Sheffield Wednesday 1-2 Norwich City: Canaries go 10 points clear at top of Championship
- Published
Teemu Pukki's goal was his 50th in the Championship in 75 appearances in the second tier
Norwich City came from a goal down to beat struggling Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough and go 10 points clear at the top of the Championship.
Jordan Rhodes gave Wednesday a surprise early lead from six yards against his former club after Barry Bannan's free-kick was blocked by the wall and Joey Pelupessy's follow-up strike was not properly cleared.
Teemu Pukki blasted Norwich level from eight yards after an hour as good build-up play set up the prolific Finn to strike into the top corner.
Todd Cantwell secured an eighth successive win for the Canaries 16 minutes later as he curled in a fine effort from inside the box.
Wednesday have now lost seven successive games and remain second-from-bottom of the Championship, seven points from safety with 11 games left to play.
Having hardly touched the ball in the opening minutes of the game, the Owls found themselves ahead when Josh Windass was brought down on the edge of the box by Ben Gibson and Rhodes reacted quickest from the free-kick for his fourth goal of the season.
Norwich almost handed Wednesday a second goal when Gibson's mistake allowed Adam Reach the chance to shoot from the edge of the box, but his low effort was straight at Tim Krul.
Darren Moore's Owls looked dangerous on the break throughout the first half, but having grown in confidence they were almost undone when Emiliano Buendia fed Pukki, but the Finnish striker's shot from 10 yards was well-blocked by Tom Lees.
But Norwich started the second half well and they were rewarded for their patience in possession when Buendia and Oliver Skipp's interplay combined to put Pukki through for his 50th Championship goal for the Canaries.
Having seen substitute Kieran Dowell and Pukki put good efforts wide soon after the equaliser, Buendia was also at the heart of Norwich's second goal.
The Argentine midfielder strongly won the ball off Windass in midfield before sending a well-weighted pass to Cantwell who skipped past Liam Palmer before firing home.
The defeat puts more pressure on new Wednesday boss Moore, who has been unable to arrest his side's decline in his three games in charge.
The Owls have a game in hand on Birmingham City who occupy the place immediately above the drop zone, but Rotherham - who are in the last relegation place - have played three fewer games than Moore's side and four fewer than Blues.
Meanwhile, Daniel Farke knows his side have a big margin of error at the top of the Championship with 10 games to play as they aim for an immediate return to the Premier League after relegation last season.
Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore:
"I said to the players that they went toe-to-toe with the league leaders today. We started the game on the front foot, and I thought we gave as good as Norwich gave in the first half.
"I thought the boys were detailed in their first-half work and we pinned them back and scored the all-important goal.
"Norwich put us on the back foot in the second half and kept us penned in. They had two bits of play and two excellent finishes from two top players. We could have worked up the pitch more and we failed to see that.
"They are where they are because of the players they have. We need a win to get the momentum going."
Norwich City head coach Daniel Farke:
"It was the best win of the season. It's a spotlight game and it's the type of game you want to win.
"It was a difficult game against a highly motivated side. They led after a few moments and they have many experienced players.
"To respond in the manner we did was amazing. It's up to the players to deliver on the pitch and they wanted to turn this game around with their concentration, tactical discipline, commitment and spirit. It's a really proud day.
"It's a massive win today. We showed energy and a strong mentality. It was a hard-fought win."