Sheffield Wednesday

The 21-year-old came off the bench and netted twice in the final ten minutes to add gloss to an already emphatic scoreline.

Having just returned from a productive loan spell at Plymouth, Lavery was delighted with his two-goal haul on Saturday and hopes there is many more to come.

He said: “I have been in and around the first team this season and then I was sent out on loan to Plymouth, really to see if I could prove myself.

“I think I did quite well down there but the important thing was that when I got my chance here, I would take it and I was pleased to do that on Saturday.”

With Wednesday leading 4-0, Lavery took possession on the halfway line before motoring forward and applying a neat finish into the Kop net.

“I had a lot of time to think about what I was going to do,” Lavery recalled. “I looked around for support and at the time I didn’t see anything, so I thought ‘I’m going to go for it.’ Luckily it went in off the post. 

“I think my second goal was my best one. The defender made a mistake and I saw my chance to have a go and it went in so I was delighted.”

The Northern Ireland Under-21 international believes his recent exposure to first team football both with Plymouth and the Owls has been hugely important for his development.

And with five goals in his last five games for both clubs, Lavery certainly has taken well to life in the Football League.

He added: “League football is completely different to reserve football. I went to Plymouth and came off the bench for the first couple of games.

“I thought I did well enough to get a chance to start and the manager put me in the starting line up. With every game that goes by, you learn more and more. 

“Sheffield Wednesday obviously had the confidence in me to call me back.

“I got the feeling that at some point I would be involved against Leeds. When I was named on the bench, I kept saying to myself, ‘if I get on I’ve got to take my chance and do well’, and I think I did that.”