Wednesday continued our push for the play-offs with a convincing 3-0 win over Birmingham in front of more than 28.500 fans at Hillsborough today.
A scrambled Fernando Forestieri effort and a strike from Kieran Lee within two minutes of each other gave us a two-goal lead which was fully deserved as we totally dominated the opening 45 minutes.
And if Forestieri’s first goal was scrappy then his second, soon after the interval, was top drawer as he cut inside before curling an unstoppable shot into the far corner from the edge of the box.
Birmingham then had a 10-minute spell of pressure but Wednesday weathered the brief revival to register back-to-back home wins, scoring seven goals and conceding just one in the process.
Victory also looked to have taken us into the play-off places before Ipswich scored a late winner against QPR to stay a point clear in sixth spot
Carlos Carvalhal said: “I was pleased with all the players and it was a fantastic afternoon for us.”
He said Keiren Westwood had failed a late fitness text while Lucas Joao was not fully fit, hence he was only on the bench, but added that he should be ready to return at Middlesbrough on Monday.
In addition, Carvalhal will be hoping Sam Hutchinson shrugs off a knock which saw him taken off near the end of the Birmingham win.
Boro go into the game fully rested after their scheduled match at Blackburn today was postponed while Wednesday have only 48 hours to recover for the televised clash.
Carvalhal said no player can fully recover to play again in two days and that there will be a massive gap between us and Middlesbrough in terms of fitness for the game.
The home side, who lost top spot to Derby today, will be missing suspended striker David Nugent.