It doesnt matter how much of the ball you have – it is what you do with it that counts.

Town slipped to defeat in a Yorkshire derby that could have been there for the taking, if only they had made better use of the huge share of possession they had.

However, it is no good trying to play the ball around like Barcelona if you are doing it in your own half of the field and Town’s biggest crime was that when they tried to venture into Wednesday territory their passing game came apart.

Town’s front-runners Nahki Wells and Danny Ward must have wondered what they had to do to get a telling pass to take on the Wednesday defence as the visitors sat and patiently waited for the home side to make their move and then picked off the poor passes that were played through.

But when they had their own opportunities the Owls were quick to pounce, with Jérémy Hélan putting them ahead five minutes before half-time when his persistence paid off in the box, and then Jacques Maghoma got the better of Town skipper Peter Clarke with a smart turn and finish on 72 minutes.

For Clarke it was a first start in three months after his knee injury as he returned to a Town side who must have been hopeful of a home success as they look to head up the table.

Wednesday have improved markedly under the guidance of new boss Stuart Gray, but the Owls had made five changes and would probably have been forgiven by their fans had his side’s minds been on an FA Cup clash with Charlton Athletic tonight that could serve up a Steel City derby in the quarter-finals.

Certainly for quarter of an hour Town’s control of possession suggested that Wednesday might be in for a testing time, but as it became ever more apparent the home side were struggling to make any in-roads the visitors warmed to their task.

Owls keeper Chris Kirkland was not seriously tested during the first half, but neither had Alex Smithies in the home goal until former Manchester City player Hélan struck five minutes before half-time.

From that point on it was a question of whether Town had the guile and aggression to get back into the contest.

What needed to happen was that the home side would play the second half with the same amount of possession but further up the field, at a higher tempo and with players comfortable with the ball at their feet in command.

Instead the upshot was the visitors continued pressing the home side into hurrying and making little of their chances.

Danny Ward had a great chance to equalise early in the second half but Kirkland saved with his legs.

Maghoma then sealed the victory in the 72nd minute when he finished off Chris Maguire’s cross into the box.

With time running out for Town Adam Clayton’s 20-yarder clipped the top of the bar and then Ward’s header was a fraction too high and substitute Martin Paterson pulled an effort just wide.

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