Brentford reached the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after beating Sheffield Wednesday 5-4 on penalties. Mark Flekken produced the vital save from Liam Palmer to deny the Championship team. Wednesday had fought hard. Brentford had led early through Kevin Schade and looked set to record a comfortable win during the first half. Wednesday, 13th in the Championship, had struggled after naming a heavily rotated team. But the underdogs were given hope because of Brentford’s failure to kill them off. The Premier League side lost their way after half-time and were caught out by a brilliant equaliser from Djeidi Gassama. The goal came out of the blue and Brentford were unable to regain their composure, although they had the best chance to win the game in normal time, only for Schade to spurn an inviting opportunity. There was disappointment at Danny Röhl’s decision to make nine changes before Wednesday host Watford in the league on Saturday. It stacked the odds in Brentford’s favour and they were quick to take advantage. The hosts were dominant for much of the first half and it did not take long for them to breach Wednesday’s unconvincing offside trap, the opening goal arriving when Keane Lewis-Potter lifted a pass over the top for Schade to streak away from Gabriel Otegbayo and tap into an empty net after his initial effort was saved by Pierce Charles. The tone had been set, the teams mismatched, the visitors struggling to prise the ball away from Mathias Jensen in midfield. The Dane, so silky in possession, always seemed to have time for an extra touch. He resisted the press, shimmied into space and kept looking for opportunities to spring Lewis-Potter and Bryan Mbeumo clear on the flanks. Lewis-Potter was tough to pin down. The winger kept threatening to burst behind Callum Paterson and he had chances to double Brentford’s lead. He shanked one effort high and wide, then drew an acrobatic save from Charles after fastening on to an inswinging cross from Mbeumo. Wednesday offered little in response, a dangerous run from Anthony Musaba their one moment of hope during the first half. Dominic Iorfa summed up their growing frustration when he booted the ball into the stands after being played into trouble by a poor pass. It was not exactly the greatest spectacle. Much hinged on whether Brentford’s forwards could combine again. The crowd stirred when Mbeumo produced a lovely piece of skill and cut inside two defenders, only to shoot straight at Charles. The second goal was elusive. Fábio Carvalho’s footwork often caught the eye but his decision-making needed to be better. Brentford continued to press at the start of the second half, Mbeumo swerving down the outside and firing across the face of goal. Yet the level of intensity was far from its highest. There were a few too many loose touches from Brentford in the final third, with Schade guilty of dithering when he had a chance to shoot from the edge of the area. An air of complacency fell over Brentford, and they were duly punished after giving away possession in midfield in the 57th minute. Gassama strode forward and when nobody challenged the winger he cracked a stunning low shot past Mark Flekken from 25 yards. Now a proper game broke out. Wednesday threatened again, Ike Ugbo stinging Flekken’s palms. Brentford responded through Mbeumo, Charles beating his powerful drive away. Ugbo then shot wide from a tight angle. Brentford needed a jolt and it was not a surprise to see Yoane Wissa and Mikkel Damsgaard come on for Carvalho and Jensen. But with Röhl constantly barking out instructions from his technical area, Wednesday were playing with far more urgency and aggression. Their press had clicked into gear, disrupting Brentford’s attempts to play out from the back. It took until the 82nd minute for Brentford to come alive again, Wissa turning and feeding Schade, whose shot was turned behind by Charles. Penalties beckoned despite the hosts mounting late pressure. Wednesday were placed under a lot of pressure in the air but they stood firm and won most of their battles at set pieces.