Sheffield Wednesday 2 Colchester United 0: Magnificent seven for Owls

The victory maintains the Owls push for automatic promotion to the Championship but they remain in third place in the League One table because both Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town also won.

The Owls had overcome a tricky start to take control of the game but had failed to turn their dominance into goals before the interval.

Striker Gary Madine’s ‘goal’ was disallowed because Chris O’Grady had apparently bundled over a Colchester defender when jostling for a Ben Marshall throw.

A Chris Lines freekick had been scrambled away by goalkeeper Ben Williams and the Owls had applied plenty of pressure.

Colchester could easily have taken the lead in the early stages but striker Ian Henderson failed to keep a close range header on target.

Referee Geoff Eltingham also waved away strong appeals for a penalty when Owls midfielder Jose Semedo appeared to handle under pressure from Andy Bond.

The goal that finally settled any nerves amongst home supporters came from an unlikely source – centreback Jones drilling home in the 59th minute after goalkeeper Ben Williams failed to hold a stinging drive from Madine.

Leftback Johnson scored the second in the 70th minute after Madine knocked down a freekick into the box by Chris Lines.

For full previews and match reports read the Yorkshire Post on Saturday and Monday.