Sheffield Wednesday finally got their first home league win of 2011 on Saturday and they followed that up with a resounding win against Tranmere Rovers on Tuesday evening, a result that moves them closer to mid-table stability.
Gary Megson chose to field the same side that started the 2-1 win over Colchester and the settled side rewarded the support of the Hillsborough faithful just ten minutes in against Tranmere when captain Tommy Miller opened the scoring. The midfielder was on hand to convert Neil Mellor’s knock-back from close range after Gary Teale had supplied a good cross.
Buoyed by their new found confidence the home side doubled the lead just five minutes later. Mellor provided his second assist of the game by playing in strike partner Gary Madine and the young forward made no mistake in slotting past Tony Warner in the Rovers goal.
A rampant Wednesday extended their lead further inside 25 minutes when Jermaine Johnson fed Neil Mellor and the in form striker tumbled under the challenge of Michael Kay inside the penalty area. Miller sent Warner the wrong way from the resulting penalty to bag his second goal of the game and the match was all but over as a contest with over an hour still to play.
Having crafted out a healthy cushion the Owls took their foot off the pedal a little either side of half-time though they did enough to prevent the visitors from getting back into the game.
With 20 minutes remaining Megson tried to freshen up his side by throwing on Sedgwick and O’Brien in place of Miller and Teale and within five minutes it looked to have had the desired effect as Mellor shot home from Sedgwick’s pass only to be denied by an offside flag.
Mellor wasn’t to be denied though as he grabbed his second goal in the last minute, going round the onrushing Warner and clipping in from an acute angle to send the home fans home happy for the second time in a matter of days.
The result sees Wednesday climb one place to 15th in the League One table, 9 points above the relegation zone.