Sheffield Wednesday struggled to a 2-1 home win over fellow strugglers Plymouth Argyle at Hillsborough on Saturday as they bounced back from the midweek defeat at Scunthorpe.
Two first half strikes from recalled loan striker Luke Varney were enough to give the Owls the points after they had initially fallen behind to a Rory Fallon goal following a corner.
Varney deserved his goals for his work rate throughout the match but many of his team mates were well below par with the midfield struggling to retain possession or create chances effectively on a freezing cold afternoon at S6.
Plymouth enjoyed plenty of possession and territorial advantage, particularly in the second half but they never once managed to test Lee Grant in the Owls goal after they had fallen behind.
Despite offering little to warm up the Hillsborough faithful Wednesday were at least resolute and well organised defensively and sent the majority of the crowd home happy with another 3 points secured. This was an important win after suffering a setback in midweek and the fact that it was the first time that the Owls have been able to come from behind to win a game in over a year says a lot about the new found resilience and belief in the team.
Given the predicament that the club was in when Alan Irvine took over few will grumble at how the team plays at this stage as long as they get the results, points are the priority in order to push the Owls away from the relegation zone and with 12 points taken from a possible 15 under the new manager the club is starting to move in the right direction.
The win put Wednesday in 19th place in the Championship table on 31 points, 5 points clear of the relegation zone and just 3 points behind QPR who are currently 12th. The Owls face a tough trip to high flying Nottingham Forest next weekend before consecutive midweek home fixtures against Blackpool and Doncaster.