Second-half goals from Scott Twine and substitute Sam Bell saw Bristol City strengthen their Championship play-off challenge with a 2-0 victory over bottom club Sheffield Wednesday at Ashton Gate.

The hosts took a 64th-minute lead when Twine rose above the Wednesday defence to powerfully head home Ross McCrorie's driven cross from the right.

Bell doubled the advantage after 78 minutes, shooting home from the edge of the area after fellow replacement Sinclair Armstrong had burst clear of the visiting defence to draw goalkeeper Murphy Cooper off his line and create the chance.

Wednesday skipper Barry Bannan was substituted in the closing stages in what is expected to the long-serving 36-year-old's last appearance for the club. It was an emotional moment as the popular midfielder left the field to handshakes from both teams and applause from both sets of fans.

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City made four changes from their midweek defeat at Ipswich, bringing in McCrorie, Jason Knight, Cameron Pring and George Earthy. Wednesday replaced the injured Yan Valery with Charlie McNeil and named Bannan in the starting line-up, despite widespread transfer speculation.

The match began with the massed ranks of Wednesday fans behind one of the goals chanting Bannon's name.

But his side came under early pressure and Cooper fumbled a fifth minute shot from Pring, with no City player able to capitalise.

The home side enjoyed the majority of first-half possession without creating many clear chances.

Pring got behind Wednesday's defence after 14 minutes, only to shoot wide under pressure.

Knight was high and wide from 20 yards before McCrorie had a low 26th-minute shot tipped round a post by Cooper. The Wednesday keeper produced his best save of the half eight minutes later, diving on his line to block an Emil Riis shot, with City again unable to force the rebound home in a goalmouth scramble.

There were jeers from Robins fans, already disgruntled by the shortage of positive transfer activity in the January window, when the half-time whistle went with the scoresheet blank.

Head coach Gerhard Struber responded with a change, sending on striker Armstrong for midfielder Earthy at the start of the second half, but he soon saw his goalkeeper Radek Vitek brought into action for the first time to save a Reece Johnson shot.

At the other end Cooper stuck out a leg to keep out Armstrong's deflected cross at the expense of a corner.

Struber was about to make more changes when Twine's goal broke the deadlock and eased growing frustration around the stadium.

He did send on Bell for Riis and the substitute soon set up another chance for Twine, whose shot brought a flying save from Cooper.

Bell also had a header saved in a lively contribution before his goal settled the contest.

The managers

Bristol City's Gerhard Struber:

"We are getting closer and I expect, rather than hope, that we will complete a signing in the coming days.

"I have talked about the need to add to our squad for a while and now is the time for action rather than words.

"I am very happy with my group of players, but if we want to improve and achieve things, we need to bring more in. By doing so we can send a clear message about our goals.

"Today we have had to be very patient in a tough game. At half-time I told the players that we needed to put more stress on their defence and our substitutes helped us do that in the second half.

"Sam Bell's loan spell (at Wycombe) had clearly been good for him because he looked super confident and really pushed his case for selection."

Sheffield Wednesday's Henrik Pedersen:

"Barry wants to leave, although I don't want to lose him. I can't say where he will be going at the moment, but we will miss him because he is a real club legend and a great leader as well as a top player.

"The reaction of both sets of supporters said everything about how he is regarded and it was very emotional. He is a special player and a special human being, who gives without taking."

Bristol City boss Gerhard Struber added his own tribute to Bannan, saying: "He is a true role model and a great professional, who has graced the game for 15 years. I have huge admiration for him as a footballer and a person."

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