Brentford beat crisis-hit club Sheffield 2-0 on Wednesday to advance to the fourth round of the FA Cup.
The Bees have been playing in the Premier League this season under manager Keith Andrews and will aim to qualify for the cup after scoring a win against Hillsborough with goals from Kean Lewis-Potter and Matthias Jensen.
The scoreline did not reflect Brentford’s complete domination and could have been much better had it not been for the heroic performance of young Owls goalkeeper Pearse Charles.
Only England international Jordan Henderson’s injury detracted from the afternoon.
The EFL are currently scrutinizing potential new owners and can only hope that better days are on the horizon after administrators named their preferred bidder on Friday after being forced to field a weakened team on Wednesday.
Brentford traveled without a number of their big stars, but even a much-changed squad was too good for Wednesday’s squad, which was made up mainly of academy players.
The Bees controlled the game from the start, but were thwarted by the woodwork twice within the first 25 minutes.
First, Reiss Nelson unleashed a 20-yard drive that 20-year-old goalkeeper Charles hit perfectly under the crossbar.
Furthermore, Lewis Potter’s header from Romell Donovan’s cross also hit the bar and Charles was brought down.
Keith Andrews hands over full debut at Brentford to Romell Donovan
But Wednesday could not hold out for long, with the Premier League side taking the lead in the 27th minute.
Jensen’s free kick hit the back post and Lewis Potter tucked the ball in from close range.
The Bees had a chance to put the game away before half-time, but Nelson was twice thwarted by the outstanding Charles and Jensen had a shot on goal.
They lost Henderson at half-time following a first-half clash, but were right back in attack after the restart.
Donovan then had two great chances, firing straight at Charles and then firing at defender Gabriel Otegbayo from eight yards out with time and space.
The onslaught continued while Lewis Potter and Aaron Hickey were denied by Charles, who miraculously stopped and denied Jensen.
However, the goalkeeper, who was alone as a barrier, injured his shoulder when his outstretched arm blocked a shot, and the afternoon’s play ended there.
Five minutes later, substitute Logan Stretch collected the ball from the goal.
The energetic Donovan was tripped by Cole McGee in the penalty area, and Jensen made a great effort from the spot.
Stretch did nothing to tarnish his reputation either, denying Jensen and Lewis Potter with back-to-back saves.
Brentford had to settle for two points ahead of the next round.
Andrews aims for extended cup run
Brentford head coach Keith Andrews:
“As with the League Cup, we take this very seriously.
“You always try to manage the group in the way we think is right and last season we confirmed that ability with Crystal Palace winning the cup.
“We’re going to attack every game to try to win. We’re in a good position to take it more seriously. We’re going to do the best we can.”
“We took this match very seriously and wanted it to be a match that would be our type of performance.
“We have a lot of respect for our opponents and are very aware that they have been going through difficult times as a club, but this could be a bit of escapism for them from the hardships they are going through.
“We felt we couldn’t let that happen and wanted to play our way, but the players coped really well with it.
“We created some really good chances but some players are frustrated not to have their names on the team sheet. On another day they could probably score a few more.”
