Barry Bannan's penalty five minutes from time secured a 1-0 win for Sheffield Wednesday over Bristol City on Sunday as the Owls climbed to third place in the English Championship table.

The decisive moment of a largely lacklustre encounter came when referee Tony Harrington ruled Tommy Rowe had pushed over Atdhe Nuhiu just inside the box and pointed to the spot.

Bannan made no mistake with the penalty, the midfielder sending City goalkeeper Daniel Bentley the wrong way.

Wednesday manager Garry Monk had no doubt his side had deserved their victory.

"Obviously we're delighted with the three points," Monk said. "I think from the second half onwards we stepped it up and you could see that progression. I think we were the ones looking the most likely."

He added: "It was a penalty. It looked a clear penalty from where I was. We had a shout just before that which I thought was a penalty as well, on Jordan (Rhodes).

"We forced them into the mistake and got our rewards."

But City boss Lee Johnson said his side, who are now four points behind Wednesday, had been harshly treated.

"It was definitely not a penalty," he insisted.

"The ref's got sucked in, really. It's actually arguable whether it's even in the box. It's just a coming together with the ball spinning away."

Only the top two sides at the end of the regular season are guaranteed elevation to the lucrative Premier League, with the next four teams contesting a series of play-off games to determine which club gains the third and final promotion place.

Wednesday are now unbeaten in six matches but they are still eight points behind second-placed Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.