A late winner from Brandon Njoku sealed victory for Cambridge over Wednesday’s Under-18s in the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup at the Abbey Stadium.
Glenn McConnell had opened the scoring for the U’s but an excellent goal from Joey Phuthi levelled for the Owls before the break.
The hosts pushed hard in the second period and ultimately deserved the win when Njoku struck in the dying embers.
Despite defeat, the young Wednesday side can certainly hold their heads high following an outstanding cup run this campaign.
The U’s started on the front foot and Jack Hall had to be sharp to hold onto a powerful shot from Njoku after a scramble in the box.
But on nine minutes, Cambridge hit the front through McConnell.
Dan Barton executed a fine dummy that allowed the ball to find Njoku, who laid back to McConnell and the deflected shot from the edge of the box found the bottom corner.
Wednesday regrouped and equalised just 10 minutes later in superb fashion.
Bailey Cadamarteri flicked the ball upfield before Phuthi latched onto a defensive mishap, darting beyond the U’s defence and slotting low under Tom Finch.
Cambridge saw a free kick from Kai Yearn tipped wide by Hall, before Phuthi latched onto a long range Rio Shipston feed at the other end but the winger fired wide.
The U’s had the first clear chance of the second period when the tricky Barton crossed for Ronan Ismaili but the midfielder’s shot went high over the bar.
Dan Carey-Evans nodded Yearn’s set piece wide at the back post, then McConnell almost added a second when his fierce strike smashed against the woodwork.
Cadamarteri latched onto a deep cross from Jarvis Thornton but the striker’s effort missed the target.
Cambridge pressed again with Yearn’s glancing header caught well by Hall, and Njoku fired just over moments later.
And the pressure from the U’s paid dividends on 87 minutes when they bagged the winning goal.
Njoku turned in the box and fired across Hall to set Cambridge up with a trip to Arsenal in the quarter-finals.
Wednesday: Hall, Flannery, Chapman, Maltby, Phuthi, Bradford (Rhule 88), Tapudzai, Shipston, Thornton, Maciag (Moses 67), Cadamarteri