Nicky Forster's 87th minute goal helped Town to their first double of the season as Sheffield Wednesday were defeated 1-0 at Hillsborough. Forster steered home Jason De Vos's ball across the six-yard box with a 0-0 draw looking certain.

Joe Royle handed Danny Haynes his first start of the season in a three-man attack alongside Nicky Forster and Dean Bowditch. Jim Magilton, making his 300th Town appearance, returned in midfield with Jimmy Juan and Gavin Williams. Richard Naylor was making his 250th league appearance for the Blues.

Town took to the field in an odd-looking combination of their orange away shirts and white and blue shorts, Wednesday's black shorts clashing with the regular away kit.

The first chance of the game fell to Daryl Murphy, the former Waterford United striker who chose to join Sunderland ahead of the Blues in the summer. The Irishman, currently on loan with the Owls, was found by Lee Peacock after a quick break had been held up by Wilnis and Sito. Price saving Murphy's shot down to his right.

Neither side settled quickly and the game developed into a scrappy affair on Hillsborough's craggy pitch with little decent football played. It took until the 20th minute for either team to create another opportunity and that was more down to an error rather than quality.

Sito's backpass to Lewis Price was held up by the pitch, Murphy nipping in ahead of the Town keeper. Price, however, did well to push the Irish U21 international wide and Richard Naylor was able to block his weak shot from a tight angle.

Town's first shot on target came soon after, Gavin Williams hitting a low effort which Nicky Weaver got down to comfortably. Williams became provider within a minute, crossing from the right and Danny Haynes heading to Weaver. As the half entered its final ten minutes, Sito and Fabian Wilnis switched flanks, the Dutchman moving back to his more familiar right-hand side.

Price made another save from Murphy as the half came to a disappointing end, both sets of fans showing their displeasure with boos.

Town had enjoyed more possession than the home side, who had seemed content to sit back and try to catch the Blues on the break, something which hadn't been too far from grabbing them a lead. Once again Town could look back on a 45 minutes when their strikers had been given very few opportunities.

Darren Currie was introduced for the second half in place of Danny Haynes, the former Brighton man moving to a wide left role.

Currie's first corner almost led to a goal, the ball being cleared out to Sito, whose shot was blocked. The ball fell to Jimmy Juan, whose effort also struck a defender, the same fate meeting a subsequent Richard Naylor strike.

Naylor headed a Magilton cross wide in the 58th minute, prior to Dean Bowditch creating a good chance for Nicky Forster when seizing on hesitancy in the Wednesday defence. Forster took the ball in from the left and shot from a tight angle, Weaver saving with Bowditch clearly unhappy that the former Reading man hadn't cut the ball back to him six yards out in a better position.

Forster got his name in the book in the 65th minute after failing to give up the ball after a freekick was awarded against him. Town made their second substitution while the Owls waited to take the kick, Matt Richards replacing Dean Bowditch and making his 100th league appearance.

The change signalled a major swap around in the Town ranks, Richards going to left-back, Sito to the right, Wilnis to centre-back and Richard Naylor up front. A minute later Ian Westlake took over from Jim Magilton in midfield.

Town seemed to take a little while to settle after the changes and Graham Coughlan came close to heading a goal from a corner, Sito mis-hitting a clearance off the line and Price punching to safety.

A minute later, Peacock managed to miss a gilt-edged chance, putting a cross from the left wide when hitting the target seemed a formality. Unhappy Town fans immediately started calling for Joe Royle to "sort it out".

The Blues started to regain their composure and weren't far from going ahead when Forster flicked a Currie freekick just over the bar. On 75 Sito went high and wide from a tight angle on the right after one of the game's better moves culminated with Matt Richards cross from the left.

Currie shot wide from 25 yards shortly after Richard Naylor had switched back to the defence as the Blues continued with Forster the only man up front.

With the game looking destined to be the 0-0 draw that probably reflected the quality produced by both sides, Town scored. Gavin Williams sent the ball back in after a corner from the left and found Jason De Vos. The Canadian might have had a shot himself but played the ball across the six-yard box to Nicky Forster who netted his third goal of the season, his first away from home.

There were few scares in the final minutes as Town sat back on a lead they probably deserved on the balance of play. It wasn't so much that the Blues had played well, more that they were least bad on the day, Wednesday by some distance the worst side Town have played this season.

The game was scrappy throughout and wasn't helped by the very poor pitch. Town passed the ball around well in short patches but never really took hold of the game against opposition who rarely kept possession at any stage of the game. As so often this season, few chances were created, but fortunately on this occasion Nicky Forster was on hand to make one of them count.

A couple of individual errors at the back might have led to a different result but Lewis Price put in a man of the match display in goal to repel anything the Owls threw at him.

Town: Price, Sito, Wilnis, Naylor, De Vos, Magilton (Westlake 66), Juan, Williams, Bowditch (Richards 65), Forster, Haynes (Currie 46). Unused: Supple, Garvan.

Photo: Action Images

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