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Railway squad back on track: MATCH REPORT AND SLIDESHOW
CRYSTAL PALACE 1 v SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 1: INCHES were all that separated both Wednesday and Palace from victory on Saturday.
The line between success and failure is often thin; it does not come much narrower than this.
If Jermaine Johnson's shot had been a fraction lower and not clipped the top of the bar ... if either of two Palace players had got a touch to a low ball as it whizzed across the face of the Owls' goal in stoppage time ...
Those are the sort of moments on which both teams will reflect and will conclude, with justification: "We could have won it."
Most importantly for Wednesday, they achieved their objective of stopping the rot after three consecutive defeats.
It was a workmanlike performance, achieved with a good degree of organisation and balance, sprinkled with bits of quality - notably their goal from Leon Clarke, and two important saves from Lee Grant.
The Owls were much more solid than in their previous two away matches, the defeats at Barnsley and Birmingham.
And after bossing the last home contest, against Plymouth, without reward, they showed confidence and resolve in the way they set about a potentially awkward test at Selhurst Park.
As at Birmingham, Leon Clarke looked reasonably at home as a lone striker in the 4-5-1 formation that has become a familiar feature of away games.
Wednesday took the lead and the initiative. A crossfield ball by Steve Watson was controlled by Lewis Buxton as he made a forward run, the right-back checked inside on his left foot and delivered a firm ball to the near post. Sean McAllister knocked it back to Clarke, and the striker struck a sweet shot.
In awful conditions, the first half did not generally set the pulse racing. Wednesday were disciplined.
Grant did not have a save to make until the 45th minut. It was a typical one from him, as he got down smartly to push away a shot by Shefki Kuqi from the edge of the box.
Laws suspected, rightly, that Neil Warnock's half-time talk would have an effect on Palace.
Warnock commented afterwards: "At half-time I told them (Palace) to relax and enjoy themselves. They were playing with fear and made Wednesday look like Real Madrid."
The ex-Blades manager reckoned that a tip from him steered Wednesday towards their rail travel to this game. Laws confirmed: "The last time we played here, Neil asked if we'd come by train."
But the decision to switch last week came purely via an initiative from the players, and they were on the right lines up to half-time.
With Palace upping their efforts early in the second half, Wednesday came under pressure, and Kuqi used his considerable strength to turn with Mark Beevers at his back and extract a penalty out of a tight situation.
But as well as coping pretty competently with what the Eagles threw at them, Wednesday chould have gone back in front only three minutes after the equaliser.
A good run by Etienne Esajas ended up with a ball breaking to Clarke who shot well wide when he might have hit the target.
The return of James O'Connor was an aid towards the Owls' being a sound unit, with that midfield threesome of him, Sean McAllister and Steve Watson.
Marcus Tudgay, Mr Versatile, made a surprisingly early return and did jobs on the left side (first half) and right (second half), with Esajas too swapping flanks and trying to make the most of a second chance, having been criticised by Laws after the Plymouth defeat.
Laws switched from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 in the 70th minute.
Johnson, coming inside on his right foot and skating past two defeats, unleashed the spectacular shot that went behind off the top of the bar.
But 10 minutes before that, Owls fans were grateful for the same kind of wastefulness in front of goal that Kuqi sometimes used to show when he was at Hillsborough.
This time he put one effort over the top and another wide.
Johnson struck another powerful drive that was a bit further away than his earlier one;. A minute after that, sub Sean Scannell looked liked scoring but was defied by a block from Grant, with the keeper showing the high standards that we have come to expect of him.
In the last of five minutes of stoppage time, Oster's fast, low ball across the box was an invitation to score. Ben Watson and Calvin Andrew both slid in, both missed it.
A Palace winner at that stage would have been a real sickener for Wednesday and not what they deserved.
CLICK ON GREEN PLAY BUTTON ABOVE TO SEE MATCH PICTURES
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Owls Watch 08-09 - The Season So Far
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Weather for Sheffield
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 9 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: East
