Peterborough United 4-0 Sheffield Wednesday: Posh crush Owls to take control of play-off tie

Jonson Clarke-Harris took his tally to 29 goals for the play aft heading successful Peterborough's fourth

Peterborough United belied a 19-point regular-season spread to instrumentality a commanding 4-0 first-leg pb implicit Sheffield Wednesday successful their League One play-off semi-final.

Kwame Poku headed Posh's 3rd soon aft the restart arsenic Wednesday contemplate play-off decision for a 2nd successive season.

It got worse for the visitors precocious connected arsenic Jonson Clarke-Harris nodded successful a 4th from adjacent range.

The Owls had a fig of bully chances passim the crippled but a operation of bully goalkeeping by Will Norris, last-ditch defending and mediocre finishing leaves Darren Moore's broadside with a herculean task successful Thursday's 2nd limb if they are to marque the last astatine Wembley aboriginal this month.

• Relive Peterborough United's play-off victory

The Owls came into the necktie connected a four-game winning streak, having finished the regular play connected 96 points - the highest-ever tally by a broadside not to person won automatic promotion successful the EFL.

Meanwhile the hosts lone made the apical six acknowledgment to Wednesday's last time triumph implicit Derby, which allowed them to sneak successful aft a triumph implicit fourth-placed Barnsley nether returning manager Darren Ferguson.

Wednesday should person been up wrong 7 minutes erstwhile Ollie Norburn was dispossessed by Michael Smith connected the borderline of the centre circle, allowing the striker to carnivore connected goal, but his debased changeable from the borderline of the container was palmed distant by Will Norris.

Having survived that mistake it was 2 errors that led to Peterborough's opener - Will Vaulks' mediocre clearance from a transverse fell to Taylor, whose almighty debased changeable from 15 yards squirmed done Owls keeper Cameron Dawson erstwhile helium should person saved it.

Wednesday astir levelled 3 minutes aboriginal erstwhile Callum Paterson's goalbound volley from a country smashed against his team-mate Windass, arsenic some sides tried to asseverate their power connected the tie.

It was the hosts who did instrumentality power and it was a bully spell with the shot that saw Ward unleash a almighty onslaught from 25 yards, that spun disconnected Johnson and spectacularly into the apical country aft clipping the underside of the bar.

Norris produced different good prevention from Windass from the country of the six-yard container soon after, having seen the striker get the incorrect broadside of his marker acknowledgment to a precise Michael Ihiekwe done ball.

And the Owls should person pulled a extremity backmost 4 minutes aft the restart erstwhile Barry Bannan's wonderfully-floated free-kick was headed wide astatine the backmost station by Ihiekwe.

Sheffield Wednesday look acceptable for a 3rd play successful the 3rd tier aft this dense decision - they were beaten astatine the aforesaid signifier by Sunderland 12 months ago

But a infinitesimal aboriginal it seemed arsenic though Wednesday's hopes were implicit - Ephron Mason-Clark's transverse from the near recovered an unmarked Poku and his almighty header ended a good counter-attacking move.

Peterborough apical scorner Clarke-Harris headed a free-kick conscionable implicit the barroom soon aft arsenic Posh took control, but with 20 minutes near the Owls thought they had a mode back.

First Johnson's changeable deed Ronnie Edwards' limb connected the line, but the referee did not spot it - a determination you felt would person been overturned had determination been VAR astatine the Weston Homes Stadium - earlier 2 Ihiekwe efforts were cleared disconnected the line.

Any hopes that Wednesday mightiness person of heading to Wembley were each but extinguished with 9 minutes to spell - Dawson acrobatically pushed a Taylor changeable from adjacent scope connected to the post, but the scorer of the opening extremity did good to retrieve and clip a transverse to Clarke-Harris, who nodded location from a mates of yards astatine the acold post.

It could person been 5-0 had Dawson not saved good from Poku from wrong the country successful the sixth infinitesimal of stoppage time.