Derby delight for Wednesday

Last updated : 18 March 2018 By C. Morris

Owls win at Elland Road

Sheffield Wednesday picked up their first away win of 2018 on Saturday, beating Yorkshire rivals Leeds United 2-1 in snowy conditions in West Yorkshire.

Jos Luhukay’s side were boosted by Sam Hutchinson’s return to the starting 11 and Barry Bannan was named on the bench.

A tight first half ended goalless with Leeds best chance falling to Caleb Ekuban who was denied by Joe Wildsmith from close range after being found in space following a wee-worked free-kick routine. At the other end Hutchinson was denied a goal on his return when his close-range header found the net but was ruled out for offside.

There were few clear-cut chances in the early stages of the second half but the game burst into life in the final 20 minutes. Wednesday grabbed the lead when Reach’s glancing header from a Hunt cross hit the post and rebounded out to Nuhiu who was on hand to prod home. The hosts upped the tempo in a bid to find an equaliser and with 4 minutes to go it looked like they had done enough to earn a point when Grot headed in a pinpoint cross from Hernandez to make it 1-1. The Owls were not to be denied though, as the game moved into stoppage time Nuhiu chased down a ball in behind the Leeds defence, shrugged of his marker and placed a fine finish into the bottom corner to seal a vital 3 points.

The win keeps the Owls 8 points ahead of the relegation zone going into the international break with 8 games remaining. Next up for Wednesday is a clash against play-off chasing Preston North End at Hillsborough on Good Friday.