Sheffield Wednesday kept their Coca-Cola Championship play-off hopes alive with a clinical second-half display against Ipswich at Hillsborough.

Goals from Glenn Whelan and Steven MacLean saw the Owls stretch their unbeaten league run to nine matches and repeat their success against the Tractor Boys earlier in the campaign.

That game at Portman Road on November 11 was Brian Laws' first in charge after replacing Paul Sturrock and few Wednesday fans would have believed then that they would be in with a shout of making the play-offs with four matches remaining.

But following Saturday's 2-1 win at Cardiff, Laws refused to write off his side's chances of making a late surge into the top six and this victory - their third on the bounce - moves them to within six points.

Wednesday were poor in the first half but struck immediately after the restart when Whelan ran clear and fired a low shot beyond the advancing Lewis Price.

Only a fine save with his feet from Price to deny Lee Bullen prevented Wednesday from doubling their lead before MacLean did just that in the 59th minute.

The Scot found the bottom right-hand corner from 10 yards out for his 12th goal of the season.

Ipswich enjoyed the better of the opening 45 minutes as Wednesday struggled to gain a foothold.

On-loan Wednesday goalkeeper Iain Turner - rumoured to be returning to Everton following Richard Wright's injury last week - showed why Laws is so keen to keep him at Hillsborough when he produced a superb one-handed save to tip Alan Lee's free-kick around the post in the 16th minute.

The resulting corner was one of 10 Ipswich managed in the first half but they could not find a breakthrough.

Francis Jeffers stung Turner's palms from the edge of the box just after the half-hour mark while Fabian Wilnis flashed an angled drive wide of the target just before the break.

Wednesday's only effort on goal of any note in the first period arrived after nine minutes but even that was a speculative effort from 30 yards by Chris Brunt that never looked like troubling Price.

Wednesday made a dream start to the second half when Whelan struck just two minutes and MacLean doubled their advantage just before the hour-mark.

Ipswich almost halved their arrears midway through the second half but Turner produced a fine save to parry Lee's close range header.

Turner thwarted the same player again two minutes from time when he kept out a fiercely-struck shot from 12 yards.

Sheff Wed (0) 2 Ipswich (0) 0

Sheff Wed Turner, Bullen, Wood, Watson, Spurr,Lunt (Folly 75), Whelan, Tudgay, Brunt, MacLean,Clarke (Burton 63).

Subs Not Used: Adamson, Hills, Lekaj.

Booked: Whelan.

Goals: Whelan 47, MacLean 59.

Ipswich Price, Wright, Wilnis, De Vos, Bruce, Garvan,Roberts (Harding 66), Williams, Haynes (Walters 66), Lee,Jeffers.

Subs Not Used: Supple, Peters, O'Callaghan.

Booked: Roberts.

Att: 23,232

Ref: R Styles (Hampshire).