Injury-hit Owls close the gap on rivals with Iron win

The Owls needed three points last night to stay on level terms with Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United in the League One promotion race.

Goals from Chris O’Grady (2) and Jermaine Johnson secured that victory but also showed that the Owls have strength in depth.

Megson had lost both Lewis Buxton and Reda Johnson in training on Monday – with captain Rob Jones also ruled out from the weekend. To make matters worse, Daniel Jones – who made his first league start of the season at left-back – was then stretchered off shortly before the interval after a challenge in the Scunthorpe United area.

Jones had been recalled as one of five changes for the Owls last night – and the injuries were the reasons Megson talked of ‘plans out of the window’ before the game.

Goalkeeper Nicky Weaver and winger Mike Jones dropped to the bench – opening the door for Stephen Bywater, Liam Palmer and Johnson to return along with defender Miguel Llera.

The Owls are now down to the bare bones defensively ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie at Blackpool although substitute Mark Beevers stepped back into the spotlight after his loan spell with Milton Keynes Dons and Julian Bennett is also waiting in the wings.

Scunthorpe may not be one of the strongest teams in League One but this corner of Lincolnshire has rarely been a happy hunting ground for the Owls.

However, it took just 44 seconds for the Owls to take the lead through O’Grady and they eased to a first victory at Scunthorpe since 1958.

Scunthorpe had been temporarily reduced to 10 men by an injury to defender Christian Ribeiro.

This allowed O’Grady more space to bring down a lofted ball into the area by Llera and the striker duly tucked the ball between the legs of goalkeeper Sam Slocombe.

O’Grady scored again after 18 minutes – doubling the Owls’ advantage with a simple header from a Chris Lines corner.

For a time, the Iron had the look of a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck but they managed to escape the glare and get a foothold in the game.

The gulf in quality was always apparent, however, and the home side remained especially vulnerable at corners – with Lines delivering great centres.

It needed a block from former Barnsley defender Paul Reid to stop Llera hitting the net and O’Grady was only inches away from completing a hat-trick when his overhead kick bounced wide of the far post.

Jamaican international winger Johnson was looking to build on his goal against Hartlepool but his shooting was far from what it should have been in the first half.

He drove one shot out of the ground and lashed another into the stands but, of course, if Johnson had any consistency in his shooting, he might not be playing in League One.

His greatest strength has always been his acceleration. In the blink of an eye, he can leave a defender trailing in his wake.

Now 31, Johnson has still got that extra yard of pace and it enabled him to increase Wednesday’s lead straight after the break. Bursting past two defenders, he tucked a low shot beyond Sam Slocombe. If only it was always that simple.

Scunthorpe grabbed a lifeline in the 55th minute when former Sheffield United striker Jordan Robertson, ironically an Owls supporter, headed home a corner.

But it wasn’t long before the home side were on the back foot again. Johnson had sparked more terror with a surging run and, when the ball ricocheted to O’Grady, it took a flying save by Slocombe to keep the ball out.

Owls manager Megson knew that his side should have been winning far more comfortably entering the final third of the game.

One lapse in concentration at a corner had offered the home side a lifeline which their performance hardly deserved.

Typically, he was not slow to give his players a verbal reminder of what was required.

Although Scunthorpe played their best football towards the end of the game, the Owls had done the important stuff early on and were not to be pegged back. They won their game in hand but stayed fourth due to an inferior goal difference.

There was still time for Johnson to dazzle and disappoint in equal measure again before the end, sprinting past three defenders and hitting the ball into no-man’s land.

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Scunthorpe United: Slocombe; Ribeiro (Wright 4), Reid, Canavan, Nolan; Barcham (Duffy 53), O’Connor (Grant 53), Togwell, Walker, Thompson; Robertson. Unused substitutes: Lillis, Mozika.

Sheffield Wednesday: Bywater; Otsemobor, Batth, Llera, D Jones (Beevers 38); Palmer; Lines, Semedo, Johnson (M Jones 90); O’Grady, Madine (Morrison 89). Unused substitutes: Weaver, Lowe.

Referee: T Bates (Staffordshire).