WEDNESDAY LUC-ING ON BRIGHT SIDE

LUCAS JOAO wants to keep Wednesday moving up after he returned from injury to score twice in a heated victory over 10-man Ipswich.

The game turned in a fourminute spell following sub Fernando Forestieri’s arrival.

Within two minutes Aristote Nsiala was shown a harsh red card for what appeared to be a clean challenge on Forestieri, and Joao nodded home the winner two minutes later after his initial effort came back off a post.

The Portuguese, who agreed a new contract in midweek, had been ruled out since the opening day of the season by a groin injury. Now he hopes the Owls can maintain their momentum after two wins in four days at Hillsborough guided them to 14th in the table.

He said: “The confidence is better when you are on top of your game. The spirit of the team is very good at the moment and I hope we can keep going in this way.”

Joao (above) had opened the scoring when he headed home Barry Bannan’s corner at the back post, only for Nsiala to level five minutes before the break with the Owls claiming offside.

The defeat – their first at Hillsborough since 2007 – leaves Ipswich propping up the table and still searching for their first win of the season.

Next up is the East Anglia derby against Norwich at Portman Road and manager Paul Hurst, a lifelong Wednesday fan, called on his team to regroup.

“A few things have gone against us but we have got to try and overcome that,” he said.