Sheffield Wednesday manager Alan Irvine has hailed the impact of substitute Neil Mellor after the loanee striker came off the bench to rescue a point for the Owls at Colchester.

Trailing to Andrew Bond's second half opener, Wednesday restored parity seven minutes from time when Mellor showed strength and guile to shake off his marker and blast home from close range.

The goal was his first since signing from Preston on a season-long loan in the summer.

Irvine said: "Neil took his goal really well and once he got into that position I expected him to score.

"He's not been firing on all cylinders so far, he's still settling in here, so hopefully that goal will do him a lot of good.

"It certainly gives me plenty to think about regarding my team selection for the next game but it's the kind of problem that managers don't mind having."

Irvine switched his tactics to a 4-3-3 formation on the hour upon Mellor's introduction and duly got his reward as the Owls offered looked far more likely in the final third.

He added: "I am not just a 4-4-2 manager. I can switch tactics when we need to do so and I thought the lads responded very well. It shows they are versatile and can listen to the instructions.

"I thought we would lose the game if we stayed at 4-4-2, so I had to change and thankfully we got the break we needed."