Sheffield Wednesday

REPORT: Sheffield Wednesday 4 Preston North End 1

Sheffield Wednesday have moved closer to securing their Sky Bet Championship status with a 4-1 victory over Preston North End at Hillsborough.

Atdhe Nuhiu (two), Lucas Joao and returning striker Fernando Forestieri got the goals for The Owls as they continued their fine recent home record against The Lilywhites.

The first half was a real battle with match referee Tim Robinson dominating the game rather than the players. A booking for Sam Hutchinson in the first 30 seconds of the encounter set the scene for a fiery 45 minutes.

Neither keeper was severely tested during the opening period although the visitors looked the more dangerous on the attack. Tom Barkhuizen flashed a shot over the bar from an acute angle early on while The Lilywhites defender Ben Davies really should have scored in injury time but headed straight at home keeper Joe Wildsmith.

Wednesday offered little in attack with Kosovo international Nuhiu left as a lone figure up top. Half chances from both the striker and Morgan Fox were the closest which the home side came to breaking the deadlock but all-in-all, Preston North End keeper Declan Rudd had a quiet first period.

The introduction of Joao at half time gave the home side a new dimension in attack. The Owls started the half brightly and when Jack Hunt’s low cross fell to Nuhiu in the box, the larger than life frontman fired the ball beyond Rudd into the net.

Two minutes later, it was 2-0 when Joao connected with a cross, looping his header over Rudd into the empty goal. It was a masterstroke from Wednesday boss Jos Luhukay who opted to inject more threat going forward at the break.

Preston North End are where they are in the table on merit and Alex Neil’s men searched for a way back into the match with Sean Maguire trying to scramble the ball beyond a wall of Wednesday defenders and over the line but the home side survived that nervous moment in the game and cleared the danger.

The Owls were on the ropes but somehow still kept their two-goal advantage intact when Callum Robinson looked sure to score from less than six yards but saw his effort hit the post and Barkhuizen unbelievably headed wide with the goal at his mercy.

The Lancashire club did get back into the match 18 minutes from time when substitute Daniel Johnson got away from the Wednesday defence and crossed for fellow bench-warmer Louis Moult to tap in.

After reducing the arrears, Preston North End were naturally keen to go on and rescue a point. Alan Brown blasted a shot over from the edge of the box before at the other end, Joao was denied by onrushing keeper Rudd and Forestieri saw a shot blocked by a last-ditch challenge.

The Owls made sure of the points in seven minutes of stoppage time when Nuhiu cut in from the right and curled an absolute pearler into the far corner of the net, a goal worthy of winning any match. It got even better for the home side just minutes later when Forestieri capped his return to fitness by netting a stunning 20-yard free-kick to secure a wonderful 4-1 win for his side.

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