It may not be over until the fat lady sings, but in the case of Sheffield Wednesday the dreaded diva is already waddling on to the stage, microphone in hand.
The pecking order of Yorkshire football was emphatically brought home yesterday and the fall-out leaves Wednesday needing a snooker or two in their seemingly hopeless pursuit of survival.
Another demoralising nul point, coupled with Bradford seizing the moment against Wimbledon, casts Hillsborough's sorry occupants six points adrift with an inferior goal difference and the clock ticking. To stand any chance of defying the prophets of gloom they must realistically take seven, if not nine, points from their remaining three games. However, trips to Coventry and Arsenal, both of whom boast formidable home records, before the curtain comes down against Leicester City, hardly inspire unbridled optimism for a side that cannot go much longer teetering on the precipice.
As the whiff of relegation descended over a sparsely-populated Hillsborough, the thought occurred that any side that musters 30 goals from 35 league games - the worst record in all four divisions - can hardly bristle with a smouldering sense of injustice at its impending fate.
Only 38 seconds had elapsed before the Wednesday band had lost its oomph and the home defenders were casting accusing looks in each other's direction.
They had read Michael Bridges' intentions as he worked a shooting opportunity from just outside the penalty area but, in converging on the young striker, the rest of their marking was hospitable to say the least. Bridges was grounded in a tangle of legs but still managed to pick out the craggy features of David Hopkin, bounding into the penalty area, and the midfielder's first touch left the ball nestling in the corner of Kevin Pressman's net.
The home side rallied briefly but seldom threatened with any conviction. Wim Jonk floated a free-kick narrowly wide and Alan Quinn brought a fine, one-handed save from Nigel Martyn. But their leading scorer, Gilles de Bilde, was a peripheral figure and Andy Booth his usual leaden-footed self.
Leeds were seldom illuminating but still managed to outshine their opponents for long periods of a match that burned slowly without truly igniting. The large pitch suited their elaborate methods, and seven minutes after the interval they doubled their advantage courtesy of Bridges' 19th goal in his first Premiership season. Matthew Jones took the ball off Barry Horne and Bridges accepted his pass on the left-hand side of the penalty area before curling a right-foot shot into the opposite corner.
The piece de resistance, however, was conjured up by the impudent Harry Kewell midway through the second half. His shot with the outside of his left boot was audacious in its method and exquisite in its delivery, catching Pressman off his line and finding the net via the underside of the crossbar.
Sheffied Wednesday: Pressman, Nolan, Atherton, Walker, Hinchcliffe, Alexandersson (Sonner 75), Jonk, Horne (Sibon 64), Quinn, Booth, De Bilde (Briscoe 75). Subs Not Used: Haslam, Srnicek.
Leeds: Martyn, Kelly, Radebe, Duberry, Mills, Bakke (Haaland 69), Hopkin, Jones, Wilcox, Bridges (Huckerby 84), Kewell. Subs Not Used: Woodgate, Robinson, Smith. Booked: Bakke. Goals: Hopkin 1, Bridges 53, Kewell 68.
Referee: R Harris (Oxford).
