Sheffield Wednesday vs West Bromwich Albion. Sky Bet Championship.
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Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Sheffield Wednesday and West Bromwich Albion at Hillsborough on Saturday | Goals from Anthony Musaba, Ike Ugbo and Josh Windass boost Owls' survival hopes
Saturday 27 April 2024 22:33, UK
Sheffield Wednesday earned a vital three points in their bid for Championship survival as they beat West Brom 3-0.
Goals from Anthony Musaba, Ike Ugbo and Josh Windass gave the Owls a second successive win and a three-point gap over the relegation zone ahead of the final round of fixtures.
Will Vaulks had an early effort for the home side, firing in a long-range shot which was palmed away by keeper Alex Palmer.
At the other end, Wednesday goalkeeper James Beadle was called into action to make a save at his near post to keep out a shot from Michael Johnston.
The Owls then struck the first blow after 22 minutes. Vaulks headed the ball into the area where Windass saw his effort saved by Palmer, only for Musaba to follow up and score.
The visitors threatened towards the end of the half but Kyle Bartley's header goalwards hit his team-mate, Jed Wallace.
Wednesday made a strong start to the second half with Vaulks firing in a drive which was deflected off-target before they extended their lead.
The second goal, which came just five minutes after the re-start, owed much to Musaba's persistence. He made a driving run at the heart of the Albion defence and appealed for a penalty after being challenged by Cedric Kipre before the loose ball fell to Ugbo on the right-hand side of the area and he fired into the net.
West Brom boss Carlos Corberan responded by making four substitutions, taking off Wallace, Matty Phillips, Yann M'Vila and Conor Townsend, with Brandon Thomas-Asante, Alex Mowatt, Tom Fellows and Adam Reach coming on.
The impressive Musaba was involved again when he did well on the right-hand side and delivered a low cross to the near post which was met by Ugbo, whose shot was saved by Palmer down low to his left.
The woodwork then came to Albion's rescue when a Windass header hit the outside of an upright, but it was 3-0 in the 69th minute when Barry Bannan's 25-yard effort was parried by Palmer into the path of Windass, who tapped in from close range.
Beadle had a busy few minutes, first keeping out Grady Diangana's close-range header, then saving John Swift's curling shot and denying Kyle Bartley with a low stop.
However, the result was already wrapped up and Wednesday only need a point from their game at Sunderland next week to be certain of avoiding the drop.
Sheffield Wednesday's Danny Rohl:
"It was a big performance from my team. I'm really proud of my team, beating a top-six team.
"We were playing against a strong side when you look at how they play and how they press. We were defending as a team and we defended our box towards the end as if it was 1-0. We wanted a clean sheet.
"From the last five games we have taken 11 points, which is an average of two points per game, which is not so bad. It's a big improvement. The mind-set is right and it was outstanding for me today.
"I think since I arrived here, we have always talked about the process and the journey. This helps when you have bad results and it helps as well when you have good results.
"You see the table and we are still not over the line. We are not still safe. It means that for us we keep going and work hard next week. Then hopefully we can celebrate.
"I think we will go for three points. For me it is not a time to celebrate or be lazy. If we are lazy then we have a problem."
West Brom's Carlos Corberan:
I think there were some moments of the game. In the first half it was equal. They didn't create many chances and we didn't create many chances.
"I think it's clear that we didn't compete at the level which was needed today to be able to pick up the result we wanted.
"It's important now to analyse the reasons for that. We are one group of players and one group of staff members who will always take responsibility. You have to find the solutions on the back of a result like this.
"The first goal for them was a goal where we cleared the first ball but they put it straight back in and scored. We have to manage those situations much better.
"We couldn't use any of our opportunities to score. It's important now to find the solutions.
"In football, the only important thing is how you finish after 46 matches. We know that we have to win the next game to achieve our objective."
