Richard Cresswell finally secured Sheffield Wednesday's Premiership status with a last-gasp winner over Liverpool at Hillsborough.

The deadline-day £1million signing from York chose the perfect moment to open his account when he headed home Danny Sonner's corner just seven minutes after coming on to the field as a substitute for Andy Booth.

But it was a case of Cresswell providing a minor morsel of delight in a disappointing second period which was the perfect example of famine following the feast after an intriguing first 45 minutes.

Liverpool enjoyed their full roast in midweek by denting Manchester United's title ambitions but looked jaded in the second half at Wednesday.

The home side too might have enjoyed the comfort of surviving the relegation battle but Petter Rudi will rue two misses in the first period which should have sealed their status before half-time.

Rudi set the tone for the first half with a miss after just 15 seconds when Friedel denied him as he raced through on Booth's header.

Steven Gerrard became the first man in referee Peter Jones' notebook in the fifth minute for a crunching tackle on Benito Carbone.

And at the other end of the field, Pavel Srnicek was also kept busy with two excellent early stops from Oyvind Leonhardsen and Patrik Berger.

Rudi was again to blame for letting Liverpool off the hook in the 12th minute when Steve Staunton outpaced the midfielder to head the ball back to Friedel.

Friedel almost became provider when his long punt caught the Owls defence napping. Srnicek was forced to race off his line as Riedle rose to claim the ball.

But the goalkeeper's clearance found only Leonhardsen who laid the ball off to Berger but he sliced his shot from the edge of the area.

Play immediately switched to the other end of the pitch and a Sonner corner found Peter Atherton at the far post.

The Wednesday captain played the ball across the Liverpool six-yard box but striker Booth was unable to connect with a diving header.

The Owls' tails were raised and a Carbone free-kick flew just over in the 31st minute after Dominic Matteo had been penalised for a push on Booth.

But Rudi squandered the best chance of the half six minutes later.

An Atherton throw was flicked into the area by Booth's head. Rudi appeared to have timed his run perfectly but blazed the ball over from just 10 yards.

And in injury time, Carbone found himself unmarked from a Sonner long pass but Friedel produced a great save to deny the Italian.

However the second period failed to deliver any of the promise its predecessor had offered with only a Berger snapshot wide from the edge of the area in the 52nd minute threatening a goal.

The two sides seemed to have lost interest in the game as they began to play out their penultimate game of the season.

Liverpool even replaced Berger, who had appeared to be their only hope of a second half goal, for David Thompson in the 67th minute.

Both sides lacked any understanding as passes and runs were frequently mis-timed in a dreary end to Hillsborough's season.

Even the skills of Carbone were less than evident as the Liverpool defence effectively snubbed out the Italian's menace as both sets of fans were left with little to dine out on during the summer months.

Until Cresswell rose above the Liverpool defence to raise Wednesday's spirits with his first goal for the club to ensure that the Owls would still be playing with the cream of the country next year.

Teams:

Sheff Wed: Srnicek, Atherton, Jonk, Walker, Carbone, Booth (Cresswell 79), Stefanovic, Thome, Rudi (McKeever 82), Sonner, Haslam (Alexandersson 57).

Subs Not Used: Pressman, Briscoe.

Goals: Cresswell 87.

Liverpool: Friedel, Staunton, McManaman, Leonhardsen, Redknapp (Ferri 82), Riedle, Berger (Thompson 66), Ince, Matteo, Carragher, Gerrard (Song 46).

Subs Not Used: James, Babb.

Booked: Gerrard.

Att: 27,383

Ref: P Jones (Loughborough).