Peterborough United delivered a dazzling display to beat Sheffield Wednesday and place one foot on the Wembley turf

Any sort of win against a Sheffield Wednesday team who finished 19 (NINETEEN) points ahead of them in the League One table would have been a great effort.

But 4-0? Who expected that other than supreme optimists and the clinically insane? And it could have been more as Posh outclassed the Owls to place one foot on the Wembley turf for the play-off final.

Of course there is a second leg at Hillsborough in front of 33,000 passionate home fans to come, but the Owls looked shellshocked at the final whistle. They will take some picking up after a defeat they also wouldn’t have expected after a 96-point season and having not let in more than two goals in a game since the opening day of the season.

Posh were simply magnificent. They passed the ball beautifully and attacked with menace and precision throughout.

There were alarms with a possible penalty and red card offence 20 minutes from time, and goalkeeper Will Norris made two terrific saves at two crucial moments in the first-half, but goals from Jack Taylor, Joe Ward, Kwame Poku and Jonson Clarke-Harris delivered a result the entire team fully warranted.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson apparently wrestled with the possibilty of changing the heroes from the Barnsley win that got his team to this place, but instead the same starting line-up was selected which meant midfielders Ward and Harrison Burrows operating as full-backs.

That might have affected Wednesday manager Darren Moore’s thinking as he sent a three-pronged forward line into action with big units Michael Smith and Callum Paterson joined by the silkier talents of Josh Windass. It was a line up that suggested Wednesday wouldn’t be playing pretty triangles in midfield.

Posh on the other hand were determined to play out from the back. Risk-reward football in other words and it almost backfired after eight minutes.

Posh had knocked the ball about with some comfort until Oliver Norburn was robbed in a central position by Smith who could now bear down on goal. Norris came to the rescue with a fine save.

That one blunder didn’t deter Posh who worked the ball around the visiting midfield impressively until the 16th minute when Taylor decided to clip the ball straight to Windass.

Frankie Kent took him down at the cost of a caution as well as a free kick, but Windass fired the 25 yard set-piece into the Posh wall before slamming the rebound wide.

And then Posh struck in the 20th minute. Burrows won the ball back on the flank and slipped a fine pass to Taylor whose low drive should have been saved by Wednesday ‘keeper Cameron Dawson, but instead the ball squirmed through his grasp and into the net.

The Owls responded to the setback well. From their first corner in the 24th minute Paterson’s volley looked goalbound until it struck Windass. Other promising positions were wasted with overhit crosses in the blustery conditions.

The Posh passing became ragged and possession was regularly turned over, but eight minutes the break, the ball was kept and transferred by Burrows to Ward 25 yards from goal.

His strike soared into the top corner for a glorious goal, although a deflection off the back of Marvin Johnson actually helped the ball home.

Norris again came to the rescue again in the 41st minute when Michael ihiekwe’s pass found Windass beyond Kent in the area, but the ‘keeper stayed big and diverted the shot wide.

As you’d expected Wednesday started the second-half briskly. They won a couple of free-kicks with Michael Ihiekwe heading the second one wide.

The pressure didn’t last. Posh attacked with speed and panache with Taylor imperious. It was the midfielder’s break which started the attack that led to 3-0 on 50 minutes. His attempted pass to Clarke-Harris was intercepted, but the ball was picked up by Norburn who fed Ephron Mason-Clark and his precise cross was nodded home by the unmarked Poku.

Posh now assumed total control. Clarke-Harris nodded a Burrows free kick over the bar and there was then a 20-pass move from side to side which must have sorely tempted fans to break into ‘ole’s’ before Mason-Clark ran offside

The visitors sent on a midfielder for a striker to secure some possession and it worked to a point, but it was still mainly a set-piece threat.

There was a mad five minute spell when Posh couldn’t clear ther lines. Norris dropped a cross which required a goalline clearance from Frankie Kent, while Hector Kyprianou also steered another goalbound strike to safety and there was a huge penalty shout when Ronnie Edwards blocked a Marvin Johnson shot near goal with his elbow.

A penalty and a red card then, especially given the high-class performance delivered by Edwards, could have transformed the entire tie.

As it was Posh survived the pressure and controlled the rest of the game. They stayed positive and were rewarded with an outstanding team goal for 4-0 svene minutes from time.

Kent started it with a fine pass to Poku who sent Ward careering away down the right wing. His cross was met by Taylor whose first time shot was superbly tipped onto the post by Dawson.

But Taylor stayed alert, gathered the ball again and chipped perfectly for Clarke-Harris to nod home.

Remarkably there was almost a fifth when Burrows showed great vision to slip the ball to Poku, He skipped past one challenge before blasting a shot that Dawson blocked with his chest.

And the final whistle blew 30 seconds later. Posh fans probably then expected to wake up, but no this really happened. It was no dream, just another glorious play-off night under the London Road lights.

Not that the visiting hordes agreed. Those that were left at the final whistle gave their team a send-off that didn’t look entirely positive.

Posh: Will Norris, Harrison Burrows, Ronnie Edwards, Frankie Kent, Joe Ward, Hector Kyprainou, Oliver Norburn, Jack Taylor, Ephron Mason-Clark (sub Ricky-Jade Jones, 90 + 4 mins), Kwame Poku, Jonson Clarke-Harris. Subs: Will Blackmore, Dan Butler, Josh Knight, Ricky-Jade Jones, Ben Thompson, Joel Randall, Kabongo Tshimanga

Wednesday: Cameron Dawson, Liam Palmer Dominic Iorfa, Aden Flint, Michael Ihiekwe (sub Reece James, 86 mins), Marvin Johnson, Callum Paterson (sub Lee Gregory, 55 mins), Will Vaulks, Barry Bannan, Josh Windass, Michael Smith (sub Fisayo Dele-Bashiru, 63 mins). .

Unused subs: David Stockdale, Jack Hunt, Dennis Adeniran, Tyreeq Bakinson.

Goals: Posh – Taylor (20 mins), Ward (37 mins), Poku (50 mins), Clarke-Harris (83 mins).

Cautions: Posh – Kent (foul), Poku (foul).

Sheff Wed – Flint (foul), Ihiekwe (foul).

Referee: Anthony Backhouse 8

Attendance: 12,965 (2.400 Sheff Wed).