Walsall 2 Sheffield Wednesday 1

Two injury time goals completed a stunning Walsall comeback against Sheffield Wednesday as they escaped the League One drop zone.

Claude Gnakpa and Manny Smith struck in stoppage time to turn the game on its head, after Ryan Lowe's 60th minute opener in a barnstorming second-half.

Gnakpa's deflected effort hauled them level before Smith turned in Mat Sadler's free kick for their first home league win – in front of 8,603 – since mid-October.

It moved Walsall up to 18th, ahead of a huge showdown with struggling Rochdale on New Year's Eve.

Jamie Paterson hit the bar just 60 seconds before Wednesday's opener while Adam Chambers, Jon Macken and Alex Nicholls all went close from distance.

Manny Smith returned as Darryl Westlake dropped to the bench, while on-loan Wolves defender Danny Batth started for Wednesday after extending his loan until the end of the season.

And the defenders were on top during an abrasive openingm in which neither side created any openings.

The Saddlers, to their credit, took the game to their high-flying hosts but the first-half was more of a war of attrition, rather than a post-Christmas feast of football.

Bruising right-back Reda Johnson subdued Paterson early on, while the hosts were rarely troubled by a Wednesday side playing within themselves.

Macken and Nicholls fired half chances wide from distance and Batth headed over for Wednesday, but there was little other action.

The Owls came out of their second-half blocks firing, though, with Ben Marshall curled wide within 30 seconds of the re-start.

The visitors should have taken the lead on 50 minutes – although it would have been in controversial style.

Lowe tangled with Andy Butler inside the area and, when the Saddlers captain fell, referee David Coote waved play on.

The ball fell to Marshall, who crossed for Lowe, but the unmarked striker could only fire wide from 12 yards.

The game quickly opened up and it was the Saddlers' turn to stretch Wednesday, as Chambers' 20-yard drive deflected wide.

Walsall then came agonisingly close to an opener on 58 minutes, after a neat move ended with Nicholls teeing up Paterson to slam a 20-yard volley off the bar.

But, a minute later, Wednesday took the lead when the visitors broke.

Chris Lines breezed past the flimsy challenges of Paterson and Sadler to curl a delicious cross for the unmarked Lowe to nod in.

It sparked the game into a frantic few minutes as, first, there was a small pocket of crowd trouble between Saddlers and Wednesday fans in the corner of the Tile Choice and Five Rivers stands.

It was quickly subdued before Lee Beevers and Marshall were booked for a small spat.

Goalkeeper Jimmy Walker then saved low from Chris O'Grady, as a game which had threatened action in the first-half found its life.

Macken rashly blazed over from the edge of the area on 69 minutes, as the Saddlers cranked up the pressure.

The hosts huffed and puffed but failed to find a way through the massed Wednesday ranks.

Substitute George Bowerman fired straight at goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell with six minutes remaining and it looked all over until stoppage time.

A minute in, Gnakpa collected the ball on the right, shrugged off one challenge and his low 20-yard drive deflected past O'Donnell.

It sent the Banks's Stadium into raptures but better was to come, when Wednesday failed to deal with Sadler's free kick and Smith won it.