Exeter ended a run of six straight defeats with a 1-1 draw against Lincoln courtesy of Ryan Trevitt’s late equaliser at St James Park.
Exeter looked nervous early in the game and on 20 minutes, their failure to clear a long throw cost them as Will Aimson’s missed header allowed Paudie O’Connor to cross and Alistair Smith fired into the roof of the net from 10 yards.
Exeter responded with their best chances coming on the stroke of half-time when Demetri Mitchell slipped the ball through to Admiral Muskwe, who fired wide with only Lukas Jensen to beat, and then James Scott missed a glorious chance when he misconnected with a deep cross and Jensen saved his header.
Exeter were much-improved after the break, although Sean Roughan smashed the ball against the crossbar when he should have scored from a Lincoln counter-attack.
But Exeter’s pressure finally told with a deserved equaliser in the 81st minute when Mitchell picked out Trevitt and the Brentford loanee headed in from eight yards.
Mitchell then missed a great chance as he shot wide after being played in on goal, but despite plenty of late pressure Exeter could not get the winning goal that they deserved on the balance of play.
Farke left fuming after Leeds disallowed goal
Daniel Farke was left fuming after Leeds United had a goal disallowed in their play-off semi-final first leg at Norwich on Sunday.
The game at Carrow Road ultimately ended 0-0, with both sides failing to seriously trouble the opposition goalkeeper as the teams combined for just 0.8 xG (expected goals).
It leaves the tie finely poised ahead of Thursday's second leg at Elland Road, but despite his side heading back to home turf with a clean sheet and level in the tie, Farke was left frustrated by a first-half incident which saw Junior Firpo put the ball in the net following a mix-up between Shane Duffy and Angus Gunn, only for the offside flag to be raised.
Farke believes the goal should have stood and bemoaned decisions that have gone against his side this season, telling reporters: "I can just recommend everyone should have a look on the scouting feed, it's not offside.
"I'm annoyed. I have to make sure I'm not too much in a rage. Small details make a difference, if you go in the lead it changes the picture. In the end, everyone speaks about Wembley, a £100m game. At this level, all the decisions have to be spot on.
"Perhaps [the linesman] was a bit scared the whole stadium is moaning if he doesn’t give offside. No, in doubt you give it in favour to the attacker. It's definitely not offside.
"If you want to be in charge of such a game you have to be spot on. I have 12 letters apologising already this season. We have to make sure we find a way even though this crucial decision went against us."
Despite his annoyance at the disallowed goal, Farke remained content with his side's display as they bounced back from a challenging end to the regular season with a clean sheet.
"When you play a play-off semi-final with two legs, an away draw and a clean sheet at a difficult ground is always a good and solid result," Farke continued.
"The last games in the regular season were not great, we conceded too many goals and in away games especially. We wanted to be rock solid today against the ball.
"Overall I have to say I'm pretty happy. We have a massive game on Thursday evening. It's just half-time."
Though David Wagner's Norwich side now face the daunting task of a trip to Elland Road, the Canaries boss feels his players are capable of overcoming the raucous home atmosphere to reach the final at Wembley.
Wagner is also looking to draw upon his experiences during his time at Huddersfield, where his Terriers team beat Sheffield Wednesday on penalties at Hillsborough before going on to win another shoot-out at Wembley against Reading to clinch Premier League promotion.
"Every single second we are in the game at Elland Road, it is a minute in our favour," Wagner stated at his post-match news conference.
"I said beforehand we are the underdogs. The expectation is on Leeds. We know this.
"I have experienced being the away team in the play-offs."
Norwich captain Kenny McLean echoed his manager's belief that the Canaries can go and win at Elland Road, telling Sky Sports: "We know how good Leeds can be at home and they'll fancy their chances, but we’re a very good team as well."
Lewandowski committed to Barcelona amid speculation over his future, says agent
Robert Lewandowski remains committed to Barcelona amid speculation over his future, with his agent refuting reports the Poland striker wants to leave.
Reports in Spain suggested Barcelona are considering the contract of 35-year-old Lewandowski as Xavi looks to bolster his attacking line-up after missing out on the LaLiga title to rivals Real Madrid.
Lewandowski's agent Pini Zahavi rubbished reports that he is set to meet with Barca president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco, however.
"This is nonsense," Zahavi told Polish journalist Tomasz Wlodarczyk, according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo.
"He wants to play one more year in Catalonia. He has signed a contract for four years.
"It will depend on his performances in the 2024-2025 season and includes a clause that provides for the possibility of termination of the contract if Lewy does not play 55 per cent of the minutes."
Lewandowski once again leads Barcelona's scoring charts this term in LaLiga, having found the net 17 times in 31 appearances before Monday's meeting with Real Sociedad.
Barcelona will hope to leap back up to second in the Spanish top-flight standings with victory over La Real, currently trailing Girona by two points ahead of their game in hand.
Norwich City 0-0 Leeds United: Championship play-off finely poised for second leg
Norwich City and Leeds United could not be separated in a goalless draw in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final, leaving it all to play for at Elland Road.
Junior Firpo put the ball into the back of the net in the 30th minute, but it was ruled out for a marginal offside by Georginio Rutter in the build-up at Carrow Road.
Marcelino Nunez failed to take Norwich's best chance in the first half, firing wide of the left post after Leeds had an early penalty shout for a foul on Wilfried Gnonto by Borja Sainz dismissed by the referee.
The sides will meet again on Thursday at Elland Road for a winner-takes-all-decider and a place in the play-off final at Wembley Stadium on May 26.
Data Debrief: Stalemate
Norwich have failed to score in a home game for the first time since December. It is also the first time they have failed to win an EFL play-off at home, winning both of the previous two by a 3-1 scoreline (vs Wolves in 2001-02 and Ipswich Town in 2014-15).
Leeds only attempted six shots in this game (two on target), their lowest total in a single match in the Championship this season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
