Sheffield Wednesday clinched their place in the last 16 of the FA Cup as they exorcised the ghosts of a spot-kick shoot-out defeat to Wolves exactly five years ago.

On that occasion it was at the end of another fourth-round replay at Molineux that Wednesday suffered the heart-break of bowing out on penalties.

But this time they held their nerve to set up a fifth-round date with Second Division Gillingham in 11 days' time and leave manager Danny Wilson with even more reasons to be cheerful.

The game always looked as if it would go the distance and so it proved with Simon Donnelly proving the hero - there is always one in drama such as this - to send the Owls through.

During the half-time break the two giant video screens inside the ground had replayed the shoot-out back in 1995.

Then Wednesday's current reserve team coach Chris Waddle missed the decisive spot-kick at the time before Don Goodman strode up to send his team through.

This time it was a different story after Keith Curle and Andy Hinchcliffe had traded the opening penalties, Pavel Srnicek then saved from Paul Simpson, while Michael Branch missed badly to the right.

Wim Jonk and Gerald Sibon netted their 12-yarders to give Wednesday a 3-1 lead, but there was hope for Wolves when Steve Sedgley and Steve Corica scored either side of Richard Cresswell blasting straight at Oakes.

It all came down to Donnelly, and he made no mistake as Oakes went the wrong way to the delight of Wednesday and the horror of Wolves.

It was sweet justice for Wednesday as they had gone into the game determined to right the wrong of 10 days ago when linesman Trevor Massey stole the headlines.

Leading by Niclas Alexandersson's early opener at Hillsborough, Massey ruled Sedgley's headed 'equaliser' did cross the line after first hitting the inside of the post before being palmed away by keeper Srnicek.

Wednesday's players and Wilson were furious, while Sedgley even admitted it was a goal that never was, with television replays then confirming the verdict of everybody - except Massey.

The referee's assistant then continued to stand by his judgment, despite being 35 yards away from the incident and with Srnicek shielding the ball.

Lightning refused to strike twice, however, as the Owls breathed a heavy sigh of relief when Wolves carved out the best chance of the opening half in the 24th minute.

Former Wednesday midfielder Andy Sinton picked out Ade Akinbiyi all alone just inside the Wednesday six-yard box for a free header which had Srnicek rooted to the spot.

The ball again hit the inside of the post although on this occasion there was no doubt the ball bounced back into play as Steve Haslam then hacked clear.

Wednesday, of course, had no right of appeal from the first game and so leading to this replay they could have done without, particularly given the saga over the last few days involving the gang of four MPs.

Education and Employment secretary David Blunkett, along with Bill Michie, have since attempted to distance themselves from the ill-timed comments of David Betts calling for Wilson's sacking.

The fourth member - former director and one-time vice-president Joe Ashton - has also been an outspoken critic, with revelations surrounding the club's financial crisis expected tomorrow morning.

For Wolves, such discord at Hillsborough mattered little as they were just looking to become the latest Nationwide League side to claim a Premiership scalp.

Liverpool, Sunderland, West Ham, Middlesbrough, Derby, Bradford, Wimbledon and Watford have all fallen to lower league opposition this season, with the FA Cup proving an unhappy hunting ground for top-flight clubs.

Wednesday, though, had an immediate chance to make an impression when Sibon split the Wolves defence with a perfect pass into the path of strike partner Gilles De Bilde in the second minute.

The Belgian international, struggling to find the net of late with only one goal in his last 10 appearances, strode onto the through ball and unleashed an angled left-foot drive across Oakes and inches beyond the left-hand post.

It then became a duel for supremacy, with both sides struggling to gain the upper hand in a game which was delayed by 20 minutes due to two accidents on the M1 which had held up travelling Owls fans.

Wolves, though, at least attempted to win the game in normal time as they created three golden chances in the closing moments.

With seven minutes to go Wolves could have booked their ticket to the Priestfield Stadium, only for Srnicek to make the save of the game.

Branch put Akinbiyi in the clear as Wednesday's defence was finally exposed - having previously ensured they had plenty of men behind the ball - but the Czech international produced a superb block to deny the forward before punching clear the loose ball.

Three minutes later Akinbiyi again tried his best to wrap up the victory, but a stunning angled half-volley from just outside the area was tipped away by a full-stretch Srnicek.

In the final seconds, Srnicek could then do nothing about an Emblen cross which took a deflection off Hinchcliffe and was spinning towards the inside of the far post until Ian Nolan dramatically cleared off the line to set up extra time.

In the first period of extra time it was Wednesday who should have broken the deadlock when Danny Sonner, a 78th minute sub for Alan Quinn, powered in a header which was cleared off the line by Lee Naylor.

Wolves then failed to adequately clear their lines, with the ball falling to Cresswell - who had just replaced De Bilde - sidefooting over the bar from six yards with his first touch and with the goal at his mercy.

The second period was chanceless, leading to a fitting finale, with Donnelly - a free transfer signing from Celtic in the summer and not having scored for the Owls this season - easing the crisis at Hillsborough.

Teams:

Wolverhampton: Oakes, Bazeley, Pollet, Curle, Naylor, Robinson (Osborn 79), Emblen, Sedgley, Sinton (Simpson 89), Akinbiyi (Corica 119), Branch.

Subs Not Used: Flo, Stowell.

Booked: Robinson.

Sheff Wed: Srnicek, Nolan, Atherton, Walker, Hinchcliffe, Scott (Donnelly 46), Haslam, Jonk, Quinn (Sonner 78), Sibon, De Bilde (Cresswell 99).

Subs Not Used: Pressman, Staniforth.

Booked: Quinn, Sonner.

Sheff Wed win 4-3 on penalties

Att: 25,201

Ref: G Barber (Tring, Herts).