Dag & Red 1-1 Wednesday

Wednesday were forced to settle for a share of the spoils at Victoria Road in a controversial League One clash with Dagenham & Redbridge.

Gary Teale fired the Owls ahead in the first half but the Daggers grabbed a point through a controversial Danny Green spot-kick with ten minutes to go.

Owls boss Gary Megson was also sent to the stands in a game which leaves Wednesday just four poinsts above the relegation places.

Megson made three changes to the side that lost at Southampton last time out. New loan signing Joey O’Brien came into the Owls midfield, as did Darren Potter and Chris Sedgwick. Lee Nicholls, another loan addition, had to make do with a place on the bench with Richard O’Donnell picked to continue in goal.

The game started in scrappy fashion, with neither side stamping their authority on proceedings in the opening exchanges.

It was a bit of a midfield battle, but it played to Wednesday’s advantage and they foumd the breakthrough with their first real threatening attack in the 17th-minute.

The Owls have become more of a threat from set-pieces, especially with the arrival of centre-back Rob Jones, and his height played a key role when Michael Morrison’s long throw-in into the Daggers box allowed him to flick the ball into the path of Teale, who made no mistake in giving the visitors the lead.

The Owls looked happy to try and sit back on their lead and the hosts hit back with plenty of possession play but struggled to break through a resolute Wednesday defence.

Chances were few and far between for the hosts, Bas Savage having one good opportunity from a loose ball following a corner from the home side but O’Donnell came racing from his goal to stop the danger.

Daggers skipper Mark Arber had another opportunity from a corner kick but kicked fresh air after totally mis-judging the path of the ball.

The Daggers did have the ball in the back of the net before half-time but saw it chalked off by the referee after he had deemed O’Donnell to be fouled inside the box following a long ball forward by Damien McCrory which rolled over the line.

Half-Time: Daggers 0-1 Wednesdsay

Wednesday will have been keen to find a second goal to put them in command of the game and on course for three points, and they started the second half with attacking intent.

Teale almost connected with a Chris Sedgwick cross a few minutes after the restart but the ball just evaded him.

The Daggers upped their game and enjoyed more of the possession, with Wednesday’s stubborn defence holding out.

When the hosts did find a way through they also found O’Donnell in good form, the youngster saving well to deny Jon Nurse in the 55th minute.

Wednesday struggled to create much in front of goal in the second half but they also looked more than capable of stopping their hosts finding an equaliser.

That was until ten minutes to go when the Daggers, who went into the game on the back of five games without a loss, won a controversial penalty.

The referee adjudged Sedgwick to have handled a Darren Currie-struck shot inside the box and the man in black had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Green stepped up and made no mistake with the spot-kick to get the hosts on level terms.

The Owls almost regained the lead instantly but Tony Roberts made a superb save to deny Potter from long-range.

The Owls also had claims for a penalty of their own but the officials waved away the protests, much to the annoyance of Megson, who was sent to the stands for carrying his protests on too far.

The Owls will have been disappointed not to hold on for maximum points, but the point could well prove a handy one in the battle against the drop.

Full-Time: Daggers 1-1 Wednesday