Albion suffered a double refereeing injustice, as they slid to their first defeat of the season at Sheffield Wednesday. Giles Coke's first-half strike separated the sides at Hillsborough.

Coke struck eight minutes before half-time to secure all three points for a physical Owls side, as Gus Poyet's side were left to reflect on an extremely poor performance from referee Andy Woolmer and their own failure to convert their second-half possession into an equaliser.

The game's first flash point centred on Wednesday striker Neil Mellor. The son of former Albion striker Ian Mellor had already gone close to opening the scoring, when he clashed with Adam El-Abd after just eight minutes.

The former Liverpool man should have seen red after he wrestled with El-Abd in the Albion penalty area, and then chased after the Brighton defender and shoved him to the floor.

Albion skipper Gordon Greer was dismissed last week against Rochdale for a less severe offence, but referee Woolmer was in a lenient mood and Mellor escaped with a only caution, much to Poyet's disbelief.

A physical contest continued at a lively pace, and it was the home side who opened the scoring after 38 minutes, as Giles Coke fired his first league goal for the Owls. The midfielder played a quick one-two with Sussex-born Marcus Tudgay before curling a shot into the top corner from 18 yards, giving Albion keeper Casper Ankergren no chance.

Albion's presence as an attacking force improved once they had fallen behind, and Jamie Smith came close but saw his left-foot shot glance the side netting.

Radostin Kishishev then nearly found an equaliser shortly before half-time, but his snap shot was brilliantly kept out by Nicky Weaver, diving to his right.

Albion started the second half much as they had ended the first. After a surging run down the right Elliott Bennett crossed for Smith, whose first-time effort clipped the top of the bar.

At the other end, Coke almost doubled his tally with a rasping shot following a short corner routine, but Ankergren reacted quickly to tip the ball over the bar.

However, it was Albion who were the better team in the second half, and when Smith slid a lovely pass into the path of Glenn Murray the Seagulls should have levelled - but the striker's effort went agonisingly wide of the post. Nicky Weaver appeared to get a touch on Murray's shot, although the hapless Woolmer awarded a goal kick.

Woolmer took centre stage for a second time on the hour mark, as once again he refused to produce the red card, after Chris Sedgwick caught Marcos Painter with a late two-footed tackle. With most inside Hillsborough expecting to see Sedgwick dismissed, bizarrely, Woolmer again produced a yellow card.

Poyet introduced Agustin Battipiedi and Cristian Baz to add fresh impetus, but for all their neat approach play, Albion couldn't find a way through a firm Wednesday defence.

Paul Heffernen should have made the final moments more comfortable for the Owls when he span in the area, but his shot went wide of the post.

Wednesday: (4-4-2) Weaver; Buxton, Purse, Beevers, Spurr; Teale, Coke (Palmer 88), Potter, Sedgwick (O'Connor 73); Mellor (Heffernan 81), Tudgay. Subs not used: Hinds, Jones, Jameson (GK), Otsemobor.

Albion: (4-4-2) Ankergren; Calderon, Elphick, El-Abd, Painter; Bennett, Dicker, Kishishev (Baz 78), Jamie Smith (Battipiedi 72); Barnes, Murray. Subs not used: Walker (GK), Hart, Holroyd, Caskey, Cook.

Attendance: 18,674 (1,037 Albion).

Referee: Andy Woolmer

Yellow Cards: Spurr, Sedgwick, Purse, Mellor (Sheffield Wednesday). El-Abd, Dicker (Albion).