Sheffield Wednesday 2 Newcastle 1: Tom Lees and Steven Fletcher put Toon to the sword as Rafa Benitez’s side remain second
They remain two points behind leaders Brighton in Championship promotion race... but 10 ahead of third placed Huddersfield
NEWCASTLE wasted a chance to seize pole position in the race to the Premier League as Sheffield Wednesday beat the Championship promotion chasers 2-1.
Rafa Benitez's side had been knocked off top spot by Brighton's 2-1 win at QPR on Friday and they were unable to reclaim first place after a limp display at Hillsborough.
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Jonjo Shelvey almost gave Newcastle the lead with an audacious effort on the stroke of half-time, the former Liverpool midfielder striking the crossbar from inside his own half.
But Tom Lees broke the deadlock in the 59th minute as the Wednesday defender headed home from a Ross Wallace free-kick for his first goal since March 2016.
Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher made amends for two earlier misses when he struck with a looping header from a 68th minute long throw.
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Shelvey got one back in the 88th minute, but it was too late for a Newcastle escape act.
Newcastle remain in second place, two points behind Brighton with five games remaining, while sixth placed Wednesday hold onto the final play-off spot.
But the Toon have a big 10 point gap over the Terriers, who lost 2-0 at Nottingham Forest - although David Wagner's side do have a game in hand.
Scotsman Fletcher said he was pleased to get a goal against Newcastle as a former Sunderland player.
He said: "It’s always good to get the win against Newcastle, I was playing for their rivals for a long time. I was starting to think it wasn’t going to be my day before I scored."