Bristol Rovers 1 Sheffield Wednesday 1: Mixed emotions for Megson after sending down dad’s old club

The Wednesday chief described his team’s performance as “below the standards we have set” and had sympathy for Rovers, the team his father Don managed between 1972 and 1977.

“These situations are never easy,” he said. “I played for Rovers’ nursery team as a boy and when I was 16 it came down to either signing for them or Plymouth Argyle.

“I ended up going to Plymouth, but retained an affection for Bristol and I’m sorry to see them go down.

“We didn’t play well today, but we should have had a second penalty. It’s not so long since we were looking over our shoulders at the relegation positions so I’m pleased that pressure wasn’t on us.”

It was a game of two soft spot-kicks and a third that might have been.

Tommy Miller fired Wednesday ahead on three minutes after Danny Coles was adjudged to have brought down striker Gary Madine.

Rovers protested furiously that Madine had dived.

But it was Wednesday’s turn to surround referee Dave Foster eight minutes later as he ruled that Lewis Buxton had tripped Wayne Brown.

Will Hoskins just beat the outstretched arm of the diving Nicky Weaver, who made fine second- half saves from the same player and from Chris Lines’s free-kick.

Wednesday were incensed on 81 minutes when Rovers goalkeeper Conrad Logan clattered into Neil Mellor.

A well-placed linesman signalled for a penalty but, after consultation, referee Foster awarded only a corner.

Bristol Rovers: Logan; Senda, Anthony, Coles (Clough 72), Sawyer (Howe 83); Williams (Swallow 78), Lines, Kalala, Brown; Kuffour, Hoskins. Unused substitutes: Green, Lambe, Pell, Ifil.

Sheffield Wednesday: Weaver; Otsemobor, Batth, R Jones, Buxton; Palmer (Potter 77), O’Connor (Sedgewick 61), Miller, Teale (J Johnson 61); Madine, Mellor. Unused substitutes: O’Donnell, D.Jones, R Johnson, Morrison.

Referee: D Foster (Tyne and Wear).

Man of the match: Rob Jones.