Huddersfield Town vs Sheffield Wednesday. Sky Bet Championship.
The John Smith's Stadium.
Report and highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Huddersfield and Sheffield Wednesday at the John Smith's Stadium as Josh Koroma and Isaac Mbenza score for the Terriers in a comfortable win
Tuesday 8 December 2020 23:35, UK
Huddersfield beat bogey team Sheffield Wednesday for the first time in 12 contests after goals from Josh Koroma and Isaac Mbenza sealed a 2-0 Championship triumph.
The result left Tony Pulis still waiting for a first win as manager of the Owls, six games into his reign at the bottom-of-the-table Hillsborough team.
But the hosts, who also saw Juninho Bacuna miss a second-half penalty, have now racked up three victories from their last four fixtures and are beginning to make big strides under boss Carlos Corberan.
Marauding Spaniard Pipa caused Wednesday left-wing back Adam Reach problems throughout the first half and saw the game's first attempt on goal sail wide from 20 yards after he had cut inside from the right flank.
Moments later, the former Espanyol right-back robbed Reach of possession just outside the away box, before teeing up Lewis O'Brien, who dragged wastefully wide.
Drifting in off the wing again, Pipa then provided a low cross that Frazier Campbell stepped over, leaving Koroma one-on-one with Dominic Iorfa in the visitors' penalty area.
The former Leyton Orient attacker burst past Wednesday's flat-footed defender and shot across goal from 10 yards to find Joe Wildsmith's bottom-left corner in the 11th minute.
Remarkably, Koroma's fifth goal in eight games was the first Huddersfield had scored in their past nine home meetings against Wednesday.
The Terriers continued to dominate with Mbenza flashing a 15-yard opportunity wide before netting at the John Smith's Stadium for the first time since a 1-1 Premier League draw against Manchester United in May 2019.
He ended that personal drought in spectacular style too, with a curling 20-yard free-kick that Wildsmith could only help into his top-right corner in the 24th minute after Liam Palmer had tripped Koroma.
The latter went on to drive over from a similar distance just past the half-hour mark, while Pulis' team managed their first effort of the game in the 38th minute, with Ben Hamer clawing away Tom Lees' far-post header from under his own crossbar following a Barry Bannan corner.
On the stroke of half-time, Josh Windass then glanced a header wide from Reach's cross.
The hosts squandered a great opportunity to add a third goal four minutes after the interval when Iorfa slid into Bacuna as the Curacao international burst on to Pipa's ball through the right channel.
But the Town substitute directed a poor penalty against the outside of Wildsmith's right-hand post.
For the rest of the half, chances were scarce at both ends of the pitch.
Bannan fizzed a 20-yard attempt over, Windass stung Hamer's hands from distance and substitute Jordan Rhodes forced a late save, but Huddersfield saw out the game with relative ease.
Huddersfield's Carlos Corberan: "At the start of the game, we were very positive and played with a lot of determination. We also created good chances and controlled the game. In the second half, we started really well but, unfortunately missed the penalty.
"After that we defended well but - at the same time - we did not attack enough and reach the performance levels that we can and we expect a lot from our players and the team. But it's good to win our home games, even though we would like to have our fans here."
Sheffield Wednesday's Tony Pulis: "We were all over the place during the first 20 minutes and it was the worst performance in the six games I've had as manager. We gave them a 2-0 start and, then, it's uphill all the way. We showed more commitment in the second half, without really showing any quality.
"The lads looked tired and it took them a long time to get going and we travelled to Norwich and back at the weekend, but I don't want to make excuses because we were awful during that first 20 minutes. It wasn't good enough for a group of players who played against one of the best teams in the league at the weekend and should have got a win."
