Brentford continued their excellent season by cruising past Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday to reach the FA Cup fourth round.
The Bees made eight changes from the side that beat Sunderland 3-0 on Wednesday, taking them up to fifth place in the Premier League.
It included resting in-form striker Igor Thiago, but Keane Lewis-Potter replaced the Brazilian and tapped in the 27th-minute opener from Mathias Jensen’s free-kick.
Lewis-Potter had already hit the bar with a header and the only question was whether Brentford would be punished to failing to take a stream of chances against an inexperienced Wednesday side suffering difficulties on and off the field.
Captain Svante Ingelsson was the only starter for the Owls aged over 22.
Reiss Nelson’s lovely strike hit the underside of the bar, Jensen blazed over when played through in the first half, while lively 19-year-old winger Romelle Donovan failed to take two chances after the break on his Bees debut.
The second of those chances was smartly saved by Wednesday’s impressive goalkeeper Pierce Charles, who also denied Lewis-Potter and Jensen before leaving the field in the second half seemingly in tears after picking up an injury.
Wednesday, bottom of the Championship on minus seven points after their financial troubles, battled to keep the visitors at bay, but Brentford finally banished any doubt about the outcome in the 64th minute.
Jensen beat substitute goalkeeper Logan Stretch, another 19-year-old, from the penalty spot after Donovan was fouled by Cole McGhee, also 19.
Despite establishing themselves as a top-flight club since promotion to the Premier League in 2021, Brentford have never gone beyond the fourth round of the FA Cup in that time.
With five wins from their past six games, this looks an ideal opportunity for Keith Andrews’ side to improve that record.