But it was another blow to his former club, who were plunged deeper into relegation trouble.
A had-fought derby burst into life in the 18th minute when midfield man Ian Morris fired Scunthorpe in front with a goal out of the blue.
He controlled the long clearance downfield from keeper Joe Murphy and tried his luck with a left-foot shot from 30 yards which flew past goal keeper Lee Grant.
It was only the third goal of the season for the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international and he might have had another ten minutes later when he shot well wide from the edge of the box.
Wednesday, who suffered a pre-match injury blow when centre-back Mark Beevers was hurt during the warm-up, were hit by another blow on the half hour when winger Franck Songo'o limped off with a knee problem.
In a first half of few chances the Owls struggled to find a cutting edge.
But only a brilliant block by Scunthorpe centre-back Izzy Iriekpen denied them an equaliser after Deon Burton had broken through the middle and rounded keeper Murphy.
With the wind at their backs Wednesday were level in the 48th minute when Scunthorpe failed to clear a free-kick and a shot from Jermaine Johnson was deflected past Murphy from close range by Ben Sahar.
Scunthorpe nearly regained the lead when midfield man Grant McCann curled a free-kick against the bar and McCann also missed a good opportunity a few minutes later, when he got the ball stuck between his feet in front of goal and failed to deliver a telling shot.
It was Wednesday pushing forward in search of a winner in the closing stages, with substitutes Wade Small and Bartosz Slusarski both missing chances.