Wednesday rounded off the regular League One season with a 1-0 win over 10-man Derby at Hillsborough.

Michael Smith’s first half penalty proved decisive after Curtis Davies was sent off for bringing down Marvin Johnson.

It was an afternoon to forget for the Rams as victory for Peterborough at Barnsley nudged Paul Warne’s side from the play-off picture.

It might have been different had Cameron Dawson not produced a world-class save 13 minutes in, acrobatically tipping a David McGoldrick screamer from range over the crossbar.

The Rams’ leading scorer looked lively and a perfectly timed block from Jaden Brown thwarted the striker from 12 yards.

Wednesday offered little in the final third until the contest exploded into life three minutes before half time.

Davies sold Joe Wildsmith short with a loose backpass, pounced upon by Callum Paterson.

The advancing Wildsmith got a touch but only as far as Johnson, who was bundled over in the box by Davies as the latter looked to atone for his error.

The referee pointed to the spot, Davies saw red, and Smith comfortably dispatched his penalty.

Warne shuffled his pack and Derby were almost level right on half time but Dawson shone again, palming a McGoldrick chip over the top.

But the depleted Rams were on the backfoot straight after the break. Will Vaulks smashed a long ranger against the frame of the goal and his follow-up shot cannoned off Craig Forsyth to safety.

Barry Bannan curled just wide from distance before the Rams fashioned a rare attack from which Max Bird was denied on the line by an alert Aden Flint.

The game reverted to type with Wednesday in the driving seat. Liam Palmer shaved the outside of the post on the angle before Paterson glanced wide from a Josh Windass cross.

Derby poured men forward in the closing stages but the Owls never seemed in danger and the campaign concluded with three more points to take the final total to 96.

The tally was shy of an automatic promotion slot but Wednesday head into the play-offs as the form team of the division against Posh, with the first leg at the Weston Homes Stadium on Thursday.

Wednesday: Dawson, Palmer (Hunt (78), Iorfa, Flint, Brown, Johnson, Vaulks, Dele-Bashiru (Durrant 84), Bannan (Bakinson 78), Paterson, Smith (Windass 64)