Megson hails striker O'Grady

Manager Gary Megson was quick to sing the praises of striker Chris O'Grady after his two goals in the opening 17 minutes set Sheffield Wednesday on their way to a 3-1 victory at struggling Scunthorpe.

It was a first win in three games for the Owls and gets their hopes of automatic promotion back on track, moving them level on points with Huddersfield and City rivals Sheffield United.

"Chris has never been a prolific scorer," Megson confessed. "Sometimes people have raised an eyebrow at him for not scoring enough goals."

He added: "It's normally the players alongside him who are the top scorers because of the work he does for them. Normally Chris doesn't get the credit he deserves, but in this game he did and was unlucky not to go on and complete his hat-trick."

O'Grady struck in the first minute and again in the 17th, before winger Jermaine Johnson made the points safe for Wednesday with a fine solo effort in the 47th minute. Scunthorpe pulled one back in the 55th minute when striker Jordan Robertson netted his first goal for the club with a header from a corner, but the Owls remained firmly in control.

Defeat leaves Scunthorpe without a home win in three months and still dangerously close to the relegation zone.

"You can't expect to give a team like Sheffield Wednesday a 3-0 lead and still expect to get anything out of the game," confessed manager Alan Knill.

"The game was over after 17 minutes when we gave two really poor goals away. That is one of our biggest problems at the moment, we just can't seem to keep the ball out the back of our net.

"I thought we did give it a go in the second half, but it was too late. These are difficult times for us at the moment. They have been all season. We need to get some of our good players back off the treatment table.

"The squad does need strengthening and that is what we are still trying to do. But whenever we bring someone in new, they seem to get injured."