Brentford beat Sheffield Wednesday 5-4 on penalties to reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
Bees goalkeeper Mark Flekken saved Liam Palmer’s penalty – the only missed spot-kick in the shoot-out – to prevent an upset against the Championship side after the game finished 1-1.
The Premier League side took the lead through Kevin Schade’s 11th-minute goal and were completely dominant in the first half at the Gtech Community Stadium.
But Wednesday, who made nine changes from the Championship win at Portsmouth, upped their performance in the second half and levelled in the 57th minute after a fine Djeidi Gassama long-range strike – their first shot on target.
The equaliser livened up proceedings as both sides forced saves from the goalkeepers but a winner could not be found in normal time.
With all the first nine penalties having been scored, Palmer stepped up to take the spot-kick which would send it to sudden death but Flekken saved to send the hosts through.
Flekken atones for ‘unnecessary mistake’ with penalty heroics
Flekken may have been Brentford’s shoot-out hero but he admitted he was at fault for Wednesday’s second-half equaliser.
The Dutchman tried to launch a Brentford counter-attack with a throw after catching a corner, but he sold Schade short and Gassama then intercepted to score.
“The moment I caught the corner kick I had so many possibilities but I chose the wrong one,” he told Sky Sports.
“The mistake I made helped a lot to bring our mental side down. It took away the control we had and then it went from a controlled game to an open game.
“It was completely unnecessary. I chose the wrong man to roll the ball to and I need to learn from that.”
But Flekken then redeemed himself to save the penalty which ensured Brentford’s passage to the last eight.
He said: “I went to the wrong side twice at the start [of the shoot-out]. That doesn’t help your confidence when you’re in a shoot-out but luckily I saved the last one.
“It’s not the first and only mistake I’ve made in my career. I’m 31 now with quite some experience, that helps a lot in dealing with a mistake like that.”