Sheffield Wednesday picked up another point and kept another clean sheet in the Yorkshire derby at Huddersfield on Saturday lunchtime but despite a lively display the Owls failed to find the net yet again and have now not won in 10 games in the Championship.
Lewis McGugan, on loan from Watford made his Owls debut in midfield and Gary Taylor-Fletcher, on loan from Leicester, started the last game of his current loan spell, playing behind Stevie May in the Owls attack. Chris Maguire dropped to the bench and Royston Drenthe started having been suspended for the last game against Rotherham.
Wednesday started brightly and Taylor-Fletcher wasted a good opportunity when he shot tamely wide after good work by Maghoma though he was hampered by Stevie May running across his path.
At the other end Sean Scannell was causing problems with his pace but the home side struggled to create a clear cut opportunity. He was denied a certain goal just before the half hour mark however as Tom Lees beat him to the ball to get in a vital intervening tackle.
The 2nd half was a much more lively affair as both sides pushed for a win and chances were missed at either end. Scannell fired over the bar after a good run with Helan putting him under pressure and Drenthe jinked his way past 3 town defenders only to fire a tame shot that Murphy in the home goal saved comfortably.
Chris Powell brought on striker Nahki Wells for the last 25 minutes and his pace and direct approach caused Wednesday problems but Westwood denied him twice, producing two top class saves.
Stevie May went so close to breaking the deadlock, latching on to Maghoma's slide-rule pass. The Scottish international's strike was good enough to beat Murphy but agonisingly for the Owls fans the shot struck the bar then hit the base of the post on the way down and bounced to safety for the home side.
Wednesday felt they should have had a penalty late on when Maguire poked the ball past a Town defender just inside the penalty area and was brought down. Instead of awarding a spot kick the referee booked Maguire for a dive. The Owls substitute went down dramatically but it seemed a clear foul.
There was still time for Wednesday to create more good opportunities as Drenthe was denied by Murphy who tipped his shot around the post and from the resulting corner a goalmouth scramble resulted in Nuhiu's toe-poked effort being cleared off the line.
Wednesday played well but will no doubt be disappointed that they failed to cap their performance with a win and some much needed goals.