ANTHONY PILKINGTON settled a hard-fought tussle of the Tykes with a corker of a goal as Town collected a sweet derby double.
Sheffield Wednesday should really have known better than to allow the wideman space and time to cut in from the flank.
For Pilkington plundered a beauty in Town’s 2-0 win at Hillsborough in November, and struck again in the 27th minute of the Galpharm return.
The 22-year-old took full advantage of right-back Lee Peltier’s clever overlapping decoy run to carve out a shooting position 25 yards out.
And the ball looked destined for keeper Nicky Weaver’s top right-hand corner as soon as it left Pilkington’s left boot.
That’s 11 for the season, and this was a crucial win as Lee Clark’s side built on the point taken up at Carlisle.
They had to show both sides of their game, playing some slick football in the first half before toughing it out in the second, when Clinton Morrison rightly had a goal disallowed.
The former Crystal Palace man found the net with a well-struck 49th-minute volley, but to Town’s relief was flagged for offside.
Morrison had earlier escaped a strong-looking Town penalty appeal, with Gary Roberts’ corner appearing to strike his hand before he hacked the ball clear.
A busy opening period set the tone for a game which if not a classic, produced plenty of drama for the Sky cameras.
Wednesday hit a post through big defender Mark Beevers in the sixth minute, while Pilkington served notice of his shooting intentions two minutes later.
Weaver did well to deflect the effort for a corner, and the man coached by Jordan Rhodes’ dad Andy also produced a top save in the 23rd minute.
Jermaine Johnson’s foul on Roberts provided Pilkington with the opportunity to deliver a free-kick onto the head of Lee Novak, with Weaver deflecting the ball one-handed.
His opposite number Alex Smithies had been brave in racing out to block off Neil Mellor as he ran onto Tommy Spurr’s upfield ball in the 14th minute.
And after Pilkington put Town in front, the keeper played a big role in protecting the lead, tipping over Tommy Miller’s fiercely-struck 29th-minute free-kick.
Smithies again did well to thwart Mellor as he broke through in the 32nd minute, and got down well to block the former Liverpool man’s 39th-minute drive.
Town were giving as good as they got, though, and Weaver used his legs to divert Peltier’s low effort before Scott Arfield and Kevin Kilbane both shot narrowly wide.
Morrison’s ruled-out effort came as Wednesday started the second period well, with Smithies saving from James O’Connor before Peter Clarke headed clear Gary Teale’s free-kick.
But the Owls’ attacking efforts petered out, although Mellor caused panic in the 74th minute, when he took advantage of an awkwardly bouncing kick-out from Weaver, only to shoot over from a promising position just inside the penalty area.
Town had their chances to extend the lead, with top scorer Rhodes seeing a shot deflected off target in the 60th minute before Kilbane drove wide.
Then, in the 75th minute, Novak, Pilkington and Arfield all had shots blocked in quick succession.
Arfield again tried his luck after substitute Alan Lee’s run created space in the 82nd minute, but Weaver saved.
