Gary Madine’s 50th-minute penalty proved enough to give Wednesday a Capital One Cup scalp at Hillsborough as the Owls knocked out Premier League Fulham to progress to the third round.
The scoreline may have been close but Dave Jones’s men fully deserved their win, and the scoreline could have been bigger in Wednesday’s favour against a lacklustre Fulham outfit.
Victory for Wednesday maintained their unbeaten start to the season, brought about a first clean sheet of the campaign and stretched Dave Jones’s unbeaten record as Owls boss to 18 matches.
Both teams made changes to their starting line-ups from the weekend. Stephen Bywater started in goal for the Owls, while Daniel Jones played at left-back, Nejc Pecnik and Giles Coke came into the midfield and Chris Maguire partnered Madine in attack.
And the changes meant for a sluggish start to proceedings, with neither side really grasping a hold of the game and both goalkeepers being spectators.
Wednesday’s first threat on goal came through Michail Antonio, who forced Fulham stopper Mark Schwarzer into an early save, while Gary Madine was also denied by the Australian as Wednesday upped their gear.
The Londoners, impressive in their opening Premier League matches, struggled to get into the game and test Bywater, something not helped by the missing Moussa Dembele, who looks set for a move to Tottenham Hotspur.
Antonio again post the next, and final, threat of the first half when he lashed an effort over the bar.
The first-half may not have been a classic, but the Owls coped well with their higher-division opponents and were the better team in the first half.
Half-Time: Wednesday 0-0 Fulham
The hosts maintained their momentum in the second half and the visitors had Aaron Hughes to thank for clearing a Miguel Llera effort off the line from a Jones corner kick.
But the opener wasn’t far away and it was Wednesday who deservedly got it from the penalty spot.
Maguire was felled inside the box by two Fulham defenders and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, allowing Madine to step-up and power home what turned out to be the winner.
The opener sparked some life into the visitors and they had the ball in the back of the net through defender Brede Hangeland, although the officials chalked it off for an infringement.
Hangeland proved Fulham’s biggest threat on the night from set pieces, heading another effort over, although Bywater had a relatively quiet evening.
Wednesday looked the most likely to bag the next goal, however, and Pecnik could have doubled their lead only to see his powerful effort come back off the crossbar late on.
Wednesday: Bywater, Buxton, Llera, Beevers, D Jones, Antonio, Semedo, Coke, Pecnik, Madine, Maguire (Rodri 69). Unused substitutes: Jameson, Lee, McCabe, R Johnson, Mayor, Lavery.
Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly (Riether 72) Hangeland, Baird, Sidwell, Kasami (Trotta 63), Duff, Briggs, Hughes, Rodagella, Kacaniklic. Unused substitutes: Stockdale, Diarra, Halliche, Smith.
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