Wednesday moved back up to fourth in the division one table after a deserved 2-0 win at Bolton this afternoon.
The victory takes us onto 10 points from five games, three points behind leaders Ipswich, and was an important ‘bounce back’ after the disappointment of the midweek defeat at Peterborough.
The game revolved around a five-minute spell in the first half with Bolton missing a great chance to take the lead before Wednesday struck almost immediately with goals from George Byers and then Liam Palmer, the latter scoring his fifth goal for the club on his 350th appearance to put us firmly in charge.
Bolton looked lively early on before Lee Gregory headed just over in our first goal threat on 16 minutes.
Michael Ihiekwe came to the rescue at the other end, blocking an effort from Conor Bradley inside the box after a dangerous run from the Bolton man.
Bradley then missed that excellent opportunity to put the home side in front after 34 minutes when he intercepted a poor ball in midfield from Tyreeq Bakinson, bore down on goal but shot wide in a one-on-one with David Stockdale.
It was a bad miss and Bolton paid for it with Wednesday delivering a quickfire double.
A misplaced backpass from Ricardo Santos on 37 minutes was kicked off the line by keeper Trafford but Barry Bannan seized on the loose ball and, after combining with Marvin Johnson, then picked out Byers in the box, the midfielder slotting the ball home from eight yards out.
Byers, who reacted angrily to being subbed at Peterborough, then ran the length of the pitch to celebrate with the near 5,000 Wednesday fans at the other end of the ground.
And two minutes later it was 2-0 to the Owls, Josh Windass finding Palmer in space on the right-hand side and the defender calmly firing across Trafford into the far corner of the net to celebrate his special day in style.
Wednesday should have increased our lead soon after half time, Windass firing over an open goal from inside the six-yard box after an excellent move involving Gregory, Palmer and then Byers,
However, Bolton failed to have any large periods of pressure in the second half, Stockdale saving from Jack Iredale’s 20-yard free kick in a rare threat from the home side.
By and large, Wednesday played with improved discipline and concentration to see the game out and we went close again 10 minutes from time when Bakinson set sub Dennis Adeniran clear but his heavy touch allowed Trafford to smother the effort.
Stockdale, Palmer, Iorfa, Ihiekwe, McGuinness, Johnson, Bakinson, Byers, Bannan (Vaulks 90), Windass (Adeniran 83), Gregory. Unused subs: Dawson, Brown, Heneghan, Dele-Bashiru, Paterson. Att: 22,023 (4,754 Wednesdayites).