Marcus Tudgay and Leon Clarke both claimed deadly doubles as Sheffield Wednesday blew a massive hole in Burnley's Coca-Cola Championship play-off aspirations.

Tudgay found the net with a clinical 19th-minute opener before Chris McCann headed the Clarets level in the 53rd minute - but Wednesday ran riot thereafter and totally destroyed their hosts.

Tudgay - who also netted a brace in the Owls' thumping 4-1 win over Burnley at Hillsborough on the opening day of the season - claimed his second goal in the 69th minute with another tidy finish.

Clarke then took centre stage with two fine left-foot strikes to ensure substitute Chris Eagles' 85th-minute free-kick was no more than consolation for the Clarets, who simply could not cope with Wednesday's strike duo.

Owen Coyle's men have recovered from their Hillsborough mauling to make a concerted a bid for the play-offs, and enjoy some fairytale success in the cup competitions.

Yet they once again met their match in Wednesday and the huge army of travelling supporters headed back across the Pennines in buoyant mood after being treated to a goalscoring masterclass.

The Yorkshiremen opened the scoring when impressive left-back Tommy Spurr beat Wade Elliott down the left flank and slipped a neat pass into Tudgay, lurking menacingly inside the Burnley penalty box.

He greeted the pass with a delightful flick to tee his shot up before a swish of his left boot dispatched the ball into the bottom corner.

With on-loan Wolves midfielder Darren Potter a steadying influence for Wednesday, the visitors went in search of a second goal.

Midway through the half, Potter's fine pass found Spurr and his cross was met by Tudgay's fierce shot, drawing a decent save from Brian Jensen.

Moments later Potter's chipped pass found Clarke and his left-foot volley from 12 yards forced Jensen into action again.

The pendulum swung back in Burnley's favour as the half wore on but they created precious little, save for a low cross which Steve Thompson came within inches of diverting into the net.

However, Burnley found a response in the 53rd minute when Mark Beevers fouled McCann on the left flank and Blake flighted in a free-kick to the far post.

McCann rose highest to plant a firm header past Lee Grant but Wednesday restored their lead in the 69th minute when Tudgay swept home a loose ball after Burnley failed to a clear a free-kick from Potter.

It got better for the Owls in the 79th minute when Clarke used his considerable frame to good effect and shield the ball before unleashing a fierce left-foot from 18 yards which flew past Jensen and into the far corner.

Burnley were forced to press forward in desperate search of a way back into the game and they were caught when Clarke beat the offside trap and strode forward before clipping the ball left-footed past a despairing Jensen.

Substitute Eagles curled in a fine free-kick to restore some pride for Burnley but Wednesday were denied a fifth goal in the closing stages when Clarke put the ball into the net late on but an offside flag was raised.

Teams:

Burnley Jensen, Williams (McDonald 73), Duff, Caldwell,Jordan, Alexander, Elliott (Eagles 64), McCann, Blake,Thompson (Rodriguez 73), Paterson.

Subs Not Used: Penny, Gudjonsson.

Booked: Jordan.

Goals: McCann 53, Eagles 85.

Sheff Wed Grant, Buxton, Hinds, Beevers, Spurr,Gray (Jeffers 90), Potter, McAllister (O'Connor 90),Johnson (Small 87), Tudgay, Clarke.

Subs Not Used: Simek, Wood.

Booked: Clarke.

Goals: Tudgay 19, 69, Clarke 79, 82.

Att: 12,449

Ref: Andy D'Urso (Essex).