use the international break to work on building on his side’s first point of the season.

He added: “The team every day is better and now we have two weeks because we need to work really hard.

“It was a point in a stadium where it is really difficult. I am happy because they gave a good performance.

“They are experienced players and they know exactly what they must do. We need to continue, this is only one step, this is only one performance.

“We need to continue working every day in training. I am happy for the point but we made mistakes and we need to work very hard.”

Related items

  • Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys Hull City 3-3 Ipswich Town: Tigers fight back three times to deny Tractor Boys

    Ipswich Town missed the chance to move into an automatic promotion spot as play-off-chasing Hull City came from behind three times in a thrilling 3-3 Championship draw at The MKM Stadium.

    Ipswich knew a victory would take them second after Leeds United were surprisingly beaten 4-0 by Queens Park Rangers on Friday, and they led on three separate occasions, George Hirst opening the scoring before Omari Hutchinson produced two brilliant strikes from the edge of the area.

    However, buoyed by slip-ups from rivals Norwich City and West Brom earlier on Saturday, Hull dug deep to fight back on each occasion, Ozan Tufan and Liam Delap scoring their first two equalisers.

    With Liam Rosenior's men 3-2 down with just four minutes to play, substitute Noah Ohio blasted his shot in off the crossbar to punish an error from Ipswich goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.

    The result keeps Ipswich behind second-placed Leeds on goal difference, though the Tractor Boys have a game in hand to come at Coventry City on Tuesday.

    Hull, meanwhile, are two points adrift of the top six, with Norwich's goal difference advantage meaning their top-six spot is all but assured. The Tigers will, however, leapfrog West Brom if they beat Plymouth Argyle on the final day and Albion lose to Preston North End. 

    Data Debrief: Hutchinson's best not enough

    Hutchinson was a man who deserved to be on the winning side on Saturday, giving Ryan Allsop no chance with two near-identical left-footed strikes from the right corner of the penalty area.

    His goals came from an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.6, and he led all players on the pitch for shots (eight) and passes in the final third (21), also laying on three chances for his team-mates.

  • Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner Al-Khaleej 0-1 Al-Nassr: Ronaldo misfires on return as Laporte nets winner

    Cristiano Ronaldo returned from suspension but failed to find the net as Al-Nassr secured a 1-0 win over Al-Khaleej on Saturday, with Aymeric Laporte coming up with the decisive goal. 

    Ronaldo was in action for the first time since being sent off for an elbow in a 2-1 Saudi Super Cup loss to Al-Hilal earlier this month, with his initial two-match ban being reduced to one on appeal.

    He missed three good chances as Al-Nassr threatened to fall further behind runaway Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, but former Manchester City defender Laporte spared his blushes by nodding Marcelo Brozovic's deep free-kick into the bottom-left corner with 68 minutes gone.

    Al-Nassr remain nine points adrift of Al-Hilal at the summit in spite of their win, with Jorge Jesus' team unbeaten through 28 games this season as they close in on a record-extending 18th title.

    Data Debrief: Ronaldo misfires on return

    Ronaldo was presented with the Saudi Pro League's Player of the Month award for March ahead of kick-off, having scored four goals in three league appearances last month.

    However, his sights were off on Saturday as he failed to net despite three of the visitors' four big chances, as defined by Opta, falling his way. He led all players on the pitch for expected goals (1.27 xG), shots (five), shots on target (three) and touches in the area (nine) without reward. 

  • Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided Huddersfield all but relegated from Championship while League Two play-off spots decided

    Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.

    The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.

    Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.

    At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.