Sheffield Wednesday captain Tom Lees has paid tribute to the performance of midfielder Barry Bannan during his side's 1-0 win over Bristol City on Sunday afternoon.

Bannan proved to be a thorn in the Robins side throughout the afternoon with his range and quality of passing, before stepping up to fire home the match-winning penalty in the absence of top scorer and regular penalty taker Steven Fletcher.

Speaking about Bannan's contribution after the game, Lees told the Sheffield Star: "Any side is going to miss Fletch but it was a real effort from all the boys.

"[Bannan] was brilliant and, under that big pressure, stepped up, cool as you like. I'm so happy for him that he got that goal."

That win over Bristol City has lifted Wednesday to third in the Championship standings, eight points adrift of the automatic promotion spots, and reflecting on the importance of his penalty and the result as a whole, Bannan himself added: "It's a big moment.

"Results kind of went our way yesterday (on Saturday). We knew it was a massive game."

Assessing where that win has left his side in the fight for promotion this season, Bannan continued: "We know there's a long way to go in the season but it's always good to win games like this."

Next up for Wednesday is a trip to the Bet365 Stadium on Boxing Day, when they take on struggling Stoke City, before returning to Hillsborough to host Cardiff in the 29th December.

The Verdict

What a performance this was from Bannan on Sunday.

The midfielder had a huge influence against Bristol City, and he was probably rather unlucky not to have an assist to go alongside his goal given the quality of some of the passes he was playing into the area.

That he did step up to take that penalty at such a crucial stage of such an important game shows a great amount of bottle on Bannan's part, and it is that sort of contribution that Wednesday are going to need on a regular basis if they are to have any hope of winning promotion this season.