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.”
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
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.
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