Kevin Phillips headed home a stoppage-time winner to earn West Brom a 1-0 win and cruelly deny 10-man Sheffield Wednesday in a Coca-Cola Championship clash overshadowed by Jermaine Johnson's harsh dismissal.

Owls midfielder Johnson was controversially sent off by referee Andy D'Urso following a 78th-minute tussle with West Brom skipper Jonathan Greening and it appeared as though Wednesday had held on gamely for another crucial point.

But Phillips nodded home fellow substitute James Morrison's cross five minutes into time added on to keep the Baggies in the hunt for promotion.

Owls manager Brian Laws and most of Hillsborough were infuriated by D'Urso's decision to show Johnson a red, while Greening was fortunate to receive only a yellow card for his part in the incident.

It was a cruel blow for Brian Laws' Owls after another blood-and-guts display as they bid for Coca-Cola Championship survival.

Baggies midfielder Robert Koren twice went close with spectacular efforts and Paul Robinson missed the best chance of the first half.

There was plenty of endeavour from both sides, but little of the free-flowing football the Baggies fans have gorged on this season and to which Owls manager Laws alluded to in his pre-match interviews.

Johnson returned the Owls' starting line-up following his one-game ban, while on-loan Aston Villa striker Luke Moore made his first Championship start for West Brom alongside Roman Bednar.

Zoltan Gera replaced the injured Filipe Texeira, with Ishmael Miller and Kevin Phillips on the Baggies' bench.

Inside the first minute young Wednesday left-back Tommy Spurr cut inside and tested West Brom goalkeeper Dean Kiely with a skidding shot.

West Brom responded when defender Leon Barnett headed Jonathan Greening's corner straight at home goalkeeper Lee Grant.

The next effort either side mustered saw Grant pull off a flying one-handed save to keep out Robert Koren's volley in the 23rd minute from the edge of the penalty area.

Rangy Owls striker Enoch Showunmi got the better of former Luton team-mate Leon Barnett on one gallop into the box, but the ball was scrambled for a corner.

West Brom defender Paul Robinson was guilty of a schoolboy miss in the 37th minute when he dragged a shot wide 10 yards from goal.

A brilliant first-time throughball by former Owl Chris Brunt, a £3million summer signing for the visitors, played in Moore at the start of the second half, but after leaving home skipper Richard Wood on his backside, Moore was thwarted in fine style by the Championship's Apprentice of the Year, Mark Beevers.

Then Kiely did just enough to deny Wednesday the breakthrough. Showunmi raced through on to a long ball forward, but his low shot was deflected for a corner by the Baggies goalkeeper.

Showunmi was proving a handful for the visitors and another raking 50-yard run was halted only by some desperate defending.

Miller replaced Bednar in the 63rd minute and by then the game had opened up, but the final ball, particularly from Wednesday, lacked quality.

Laws sent on Israel international Ben Sahar, on loan from Chelsea, for Burton O'Brien in the 67th minute, just in time to witness another West Brom miss.

Miller laid the ball back for Koren just inside the area, but his side-footed effort whistled inches over the crossbar.

Visiting manager Tony Mowbray replaced Moore with leading goalscorer Kevin Phillips moments before referee Andy D'Urso astounded all of Hillsborough by sending off Johnson.

The Owls winger was deemed to have elbowed Greening as the pair tangled for the ball and, after consulting his assistant, showed a disbelieving Johnson a red card.

Greening was relieved to receive only a yellow.

West Brom poured forward in the closing stages and Phillips provided the finishing touch five minutes into added time to leave his team-mates in raptures and the hosts' brave defence finally beaten.

Teams:

Sheff Wed Grant, Hinds, Beevers, Wood, Spurr, Kavanagh, O'Brien (Sahar 68), Johnson, Bolder, Showunmi, Tudgay.

Subs Not Used: Burch, Burton, McAllister, Wallwork.

Sent Off: Johnson (77).

Booked: Wood, Bolder.

West Brom Kiely, Hoefkens, Robinson, Barnett, Albrechtsen, Koren, Greening, Gera, Brunt (Morrison 81), Bednar (Miller 63), Moore (Phillips 75).

Subs Not Used: Danek, Martis.

Booked: Greening.

Goals: Phillips 90.

Att: 18,805

Ref: Andy D'Urso (Essex).