Fed up fans leave as inept Owls throw it away: MATCH ACTION SLIDESHOW

Yes, so strong was the suspicion that the Owls were very unlikely to get back in the game.

Talk about anti-climax.

They had won against Hull and Norwich, then fought back at Watford despite letting in two early goals and on general play deserved a point at Vicarage Road against the leaders.

But there was never much sign that they were going to do the same against Leicester.

The Watford match was more open as the Hornets were attack-minded, which in turn gave the Owls opportunities to exploit spaces.

Leicester, like Watford, profited from poor work by Wednesday in their own box, but then, as an away side fielding a 5-3-2 system, the Foxes had the perfect set-up to shut the Owls out and look to attack on the break.

Owls boss Brian Laws could have done with the pace of Wade Small or Jermaine Johnson, whether from the start or from the bench, and maybe the attacking runs of Frankie Simek to increase penetration down the flanks.

He had only Etienne Esajas, and this was not a day when creative players flourished.

Wednesday passed the ball nicely and patiently at times - with Graham Kavanagh a noticeable midfield general in the first half - but hardly ever got down the flanks or in behind the visitors' defence, whether that was down to tracking and tackling by markers or the winning of headers by three big centre-backs.

The Owls did not make a clear-cut chance until the 77th minute.

Letting in two early, soft goals against a side who are so hard to break down was Wednesday's undoing.

The game was won and lost in those first 14 minutes.

For the first one, Wednesday committed the crime of allowing an opponent a free header from a corner only four yards from goal.

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Lee Bullen unwittingly let Gareth McAuley get goalside of him at the far post, Lee Grant did not come for the cross either, and McAuley was in the middle of a triangle of three defenders, Bullen, Richard Hinds and Michael Johnson, when he got in a downward header that squeezed between Peter Gilbert and the post.

From the near-post corner that brought the second goal, Grant did come for it, missed with his intended punch but knocked the ball against Akpo Sodje, and it bounced off the striker and into the net.

The path of the ball into the net was hard to follow for the naked eye, and it was difficult to tell at the time whether or not a Leicester player had got a touch.

Foxes manager Gary Megson said afterwards that all three of his centre-backs were claiming the goal! But slow-motion replays confirmed it was an own goal, albeit one that Sodje could do nothing about.

Grant will hope to regain quickly the improved form that he had been showing in recent games in his fight to be seen as No 1 in the competition with fellow summer signing Rob Burch.

Laws had to admit: "The two goalkeepers have not done as well as we expected. It's a team effort; it's all about helping each other.