Sheffield Wednesday discover promotion secret which Rotherham and MK Dons have forgotten

It was not a classic by any stretch of the imagination. But Sheffield Wednesday won ugly at Hillsborough last night, seeing off already relegated Crewe Alexandra 1-0 after a second half penalty from Lee Gregory.

The Owls' top-scorer made no mistake from 12 yards after Nathaniel Mendez-Laing had been upended by Scott Kashket. Victory nudged Wednesday back into the play-off positions and kept alive their automatic promotion hopes with three matches left.

The margin of the win should have been far greater but the Owls missed a string of gilt-edged opportunities in a one-sided contest. Wednesday registered 18 shots compared to the visitors one. Here are five talking points after the League One tussle.

Sheffield Wednesday pile pressure on promotion rivals with hard-fought Crewe Alexandra win

Jordan Storey was the only recognised centre half in Moore's three-man defence. The Owls chief sprang a surprise by fielding Marvin Johnson at left centre back and leaving Chey Dunkley and Lewis Gibson on the bench. Liam Palmer moved to the right and Storey lined up at the heart of their rearguard.

Injuries to Harlee Dean, Sam Hutchinson and Dominic Iorfa forced Moore's hand to some extend. "I just thought the way they played we'd get a lot of joy on the left-hand side and we'd be able to step out both sides and dominate the ball and stop their counter-attacks, which was the case," said Moore.. "We had the natural balance with Marvin (Johnson) a left-footer and Liam (Palmer) a right-footer.

"We'll see how Chey, how Harlee (Dean) and Sam Hutchinson are, and Lewis Gibson was on the bench. If we can have them back we'll get a wider selection but tonight I just wanted one out-and-out centre-backs and two runners alongside them.

"The game