Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Derby: Hosts clinch third place in League One

Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Derby: Hosts clinch third place in League One on the final day of the season after Michael Smith scores from the penalty spot to halt Derby’s play-off ambitions

• Sheffield Wednesday have beaten Derby County on the final day of the season
• The hosts went ahead on the stroke of half-time through Michael Smith’s penalty
• Derby played the second-half with 10 men after Curtis Davies was sent off

Derby veteran Curtis Davies committed the first-half errors that condemned his team to final day heartbreak and another season in League One.

In what may well be the 38-year-old former Premier League defender’s last game for the club, he conceded a first half penalty and was sent off as the Rams missed out on the play-offs.

Michael Smith’s spot kick did the damage on a frustrating afternoon for the visitors who, as it transpired, would only have needed a draw at Hillsborough to keep Peterborough at bay and finish sixth.

Davies suffered his moment of madness five minutes before the break, with a badly under-hit back-pass which was intercepted by Callum Paterson.

Keeper Joe Wildsmith managed to snuff out that threat only for the ball to break to Marvin Johnson – who was promptly pushed over by Davies.

Sheffield Wednesday’s Michael Smith (left) scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot

Derby defender Curtis Davies (right) was shown a straight red card for his challenge on the stroke of half-time

Davies (left) could have played his last game for the club as Derby missed out on the play-off places

MATCH FACTS AND PLAYER RATINGS

Sheffield Wednesday (3-5-2): Dawson 7; Iorfa 7, Flint 7, Brown 6; Palmer 7 (Hunt 78, 5), Dele-Bashiru 7 (Durrant 84), Vaulks 6, Bannan 8 (Bakinson 78, 5), Johnson 6; M Smith 7 (Windass 64, 6), Paterson 6. 

Subs unused: Glover, Stockdale, James. 

Derby (3-4-2-1): Wildsmith 6; Forsyth 6, Davies 4, Cashin 6; Knight 6 (White 74, 5), Bird 5 (Dobbin 69, 5), Hourihane 7 (Collins 74, 5), Roberts 7; Mendez-Laing 6 (Barkhuizen 69, 5), Sibley 5 (K Smith 44, 5); McGoldrick 8. 

Subs unused: McGee, Rooney. 

Referee: L Doughty 7

It was a nightmare development for the Rams, already under pressure from the news that rivals Peterborough were ahead at Barnsley and in danger of pipping them to the last play-off spot.

To make matters worse, referee Lee Doughty had little choice but to show Davies a straight red for denying the goalscoring chance.

And, after Derby wing-back Haydon Roberts was booked for throwing a water bottle to his keeper, while Smith was waiting to take the spot kick, the Wednesday striker cooly converted.

It left Paul Warne’s team in real danger of seeing their season end in failure to make the top six although veteran David McGoldrick might have levelled in added time.

He took advantage of some poor defending and his 20-yard chip seemed to be floating over Cameron Dawson, only for the Wednesday keeper to stretch and tip it over.

But, despite the last day win, it was little more than a painful reminder for Darren Moore’s team about their late-season collapse that had cost them automatic promotion.

After 34 games, a 23-match unbeaten run had seen the Owls sitting pretty at the top of the table, three points clear of second placed Plymouth and with two games in hand.

But a disastrous run of six games without a win had seen Wednesday overtaken by both Argyle and Ipswich and reduced to the lottery of the play-offs as they ended the regular season.

Sheffield Wednesday were tested during the early exchanges of their clash with Derby

But the hosts rallied in the second-half after Derby were reduced to 10-men at Hillsborough

To his credit, Wednesday boss Moore did not rest any of his players ahead of their play-off semi, against a Derby side with everything to play for.

And when McGoldrick unleashed a brilliant 25-yard shot towards the top corner after 12 minutes it looked as though the visitors were well capable of recording the win they needed.

Dawson’s flying save denied Derby on that occasion but, as news filtered through that Peterborough were leading, the visitors’ hopes were fading – at both Hillsborough and Oakwell.

Max Bird popped up in a promising position before the break but his poorly-aimed cross was intercepted by Dawson, with McGoldrick poised to connect six yards out.

But Davies’s errors soon followed and made sure Derby went into the halftime interval out of the play-off positions and down to ten men.

Wednesday boss Darren Moore (middle) now has to prepare his team for the League One play-offs

The early prognosis was not good for the Rams after the restart, with Barry Bannan setting up Will Vaulks for a tremendous shot from the edge of the area that thundered against the bar.

And, as Wednesday kept the visitors penned in their own area, Bannan himself shot just wide from 25 yards.

There was almost a sensational reprieve for the Rams on a rare break forward, as Nathaniel Mendez-Laing squared for Bird but his shot lacked any power and was cleared off the line by Aden Flint.

But Paterson should have wrapped up the three points when he nodded wide from close range after a good cross from substitute Josh Windass.

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