Tommy Smith and Paul Green were on target as Town ended their season with a 2-1 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday. Smith stabbed home from close range in the 37th minute, Kieran Lee equalised for the visitors 10 minutes after the break but Green nodded in Stephen Hunt’s freekick in the 67th minute.
Anthony Wordsworth and Frank Nouble came into an otherwise unchanged starting XI for Hunt, who dropped to the bench, and the injured Cole Skuse.
Skipper Luke Chambers, Christophe Berra and Smith lined-up in a three-man central defence with Aaron Cresswell as the left wing-back and Frazer Richardson on the right.
Jonny Williams was between central midfielders Wordsworth and Green and strikers Nouble and Daryl Murphy. Former Blues academy scholar Caolan Lavery started for the Owls.
Wednesday had the better of a rather understated for 10 minutes but two blocked Michail Antonio shots were the nearest they came to testing Town keeper Dean Gerken. On 12 on-loan Chelsea man Sam Hutchinson headed wide from a corner.
Town began to get more into it and on 17 Green fed Williams inside the area, but the Wales international was solidly challenged by Glenn Loovens as he looked to shoot. Moments later, Atdhe Nuhiu nodded wide for the visitors from a cross from the right.
After cutting out a Wednesday break just outside his own area, Green broke forward before playing Nouble into space on the left. The striker took the ball into the Owls box but Hutchinson got back to tackle as he tried to cut inside.
Lavery, who turned down the offer of a pro contract with the Blues after his scholarship, saw an effort blocked, as did Antonio.
Richardson had a decent chance in the 35th minute after Williams had taken a freekick quickly to Nouble on the left. The striker over-hit his cross but the ball fell perfectly for Richardson, however, the on-loan Boro man screwed his volley well wide. Soon after Owls defender Oguchi Onyewu was booked for a foul on Williams.
On 37 Williams started the move which led to Town taking the lead. The on-loan Palace man crossed from the left, the ball falling to Smith, who stabbed it back to Wordsworth, who left it for Green on the edge of the box.
The Leeds loanee found Murphy on the right of the box and the Irish striker curled a shot which Owls keeper Damian Martinez could only palm out to Smith, who stabbed home his sixth goal of the season.
Hutchinson just got in ahead of Nouble to nod back to Martinez as the Blues frontman chased a ball down the middle on 38 as Town went looking for a second.
Within a minute Murphy was within a whisker of adding his 14th goal of the season when he cut in from the right and hit a shot which beat Martinez but struck the post.
In the final scheduled minute of the half Gerken did well to get across to his right to save Lavery’s shot from the edge of the box, then from the resultant corner made an even better stop. Oguchi Onyewu headed down Chris Maguire’s corner from the left and Gerken reacted superbly to block Antonio’s goalbound effort from close range.
The referee’s whistle followed soon afterwards to end a half which had taken a while to get going with neither keeper having to make a save until Martinez’s stop from Murphy which led to Smith’s goal.
Town had the better of it from there with Murphy unfortunate not to add to his total for the season, while only an excellent late save from Gerken prevented the visitors from getting back on terms.
Six minutes after the restart Murphy went close again, diverting Cresswell’s powerful left-wing cross over at the near post.
Nuhiu headed over from a right-wing cross on 53, but two minutes later the Owls were on terms. Joe Mattock crossed low from the left, Lavery miskicked his shot on the edge of the six-yard box, but the ball fell kindly for Lee, who hit a low effort across Gerken and into the corner of the net for his first ever Wednesday goal.
Gerken saved Maguire’s low strike with Wednesday having been on top since their goal. On the hour, Smith was booked for a foul on Giles Coke.
Town switched Smith and Williams — warmly applauded off in the final game of his loan spell from Crystal Palace — for Paul Taylor and Stephen Hunt in the 63rd minute. The Blues were by now in a flat back four with a three-man attack.
A minute later, sub Hunt, who is out of contract and is yet to be offered new terms, created the Blues’ second goal.
The winger whipped over a freekick from the right and an unmarked Green — also yet to be offered a deal for next year with his contract at parent club Leeds up this summer — nodded home the second goal of his loan spell, the previous one having come in Town’s last home game.
Maguire shot wide from distance for the Owls, then Martinez punched away another Hunt freekick from the right which was just too far in front of Murphy. Wednesday subsequently broke but Antonio scuffed weakly wide.
Owls sub Maghoma shot low from 20 yards in the 83rd minute, then moments later Nouble was harshly penalised when he caught Onyewu in possession midway inside the Wednesday half.
On 86, much to the delight of the Sir Bobby Robson Stand who had been chanting his name to the tune of a well-known rugby anthem for much of the half, young striker Jack Marriott, recently returned from his successful loan spell at Woking, replaced Nouble.
Neither side threatened in the closing stages and the final whistle confirmed three points for Town on the final day of the season.
While the game lacked the intensity of a match with something riding on it, after a slow start it had its moments and Town deserved the win.
The victory and results elsewhere see the Blues end the campaign in ninth on 68 points, four points from sixth. A late winner grabbed the final play-off place for Brighton at Nottingham Forest, while Birmingham netted a last-gasp equaliser to draw 2-2 at Bolton and climb above Doncaster, who took the final relegation spot.
Town: Gerken, Chambers (c), Smith (Taylor 63), Berra, Cresswell, Richardson, Green, Wordsworth, Nouble (Marriott 86), Williams (Hunt 63), Murphy. Unused: Loach, Mings, Tabb, Henshall.
Sheffield Wednesday: Martinez, Mattock (Helan 75), Onyewu, Loovens, Lee, Coke (Maghoma 80), Hutchinson, Maguire, Lavery, Antonio, Nuhiu (Best 61). Unused: Kirkland, McCabe, Llera, Stobbs. Referee: Carl Boyeson (East Yorkshire). Att: 20,862 (Wednesday: 2,080).