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

Nothing is ever straight forward with Sheffield Wednesday. Darren Moore's team made a blistering start against bottom club Crewe Alexandra and should have been out of sight in the opening half an hour.

Chance after chance went begging. Striker Saido Berahino somehow fired over with the goal at his mercy after great work from Barry Bannan and Jack Hunt.

But it was not just Berahino. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing and Lee Gregory were also wasteful in front of goal as the hosts let already relegated Crewe off the hook under the lights at Hillsborough.

Sheffield Wednesday's remarkable record against League One rivals bodes well in promotion chase

Moore fielded an attack-minded team, handing recalls to Mendez-Laing and Callum Paterson. He deployed Paterson in the advanced midfield role and asked Barry Bannan to play deeper.

They dominated possession and territory. Their finishing, though, was inexplicably poor.

It took Wednesday until the 54th minute to break the deadlock. Bannan threaded a lovely pass down the left for Mendez-Laing, who was upended in the penalty area by Scott Kashket. It was a stonewall penalty. Mendez-Laing terrorised the visitors throughout with his pace and power.

Gregory stepped up to coolly slot the spot-kick past Dave Richards. The Owls' top-scorer sent the Crewe goalkeeper the wrong way to claim his 12th goal of the season.

But too often Wednesday lacked composure and quality in the final third. Richards was not overly worked in the Crewe goal.

Yet the Owls got the job done. The three points were all that mattered in the battle for promotion. The result sees Wednesday move up to fourth with three matches left of the regular league season.

Their fate is in their own hands. Could they make a late charge for