Sheffield Wednesday moved into the play-off zone thanks to a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest.
Esajas scores 48th minute winner to leave Forest rooted to bottom
Sheffield Wednesday moved into the Championship play-off zone thanks to a 1-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough
Etienne Esajas scored in the 48th minute to move the Owls into fifth in the table and leave Forest rooted to bottom.
It was the home side's second win on the bounce after a fantastic 2-1 away victory over Charlton on Saturday.
It looked like Forest might be up against it when Marcus Tudgay burst through 11 minutes in, but although Kelvin Wilson appeared to pull the striker back, referee Andy D'Urso saw nothing wrong.
Forest looked short of ideas going forward but they did show plenty of commitment in a scrappy opening 45 minutes.
Wednesday should have broken the deadlock two minutes before the break when Tony McMahon crossed for the unmarked Deon Burton who inexplicably headed wide from just six yards out.
Out of the blue
Forest were presented with their first opportunity to open the scoring just after half-time but Matt Thornhill's free-kick from outside the area was comfortably saved by Grant.
And Forest were stunned two minutes after the break when the Owls took the lead with a goal that came out of the blue.
Esajas picked the ball up 20 yards from goal and his strike took a deflection off Breckin and beat the wrong-footed Smith to creep inside the near post.
Forest, to their credit, gave a positive response to going behind and Andrew Cole set up strike partner Nathan Tyson, whose shot was saved by Grant.
And former Derby goalkeeper Grant made two excellent saves in just under a minute to keep his side in front.
A Joel Lynch header looked to be looping into the far corner until Grant retreated to tip it over the crossbar, and from the resulting corner he produced an outstanding reflex save to deny veteran striker Cole.
But Burton should have killed the game off after 68 minutes when McMahon broke free after a superb one-two and crossed for the former Jamaica frontman, who somehow missed the target from point-blank range.
Thornhill's shot flashed agonisingly wide as Forest pressed for an equaliser but Wednesday almost doubled their advantage when Smith produced an excellent save to deny James O'Connor.
Cole came close in the closing stages with an angled drive that Grant superbly tipped round the post and the former Manchester United hit-man turned and shot wide with two minutes left.
