Derby County kept up their bid for the play-offs with a 2-1 victory over relegated Sheffield Wednesday, a result that extended the Owls' winless run to 30 matches at Pride Park. Ben Brereton Diaz opened the scoring early on, former Derby loanee Jerry Yates equalised, and Matt Clarke's glancing header on the stroke of half-time ultimately proved decisive.
The win pulls Derby to within three points of the play-offs, with sixth-placed Wrexham in FA Cup action this weekend, while Wednesday slipped to a 13th straight league defeat. The result also means the visitors become only the fifth team in Football League history to go 30 or more consecutive games without a win, joining Crewe, Cambridge, Derby and Macclesfield.
Fast Start from Derby, Spirited Response from Wednesday
There was some early encouragement for the 3,000 Wednesday fans packed into a corner of Pride Park as their team started brightly, but it was Derby who struck first in the 11th minute. Rhian Brewster's lovely pass sent Brereton Diaz through and the Chile forward made no mistake with a low finish past Pierce Charles.