Ipswich 0-1 Sheff Wed: Owls book play-off spot

Sheffield Wednesday confirmed their place in the Sky Bet Championship play-offs with a 1-0 win at Ipswich.

A forgettable conclusion to football at Portman Road this season saw Wednesday do just enough to edge the match, with Kieran Lee providing the only goal after 76 minutes.

In a rare moment of quality from either side, Barry Bannan and Daniel Pudil combined to set up Lee for a confident first-time finish into the far corner.

Both teams had half-chances early on without truly threatening to break the deadlock. Adam Reach cut in and fired wide for the visitors and Tom Lawrence only directed Freddie Sears' cross straight at Keiren Westwood.

A largely uneventful first half continued when a short corner for Ipswich saw David McGoldrick's shot from the edge of the area force Westwood into a diving save, with the ball heading into the far post.

Wednesday then had calls for a penalty waved away after Glenn Loovens' goalbound shot was deflected away by Jordan Spence five minutes before the interval.

The visitors almost took the lead four minutes after the restart when Ross Wallace cut inside and his speculative shot appeared to go through the hands of Bartoz Bialkowski but came back off the inside of the post.

The play-off chasers were still looking the more threatening, with Bialkowski showing more adept handling when he held on to Steven Fletcher's shot from the edge of the area on 54 minutes.

A flurry of substitutions saw one of them, Ipswich striker Dominic Samuel, make an instant impression as the Reading loanee missed the target with a downward header from Sears' ranging cross in the 70th minute.

The goal came in the 77th minute when Bannan played an incisive ball into Pudil and his low cross was turned in by Lee.

The lead should have been doubled four minutes from the end when a quick breakaway led to Lee playing in substitute Fernando Forestieri, but he scuffed his shot when through on goal.

The best response Ipswich could muster was a half-chance for Emyr Huws, who failed to hit the target from a tight angle following McGoldrick's devilish free-kick in injury time.

Ipswich boss Mick McCarthy:

"It was always going to be like that if we lost. We haven't been good enough at home and we haven't entertained our fans enough so I do understand that. It is a shame we didn't go out on a high but I think they had the edge on us and just had that bit more quality.

"We wanted the result and to play for pride but Wednesday still had something to play for. They are wired for the play-offs and they came here with real momentum and form and it showed."

Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal:

"It's something fantastic. We prepare very well for the games and this is a result of a lot of hard work. Six wins in a row is fantastic - that is something very special. We deserved to win today. It gives me satisfaction to see people around me happy: the chairman, the players and the fans.

"We have more points than we had last season and we are dealing with the expectations of our fans. This is a massive club but we can only look at ourselves. I will not think about who we might have in the semi-final or whether we might start home or away in the play-offs."