Sheffield Wednesday and Grimsby produced a result which neither side wanted as a goalless draw at Hillsborough dropped both sides closer to the Second Division.

A lack of invention throughout the 90 minutes again showed why the clubs are struggling at the wrong end of the table, leaving managers Chris Turner and Paul Groves to reflect on a point which will do little to strengthen their survival hopes.

The second-bottom Owls - one point ahead of Town - lie five points from safety after Stoke's win over Wimbledon, and the deficit is likely to prove too great with just three games of the season remaining.

Wednesday's recent run of two successive victories had given them hope and the importance of the meeting with Grimsby was not lost on Turner, who fielded three strikers in his starting line-up.

The Owls' attacking approach had the visitors under pressure early on and forward Shefki Kuqi forced a decent save from goalkeeper Danny Coyne after just four minutes, shooting low from a tight angle on the edge of the box.

The chance was a warning for Groves' side, but their defence looked nervous and was lucky to survive another scare five minutes later.

Richard Evans' inswinging corner brought a poor clearance from George Santos, but Michael Reddy fired the ball wide of the post from six yards.

Grimsby's worrying lack of invention up front had left Kevin Pressman completely untroubled for the opening 20 minutes, but the veteran keeper again proved his value to Wednesday with two fantastic saves in the space of a minute.

A curling free-kick from Tony Gallimore was tipped round the post at full-stretch, and as the Mariners surged forward, Chris Bolder's 25-yard volley was also beaten away by the alert 35-year-old.

Turner's side continued to make the most of a poor match, but defender Leigh Bromby wasted the final opportunity of the half when his close-range header was scrambled clear by Gallimore.

The interval failed to fire up either side and Alan Quinn's weak strike from outside the box was a rare moment of danger for Coyne, who watched the effort drift past the post.

At the other end, Michael Keane saw an ambitious volley disappear into the crowd on the hour, before his cross found Richard Hughes, who failed to keep a header on target.

With six minutes remaining, Wednesday almost found a priceless goal, but Steve Haslam headed Quinn's cross over the bar to leave Turner and Groves staring at the drop.

Teams

Sheff Wed: Pressman, Bromby, Maddix, Smith, Barry-Murphy, Reddy, McLaren, Quinn, Richard Evans (Knight 71), Kuqi (Haslam 71), Owusu (Holt 70).

Subs Not Used: Stringer, Donnelly.

Booked: Smith, Reddy.

Grimsby: Coyne, McDermott, Chettle, Santos, Gallimore, Campbell, Groves, Bolder (Mansaram 75), Richard Hughes, Keane, Boulding.

Subs Not Used: Allaway, Livingstone, Cooke, Parker.

Booked: Boulding, Mansaram.

Att: 26,082

Ref: P Dowd (Staffordshire).