Peterborough on verge of playoff final after thrashing Sheffield Wednesday

Peterborough have one foot in the League One playoff final at Wembley after they eased past Sheffield Wednesday 4-0 at the Weston Homes Stadium. Goals from Jack Taylor, Joe Ward, Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris sent the home fans into hysteria ahead of Thursday’s return leg at Hillsborough.

The home side – who saw Darren Ferguson return for a fourth stint as manager at the start of the year – were delirious after sealing the last playoff spot as they leapfrogged Derby on the final day and they are in dreamland once again after blowing the visitors away in the first leg. It could be another fairytale finish to the season for Ferguson who has steered the club to the Championship on three separate occasions as well as a League Two promotion.

Darren Moore’s Sheffield Wednesday were gutted to only be in the playoffs after securing a club record 96-point haul. They now hold the unwanted record of the highest points total ever to miss out on automatic promotion in the Football League – a dismal run of just four points from a possible 24 heading towards the run-in costing them dearly.

Wednesday, who missed out on a return to the Championship after playoff heartache to Sunderland last season, were the architects of their own downfall once again.

They had the first real chance of the encounter as Michael Smith got in behind but Will Norris came out on top with a good save.

A mistake from the visiting goalkeeper Cameron Dawson opened the floodgates for free-flowing Posh. A poor clearance fell to Taylor, who fired in a shot that inexplicably crept under Dawson in the 20th minute.

Things went from bad to worse as a stroke of fortune doubled the hosts’ lead 16 minutes later. A well-struck effort from Wardwas flying wide before it