Chesterfield 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0: Derby victory crucial to Owls hopes of automatic promotion

THREE defeats in a week have left Sheffield Wednesday’s automatic promotion hopes in tatters ahead of the biggest match of the season in League One.

The Owls host city rivals United on Sunday in front of a sell-out 35,000-plus crowd – likely to be the biggest attendance in England this season outside of the Premier League – but are enduring a slump which threatens to derail their season.

After defeats to strugglers Exeter City, then Stevenage at Hillsborough, Gary Megson’s week ended as it started as the Owls crashed to lowly Chesterfield.

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It leaves Wednesday five points behind the Blades, who have two games in hand, and who picked up nine points from their three matches last week.

Anything other than a home win on Sunday and with Charlton pulling away at the top, then it looks like the Owls are destined for the end-of-season play-offs.

Defeat to Chesterfield on Saturday, the match was settled by Dean Morgan’s 78th-minute penalty, left the Owls in third spot but with all their top-seven rivals having at least two games in hand.

Yet, after 45 minutes at the B2net Stadium all that was missing to cap a super first-half showing from Wednesday were goals against the relegation-threatened hosts.

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Twice, the recalled Ryan Lowe headed over and was unlucky not to earn a penalty after being caught late by Spireites goalkeeper Tommy Lee. Reda Johnson was thwarted by Lee, before Lowe fired just wide after a neat turn saw him lose his marker.

The visitors continually turned the home defence, closed down Chesterfield when they lost the ball and with a little more of a creative spark or cutting edge could have been out of sight by half-time.

The best the hosts could muster was a 25-yard effort from Liam Ridehalgh that was tipped over by Stephen Bywater.

The loss of Jermaine Johnson with a medial ligament injury saw the Owls lose their main attacking threat, and after the interval Megson attempted to inject a cutting edge by throwing on extra strikers Gary Madine and Clinton Morrison in a 4-3-3 formation.

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But the hosts sensed they could take something from the contest after Wednesday’s profligacy in front of goal, as Bywater had to be alert to keep out Drew Talbot – one of the Wednesday heroes from their last venture into the play-offs in 2005.

Danny Batth was left in a heap after throwing himself in front of Morgan’s fierce drive and Chesterfield finally broke the deadlock on 78 minutes.

Substitute John Bostock, the on-loan winger who has failed to impress so far after joining last month from Tottenham, made a clumsy challenge on Nicky Ajose to concede a penalty and Morgan made no mistake from 12 yards.

Wednesday, who have scored just once in their last four matches, huffed and puffed to get an equaliser, Rob Jones seeing his header cleared off the line, but could not beat Lee.

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“I thought we made a really positive start to the game but we didn’t score,” said Megson. “We always stress the importance of scoring the first goal and Chesterfield scored it.

“I thought we dominated the game for 45 minutes and when you do dominate as much as you have done, especially away from home, it’s so important that you score the first goal.

“In the second half, we didn’t penetrate them as much as we had been doing and I think Jermaine Johnson going off had a lot to do with that because he certainly gives you that as an individual.

“We may have won this stat, this stat and the other stat but there are two stats that really count and they are putting the ball in one net and keeping it out of the other,” added Megson, whose side had 23 shots without scoring.

Megson is sweating on the fitness of Jermaine Johnson.

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“It was a huge blow to lose JJ because he is right on top of his game and playing as consistently as I have seen him,” said Megson.

“It looks like it could be a medial knee ligament but, hopefully, it might only be a knock.”

Chesterfield: Lee, Ford, Trotman, Thompson (Morgan 45), Robertson, Ridehalgh, Davis, Allott, Talbot, Ajose, Lester (Westcarr 85). Unused substitutes: Flemming, Bowery, Whitaker.

Sheffield Wednesday: Bywater, Buxton, Batth, R Jones, R Johnson, Prutton, Lines (Morrison 66), Semedo, J Johnson (Bostock 25), Lowe, O’Grady (Madine 54). Unused substitutes: Weaver, Llera.

Referee: N Miller (Durham).

Man of the match: Reda Johnson.

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