Sheffield Wednesday were held to a 2-2 draw against Hull City in The Championship on Saturday afternoon following late drama at Hillsborough.
The away side had taken the lead in the first-half through Fraizer Campbell but a brace from Gary Hooper in the second-half appeared to have secured all three points for the Owls. However, a last-gasp strike from Michael Dawson secured a share of the points for the away side.
Campbell fires Hull ahead in dull first-half
Carlos Carvalhal decided to make three changes to his starting line-up for this one following the Owls' 0-0 draw away at Reading last weekend. The biggest surprise was the inclusion of Portuguese winger Marco Matias who was given a rare chance to impress from the start.
It was the home side who had the first attempt on target in this encounter as Adam Reach's long-range effort trickled wide of the target. It did not take long for the away side to register their first shot of the match either. Wednesday's defence failed to deal with a corner which eventually fell to Campbell but he could only blaze his effort well over the bar.
Despite Wednesday looking the brighter side in the early stages of the match, it was the away side who took the lead with around 20 minutes played. Campbell was allowed to dribble into the Owls' area before he curled his shot into the bottom corner to make it 1-0. This goal frustrated the home crowd at Hillsborough even further after they had already been aggravated by a couple of the referee's decisions early on.
Leonid Slutsky will have been disappointed that his side did not go on to score a second goal before half-time as they had plenty of opportunities to extend their lead but were sloppy in the final third. As for Wednesday, they were being frustrated by the away side and could hardly muster a shot on target.
The Owls did have one chance to get back on level terms before the break as Morgan Fox broke down the left-hand side but he picked out Hooper who had strayed into an offside position, much to the frustration of the home crowd. The half-time whistle was met by a chorus of boos across Hillsborough as the home supporters voiced their frustration at both the referee and their team's first-half performance.
Hooper turns game around for the Owls
After a dismal first-half performance from his side, Carvalhal opted to make two changes at half-time. Jordan Rhodes and Kieran Lee came on to replace Matias and Jacob Butterfield. The Owls did have a great chance to get back on level terms shortly after the restart. Rhodes made an instant impact by teeing up Steven Fletcher but his strike was straight at Alan McGregor who held comfortably.
McGregor was called into action again just minutes later as he was able to easily gather Rhodes' header following Liam Palmer's cross. The substitutions made by Carvalhal were certainly making a difference as Hull's defence continued to drop further back. Joost van Aken could have scored the elusive equaliser but could only head over the bar from close range.
The home support must have started to think that it was simply not going to be their day when yet another chance went begging for their side. Reach was given a pocket of space inside the area but his low driven shot hit the post before Rhodes' effort was blocked on the rebound. It was very frustrating for the home side but they were beginning to show signs that they could force an equaliser for the first time in the match.
The Owls were able to find an elusive equaliser just moments later through Hooper. The ball pinged around the away side's area before the ball eventually fell to Hooper who turned and fired his shot into the top corner of the net to make it 1-1. This really changed the mood of the home supporters who now had their belief that their side could go on and claim all three points.
The home side felt aggrieved when they were denied a penalty with less than 10 minutes to go in the match. Reach's shot from inside the area appeared to have been blocked by a hand but the referee felt differently. This was immediately followed by a rasping drive from Barry Bannan that went just inches wide of the post.
However, this did not matter just minutes later as Hooper scored his second of the game for the Owls. The home side were piling the pressure onto the away side and Atdhe Nuhiu was able to head the ball into Hooper's path who then fired into the bottom corner from a tight angle to make it 2-1 to the Owls.
Nuhiu had the chance to secure the win for Wednesday with just moments left but he failed to convert from close range when played through on goal. The Owls were left to rue their missed opportunities in the second-half as Hull rallied late on and were able to find an equaliser through captain Dawson. Wednesday's defence failed to deal with a ball into the box and Dawson prodded his effort in via the post to make it 2-2 at the death.