Patrick Bamford’s unstoppable angled effort with 12 minutes left saw Wednesday slip to a second successive home defeat in a week … this time at the hands of promotion-chasing Derby.
However, the much-changed Owls could count themselves unfortunate not to get at least a point from a game which saw few shots on target but with Wednesday looking the more likely to break the deadlock.
Loanees Leon Best and Gary Gardner both began the game, with fellow loan player Sam Hutchinson replacing Gardner on the hour, while Glenn Loovens, Michail Antonio and Giles Coke all returned to the starting line-up as Stuart Gray shuffled the pack.
Loovens saw an early header cleared off the line by Craig Bryson but it was the lively Antonio who posed the biggest threat as he forced three good saves from ex-Owl Lee Grant after the break, before Bamford struck with his spectacular effort to grab all three points for the Rams.
With so many changes in the side, it was not surprising that Wednesday lacked the cohesion of recent weeks but, despite the defeat, we remain in 17th place in the division, nine points clear of the drop zone.