Wednesday 0-1 Derby County

Patrick Bamford’s superb strike 12 minutes from time gave in-form Derby all three points against Wednesday at Hillsborough on Tuesday night.

Bamford’s strike gave Owls goalkeeper Chris Kirkland no chance to win what was a closely contest match and leave Wednesday with back-to-back Championship defeats.

The hosts weren’t short on chances with former goalkeeper Lee Grant making a number of good saves, mainly to deny Michail Antonio, but those chances were missed and Stuart Gray’s men were made to pay.

Gray gave debuts to recent loan additions Leon Best and Gary Gardner, while Sam Hutchinson, another loanee from Chelsea, made his first appearance in the second half.

The game was tight in the first-half, with the Owls looking to bounce back from defeat against Wigan Athletic last time out and the Rams looking to continue their push for a top-two place.

Glenn Loovens came closest for the hosts when he saw his header cleared off the line and at the other end Kirkland comfortably dealt with a Will Hughes effort.

There were more clear-cut chances in the second half and, encouragingly, they fell to the Owls. Antonio had a good chance early on but Grant did well to deny the Owls winger and Antonio was to be denied twice more before full-time.

Chris Maguire also came close before Gray threw Hutchinson on for his debut and brought Benik Afobe into the fray with 20 minutes left to try and push for the opener.

It didn’t come and Derby capitalised, with Bamford’s brilliant strike sending Derby back down the M1 with all three points and leave the Owls with nothing to show for their efforts again.

Owls: Kirkland, Palmer, Loovens, Llera, Mattock, Antonio, Lee (Helan 45), Gardner (Hutchinson 61), Coke, Maguire, Best (Afobe 70)

Derby: Grant, Forsyth, Bryson (Hendrick 54), Keogh, Martin, Ward, Eustace (Sammon 76), Hughes, Buxton, Wisdom, Bamford.