Sheffield Wednesday 2 Hartlepool United 0: Miller gives his hopes of new Owls deal a boost with fine display

Tommy Miller delivered a timely reminder to Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson that he is one player the Owls can’t afford to leave out.

Megson was forced to leave Miller twiddling his thumbs on the sidelines last weekend as the Owls crashed 2-0 to Brighton.

He is not allowed to play in all of Wednesday’s remaining games because it will trigger an extension to his contract on Championship wages the Owls cannot afford.

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But after an impressive return in the heart of Wednesday’s midfield against Hartlepool on Saturday, it will do him no harm when he sits down with the Hillsborough paymasters in the next few weeks to thrash out a new contract.

Miller opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time from the penalty spot after Sam Collins tangled with Neil Mellor. The goal finally broke some stubborn defending, but it was Miller’s distribution and work-rate which impressed.

Jermaine Johnson – another whose contract expires this summer – also shone and set-up 18-goal top scorer Gary Madine in the second half to make it 2-0.

“I am pleased because not only did we win the game but we did so with honesty and character,” said Megson. “If you do those kinds of things well, you set yourself up to win games and we did that.

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“We are still a long way from where I want us to be but we are a long way from when I first saw us against MK Dons.”

When the Wednesday fans starting singing ‘can we play you every week’, it wasn’t difficult to understand why. For in a season of much woe for the Hillsborough faithful, the Owls have banged in 11 goals in three meetings with Hartlepool this season.

After thrashing United 5-0 in the North East, Wednesday cruised to a 4-1 win in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in November.

And while Saturday’s meeting failed to deliver another goal rush, Megson’s side were never in danger of not delivering all three points once Miller netted for his 10th goal of the season.

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Johnson should have netted after 15 minutes after his trickery bamboozled three defenders but goalkeeper Scott Flinders denied him at the last.

Mellor should have doubled Wednesday’s lead at the start of the second half, but picked out Flinders with a rising effort before seeing a shot deflected over.

Central defender Danny Batth went close late on with a header from Gary Teale’s free kick, and the on-loan defender was picked out by Megson for praise.

He said: “I thought Danny was excellent. If every footballer had his approach to the game, life would be a lot easier for managers. He is first in in the morning and last off the training field, he does the weights every day and has a terrific attitude.”

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Sheffield Wednesday: O’Donnell, Otsemobor, Batth, R Jones, Buxton, Johnson (Coke 68), Miller (Potter 59), O’Connor, Teale, Madine, Mellor (Morrison 83). Unused substitutes: Nicholls, Heffernan, D Jones, Palmer. Goals: Miller 45 pen, Madine 65.

Hartlepool United: Flinders, Haslam, Collins, Hartley, Horwood, Yantorno (McSweeney 66), Gamble, Sweeney, Murray (Mackay 78), Monkhouse, Boyd (Behan 66). Unused substitutes: Rafferty, Humphreys, Larkin, Johnson. Booked: Yantorno, Gamble.

Referee: G Ward (Surrey).

Man of the match: Tommy Miller.