Keane Lewis-Potter and Mathias Jensen were on target as Brentford progressed to the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup with a comfortable 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough.

Lewis-Potter gave the Bees a deserved lead midway through the first half, turning in Jensen’s free-kick at the back post. After Romelle Donovan was brought down in the Owls’ box by Cole McGhee, Jensen slammed home from the penalty spot to double the west Londoners’ advantage in the 64th minute.

Head coach Keith Andrews opted for a strong side at Hillsborough. Jordan Henderson, Jensen and Mikkel Damsgaard formed a highly experienced midfield three, while forward Donovan made his first start for the west Londoners.

Brentford came close during the opening stages. Donovan intercepted Jarvis Thornton’s weak pass and played the ball to Damsgaard, who slipped in Reiss Nelson down the left. The Arsenal loanee cut inside and rattled the crossbar with a fierce strike from 20 yards.

Jensen then curled in a free-kick from the right and Sepp van den Berg headed wide.

The Bees were denied by the woodwork for a second time midway through the half. Donovan brought down Jensen’s lofted pass and stood up a cross to the back post, which was headed against the crossbar by Lewis-Potter.

The pair combined again on 27 minutes to give Andrews’ side the lead. Jensen’s free-kick from the left was delivered at pace and Lewis-Potter poked home from close range.

Charlie McNeill’s first-time strike from 25 yards was held by Hákon Valdimarsson as the hosts threatened Brentford’s goal for the first time.

At the other end, Nelson had two chances in quick succession. The Arsenal loanee tried to squeeze the ball in from a tight angle having been played in by Henderson but was thwarted by Charles.

Jensen’s cross from the right then bounced through to the forward but he shot straight at the young keeper from a central position inside the six-yard box.

Having assisted Brentford’s first goal, Jensen had a golden opportunity to score the Bees’ second. The Dane latched onto Henderson’s long ball over the top and advanced towards goal but lifted his shot over the crossbar under pressure from a recovering Owls defender.

McNeill blasted a free-kick over the bar in the final seconds before the break.

Charles made a string of impressive saves at the start of the second half.

Lewis-Potter rounded the Wednesday keeper and lifted in a cross from the byline. Donovan brought the ball down but didn’t connect cleanly with his shot and Charles darted across his goal line to keep it out.

Charles was at full stretch to push Lewis-Potter’s looping effort over the crossbar after the former Hull City man had been picked out by Vitaly Janelt.

Charles then showed great reactions to push Jensen’s snapshot to safety. The keeper injured himself in the process and was replaced by Logan Stretch for the final half an hour at Hillsborough.

Stretch’s first job was the pick the ball out of his own net. Donovan, a livewire on his full debut, drew a foul from McGhee in the Owls’ penalty area, and Jensen smashed in from the spot in front of the travelling supporters.

Nathan Redmond cut in from the left and saw his low drive from the edge of the box pushed out by Valdimarsson. Svante Ingelsson headed the resulting corner towards goal, but Valdimarsson was again well positioned to make a save.

Donovan’s driven cross somehow evaded every player in a crowded six-yard box and Sean Fusire turned out for a corner.

Gustavo Nunes raced through and tried to lift the ball over Stretch, but the Owls keeper stood his ground and made a save.

Stretch then flung himself to his left and got a strong hand to Lewis-Potter’s header after the forward had met Jensen’s in-swinging corner inside the six-yard box.

Sheffield Wednesday: Charles (Stretch 60); Fusire, Emery, Otegbayo, McGhee, Alao (Johnson 60); Thornton, Ingelsson, Shipston (Redmond 61); McNeill (Grainger 90), Cadamarteri (Moses 77)

Subs not used: Palmer, Lowe, Onukwuli, Kay

Brentford (4-3-3): Valdimarsson; Hickey, van den Berg (Kayode 89), Pinnock, Henry (Arthur 80); Henderson (Janelt HT), Jensen (Konak 90), Damsgaard; Lewis-Potter, Nelson (Nunes 70), Donovan

Subs not used: Eyestone, Yarmoliuk, Ajer, Collins

Attendance: 10,642

Keith Andrews: Our players won’t underestimate any challenge

Head coach Keith Andrews shared his thoughts after Brentford's 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

“We’re very respectful of the competition and the opposition,” he began.

“I’m a big fan of cup competitions, so I wanted to treat it really seriously. Our players will always have the right attitude going into games – they won’t underestimate any challenge.

“We dealt with it well today.”

Romelle Donovan made his first start for the Bees at Hillsborough, and Andrews was impressed with the 19-year-old’s performance.

“He’s been champing at the bit, as everybody knows,” he said.

“He plays with so much enthusiasm; he wants the ball, he wants to be positive. I want our attacking players to try and make things happen, and I think he does that.

“He’s constantly learning the game, of course. He’s young and raw in certain aspects, and we need to keep nudging him in the right direction, but he was really good today.”

Keane Lewis-Potter pleased with FA Cup progression

Keane Lewis-Potter, scorer of Brentford’s first goal against Sheffield Wednesday, praised the Bees’ attitude at Hillsborough.

“These games can be tough sometimes, but it was a good win and we’re through to the next round,” he said.

“Our aim is to get as far as possible. We needed to do things properly like we always do. These places can be difficult to come to.”

On his close-range finish, Lewis-Potter added: “It’s something I work on every day, being in the right place at the right time for a tap-in.”