Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Charlton Athletic: Steven Fletcher winner ends Owls' Hillsborough drought
- Published
Steven Fletcher's header was Sheffield Wednesday's first goal at Hillsborough since 29 December
Steven Fletcher's last-gasp winner ended Sheffield Wednesday's near two-month Hillsborough goal drought and deepened Charlton's relegation worries.
Fletcher nodded the ball home from close range in the fifth minute of stoppage time to end Charlton's resistance and earn the Owls a first win in eight Championship attempts.
It had seemed the heroics of keeper Dillon Phillips would earn the struggling Addicks a point as he denied Fernando Forestieri and Fletcher on multiple occasions.
But, after Lyle Taylor hit the bar from 25 yards for Charlton, Fletcher popped up to leave the 18th-placed visitors just two points above the bottom three after Wigan's win at Reading.
Wednesday had not scored at home since 29 December, when Tom Lees netted in a 2-1 defeat by Cardiff, a dry spell that had contributed to a run of seven games without a win and all but ended any play-off hopes.
But with the Owls' Hillsborough drought nearing nine hours of football, top scorer Fletcher came off the bench to nod home his 13th league goal of the season after Lees flicked on a free-kick, that the visitors were convinced should not have been awarded.
The victory will have eased pressure on Wednesday boss Garry Monk, whose side sat third at Christmas but dropped well out of promotion contention after a run of six points from a possible 33.
They were fully deserving of the win, having peppered Phillips' goal throughout but it seemed the keeper, who tipped a Fletcher header wide with the pick of his saves, would deny them.
Charlton had their own chances in the second half with Lees blocking Taylor's goalbound close-range effort shortly after the Addicks' top scorer struck the woodwork from distance.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Garry Monk told BBC Radio Sheffield:
"It was a deserved win and you're thinking with a few seconds to go 'what more could we have done' - the ball just didn't want to go in.
"After the first 10 minutes, we controlled the whole game and created numerous opportunities - how they didn't go in the net [I don't know].
"But we kept going, pushed right to the end and got the win."
Charlton boss Lee Bowyer: "I'm disappointed, frustrated and angry. My players gave absolutely everything and they didn't deserve not to come away with anything.
"It wasn't a foul for their goal. One hundred percent, it wasn't a foul. I spoke to the ref and he said, 'It's because your player's sandwiched him'. A six foot seven striker has got sandwiched.
"I'm sure it's still a contact sport and there was minimal contact. He gave a foul and it was never a foul. It's becoming a non-contact sport now. That's the way it's going, anyway.
"It's wrong because we deserved to come away with a point."