SHEFFIELD WEDNESDAY 2 Forestieri (9), Fletcher (79) PRESTON 1 Doyle (82)

TEN-MAN Sheffield Wednesday fought hard to overcome a wasteful Preston North End.

The Owls created the first chance when Adam Reach sent a lofted pass forward to Fernando Forestieri, who controlled the ball with his chest and drove to the edge of the box, but his shot was straight at Chris Maxwell.

Forestieri continued to cause the visitors problems when he had a goalbound effort blocked by Alex Baptiste. Kieran Lee’s cross then found Reach in space, and the left-back’s mis-timed shot bounced favourably for Forestieri, who finished expertly with a headed flick.

Callum Robinson went close to levelling the scores instantly when he fired a shot against a post from just outside the area.

Preston had several setpiece opportunities from just outside the box after the break. Jermaine Beckford had one effort disallowed, while Callum Robinson and Daniel Johnson saw their shots miss the target.

Goalscorer Forestieri was sent-off by referee Scott Duncan in the 65th minute following an off-the-ball incident.

In the 79th minute, keeper Maxwell brought down Will Buckley inside the area, and substitute Steven Fletcher made an immediate impact, side-footing the ball into the net to double the hosts’ lead.

With Buckley off the field receiving treatment, Preston capitalised on their two-man advantage, when substitute Eoin Doyle smashed the ball past Keiren Westwood from close range with eight minutes left.

With Preston failing to convert their chances, frustration spilled over and the referee brandished straight red cards to Doyle and Beckford – both for violent conduct – in the 90th minute.