Wednesday 2-1 Yeovil

Wednesday came from behind to beat Yeovil and move back into the automatic promotion spots in npower League One at a chilly Hillsborough.

Jonathan Obika gave Gary Johnson’s struggling side a shock first-half lead before second-half strikes from Jermaine Johnson and Reda Johnson led the Owls to three massive points in the race for promotion.

Huddersfield Town’s draw against MK Dons and the fact Sheffield United, as well as many other sides in League One, saw their game postponed due to the cold snap, meant Gary Megson’s men could take full advantage to move second – and they did just that.

Loan signing John Bostock made his full debut for the Owls at Hillsborough and wing wizard Johnson returned to the starting eleven following the midweek draw at MK Dons.

The Owls would have been most people’s bet for a win on any betting coupon but Yeovil came and more than matched Wednesday in the opening exchanges.

Chances were few and far between in chilly conditions and the first real chance came after 18 minutes through Bostock. Jon Otsemobor was fouled on the edge of the box and the on-loan Spurs man saw his resulting free-kick skim the netting.

The chance opened the game up somewhat and the visitors went down the other end to carve out a first chance of their end. Dean Parrett was the man with the chance but David Prutton was well-positioned to block his effort.

It was Yeovil’s best moment of the match up until that point but their best was yet to come.

The Owls were left shocked going into half-time as Johnson’s men snatched the lead four minutes before the interval. Gavin Williams provided Obika with the chance to produce a cool finish and give the visitors a slender half-time advantage.

Half-Time: Wednesday 0-0 Yeovil

The Owls started the second half with attacking intent and Gary Madine, who was having a relatively quiet game, sent an early effort just wide of Sam Walker’s goal.

It didn’t take long for Megson to make changes to his side and both Ryan Lowe and Lewis Buxton were introduced in place of Madine and Otsemobor respectively.

The changes almost worked instantly when Lowe found the ball inside the box but Walker got down to save his low effort and keep his side in front.

Lowe, however, continued to look lively in attack and added an extra dimension to Wednesday’s attacking play.

Wednesday were having the best of the second half play and they were rewarded on 57 minutes. Jermaine Johnson picked up the ball at the edge of the box and let fly with an unstoppable effort that flew into the top corner in front of the Kop.

It lifted the hosts and Reda Johnson almost turned the game on its head but his header went wide from a dangerous Bostock cross as the pressure started to build on the Yeovil goal.

O’Grady and Lowe also saw good chances come and go for the hosts but the winner wasn’t far away and it was Reda Johnson who got it to make it a Johnson double. Walker did brilliantly to deny substitute Clinton Morrison’s initial effort but he could do nothing to stop Reda’s follow-up.

In typically Wednesday fashion, it was a tense final few minutes with Yeovil creating a couple of good opportunities late on, but the Owls hung on for three big points.

Wednesday: Bywater, Otsemobor (Buxton 53), Llera, Batth, R Johnson, Bostock, Semedo, Prutton, J Johnson, O’Grady (Morrison 68), Madine (Lowe 53). Unused substitutes: O’Donnell, Lines.

Yeovil: Walker, Ayling, N’Gala, A Williams, Upson, G Williams, Dickson, Edwards, Parrett (Haynes-Brown 76), Hinds, Obika. Unused substitutes: Stewart, Jones, MacLean, Agard.