Sheffield Wednesday advanced to the third round of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday with a 1-0 win over Premiership outfit Fulham at Hillsborough.
A Gary Madine penalty was enough to separate the sides in a contest of few chances, the lion’s share of which went to the Owls.
Dave Jones’ men bossed the game overall and were good value for entry into the third round draw, which takes place later this week.
Jones mixed things up for the cup clash, making five changes from the side that beat Millwall in the Championship on Saturday.
Daniel Jones, Giles Coke and Nejc Pecnik were handed starts in midfield, while Chris Maguire came in to partner Madine up front.
Fulham manager Martin Jol also shuffled his pack and it was a largely uneventful opening to the game.
Wednesday enjoyed the better of the possession, with Pecnik looking lively down the left flank and one piece of skill completely bamboozled his marker but the Owls couldn’t find a way through from the resulting free kick.
Michail Antonio brought a diving save from Schwarzer just after the half-hour mark and Madine called the Fulham keeper into action moments later.
It was all Wednesday as half time approached and Antonio drilled a piledriver narrowly over the crossbar two minutes before the whistle.
The second half started as the first had ended with the Owls in the driving seat and Miguel Llera had a snapshot cleared off the line by Aaron Hughes following a Jones corner.
Then, on 50 minutes, the contest really kicked into life when Wednesday were awarded a penalty.
The lively Maguire was sandwiched between two defenders in the area before going to ground and referee Paul Tierney pointed to the spot.
Madine stepped up to fire emphatically past Schwarzer from 12 yards.
Fulham upped the ante and skipper Brede Hangeland had the ball in the net on 63 minutes but the referee’s assistant spotted an infringement and the strike was ruled out.
The hosts introduced Rodri for Maguire but it was Slovenian star Pecnik that almost doubled the lead when his blistering hit from the edge of the penalty area was deflected on to the crossbar.
The Cottagers turned up the heat in the closing stages without troubling Stephen Bywater and Wednesday saw out the clock with no scares and a passage into round three.
Owls: Bywater, Buxton, Llera, Beevers, D Jones, Antonio, Semedo, Coke, Pecnik, Madine, Maguire (Rodri 69)
Unused substitutes: Jameson, Lee, McCabe, R Johnson, Mayor, Lanery
Fulham: Schwarzer, Kelly (Riether 72) Hangeland, Baird, Sidwell, Kasami (Trotta 63), Duff, Briggs, Hughes, Rodagella, Kacaniklic
Unused substitutes: Stockdale, Diarra, Halliche, Smith