Sheffield Wednesday boss Danny Rohl said his side won a “first cup final” as they gave their Championship survival chances a shot in the arm with a 2-0 win against Birmingham.

Ike Ugbo scored his first two goals for the Owls as they gave their disgruntled fans something to cheer about at Hillsborough.

Thousands of home supporters brandished posters protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri before kick-off but they were soon celebrating their first league win since New Year’s Day.

The victory repairs some of the damage of last week’s 4-0 defeat at Huddersfield and second-bottom Wednesday are now five points behind the Terriers and safety.

“It was a big, big fight from both teams,” Rohl said. “We fought for every inch today, we had some really good moments with the ball.

“It was a performance from the whole team, all in all it was a close game but we took the win.

“It was important, in our situation, it is just one game with three points and there are 15 games. We have to go.

“I am not speaking about momentum, I am speaking about three points, for me it was a first cup final.

“We know exactly our situation, we know everyone has to be in one direction and if we do this we can be strong and have a chance. But we have to be fighting for 15 games.”

Birmingham missed the chance to pull clear of the bottom three and they are now just six points above Wednesday and looking over their shoulder.

Things would have been different had they been more clinical and boss Tony Mowbray accepts they cannot afford many more games like this.

“We had 25 shots tonight and no goals,” he said. “We had 15 at West Brom last week and no goals.

“We have to be more clinical, we have to take more care. We have got quality at the top end of the pitch but we have to take more care. There is plenty right with the team. The goals are disappointing.

“We have to keep going and believing, there is a long way to go. We have to turn dominant performances into wins.

“I am trying to be positive, they have to shake themselves out of games like this, we have to get in front and win games comfortably.

“I am alright with it, I am not alright to lose football matches, but there is plenty right with the team. We have to take more care.”

Sheffield Wednesday gave their disgruntled fans something to cheer about as Ike Ugbo’s double earned a 2-0 Championship win over Birmingham at Hillsborough.

Thousands of home supporters held up posters protesting against owner Dejphon Chansiri before kick-off but their angst was soon forgotten after Ugbo’s first two goals for the club gave the Owls a first league win since New Year’s Day.

Ugbo, a former Chelsea youngster who joined on loan from French club Troyes in the January transfer window, opened his account in the 15th minute and then added a crucial second after the break.

The victory goes some way to repairing the damage of last week’s 4-0 hammering at Huddersfield, cutting second-bottom Wednesday’s gap to safety to five points ahead of the weekend fixtures.

Birmingham bossed large parts of the game but failed to take their chances and – now just six points better off – will be one of the teams the Owls are eyeing to catch.

“Out of touch, out of time, Dejphon Chansiri, sell up and just go” was Wednesday fans’ message at the start and they had to watch their side weather some early pressure as the visitors forged two good chances.

In the seventh minute, Juninho Bacuna blazed an effort over after good work from Jordan James on the left and soon after, Lee Buchanan forced Owls goalkeeper James Beadle into a good stretching save.

And less than a minute later, Wednesday took the lead as they went straight up the other end and scored.

They worked the ball out to the right where Ian Poveda danced into the area and cut it back to Ugbo, who fired home from six yards out to open his Wednesday account.

That goal did not alter the flow of the game as Birmingham continued to dominate and Beadle had to be alert to get down to Andre Dozell’s low shot.

Wednesday had their moments and missed a great chance to double their lead in the 43rd minute but Ugbo shot wide when being slipped through by Ian Poveda.

Blues then had two chances to level before the break as Scott Hogan flashed just wide, while Beadle made another fine save to claw away Siriki Dembele’s deflected effort.

The hosts started the second half well and Ugbo might have doubled the lead as he was not penalised for coming back from an offside position but saw his shot blocked by Neil Etheridge.

The 25-year-old could not miss his next chance though as Marvin Johnson stood up a teasing cross to the far post which Ugbo nodded in.

Birmingham huffed and puffed in search of a response, with Jay Stansfield whistling an effort past the post and Paik Seung-Ho denied by another Beadle save as the hosts held on for maximum points and the clean sheet.

Carlos Carvalhal left Sheffield Wednesday on December 24, 2017 after two and a half years in charge at Hillsborough.

The Portuguese, who guided the Owls to the play-offs in his first two seasons at the helm, departed the Sky Bet Championship club by mutual consent on the back of a seven-game winless run.

His exit came just hours after chairman Dejphon Chansiri released a statement of support for his head coach after fans chanted for his dismissal in the wake of a 2-1 home defeat to Middlesbrough a day earlier.

Carvalhal said on Wednesday’s official website: “The chairman and myself talked after the game and we believed this was the correct timing to make this decision.

“Of course, I am very sad at this moment because I have enjoyed my two seasons and a half so much with Sheffield Wednesday.

“We had two fantastic seasons and two play-offs in a row but unfortunately we have not managed to replicate these positions this season.

“Now is the time to focus on the wonderful experiences I have enjoyed at Sheffield Wednesday and the friends I have made.”

Carvalhal’s exit came as something of a surprise given how quickly it followed an apparent vote of confidence from Chansiri.

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The Thai businessman, who appointed Carvalhal in 2015, added: “I would like to offer my sincere thanks to Carlos for the time, effort and commitment he has given Sheffield Wednesday over the last two and a half years.

“Both parties believe the time is right to go our separate ways. I maintain a huge amount of respect for Carlos as a coach and as a person and he will always be welcome at Hillsborough. I wish him every success in the future.”

Jos Luhukay was named the new Wednesday boss on January 5, 2018 and they finished 15th that season. They suffered relegation in 2020-21 but were promoted back to the Championship last season after a remarkable play-off semi-final comeback against Peterborough.

Carvalhal was quickly appointed by Swansea but failed to save them from Premier League relegation and left at the end of the season. He is currently manager of Greek side Olympiacos having been appointed earlier this month.

Sheffield Wednesday have condemned racist abuse suffered by chairman Dejphon Chansiri in the wake of the club’s Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final defeat at Peterborough last Friday.

Wednesday have already issued an immediate ban against the person who racially abused manager Darren Moore following the 4-0 loss at London Road and have insisted they will do the same again following this incident.

They said in a statement: “Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore was subject to a disgraceful racist comment on a social media platform this week following the Owls’ game at Peterborough on Friday evening.

“It has since come to light that a similar appalling racist post was made in the direction of our chairman Dejphon Chansiri.

“This incident is also in the hands of the authorities and the individual responsible will be subject to the same consequences.

“We are fully conversant with the emotions stirred by football and the immediacy of social media platforms.

“However, when comments cross the line of moral decency and indeed the law, this will not be tolerated.

“We stand together with our chairman, manager and society as one in condemning all forms of discrimination and will continue taking every step possible to stamp out this wholly unacceptable behaviour.”

The Owls, whose 96 points in the regular League One campaign was a club record but only good enough to see them finish third, will try to salvage their promotion hopes in Thursday’s second leg at Hillsborough.