Alex Mighten takes his chance as Sheffield Wednesday make steady progress into FA Cup second round with 2-0 win over Morecambe

Josh Windass's opening goal was worth the admission fee alone but with few paying it – there were three random fans on the Kop to six stewards plus another 8,555 spread elsewhere – and Morecambe pretty timid, it was hard to create the atmosphere that would in turn generate the drama the famous old competition lives off.

Even though this was an all-League One fair, the team-sheet tried it best to give it something approaching a David-versus-Goliath feel.

The Owls made five changes which did not massively weaken them, even with Barry Bannan given the night off, whereas Morecambe were unable to even fill theirs.

It was one of those who came into the side, Alex Mighten, who took his chance and his tie-settling first Owls goal was fair reward for a good night's work.

The on-loan Nottingham Forest winger is yet to make consecutive starts for the Owls, but made a strong case to do that at Southampton.

As they came to dominate the ball, the Owls increasingly tried to play acute passes through the middle of Morecambe's massed defensive ranks. But it was when they got wide – especially down Mighten's left-hand side – that they looked the most effective.

Their first two chances came from that side, Michael Smith heading wide when Windass – playing in the hole of a 4-2-3-1 – crossed.

A minute later it was left-back Reece James who delivered from deeper. It was a ball Windass needed to do all the work with but although he got leverage on his header, it dropped onto the roof of the net.

Morecambe had a couple of early chances too with balls slicing through Wednesday's back four for runners, but Dylan Connolly and Arthur Gnahoua shot weekly at David Stockdale.

From about 20 minutes in, though, Wednesday took over as Mighten grew in confidence. It would not be until the second half and the introduction of Kieran Phillips and a solidifying of the Shrimpers’ fluid forward line that they caught the eye again.

Jack Hunt's shot deflected against the post when he beat Ryan Cooney, got to the byline and pulled the ball back.

That clearly lifted Mighten, who beat his man again a couple of minutes later. The cross had to be recycled and when it was worked back to James, his strike was blocked.

A glancing Smith header, this time from a Tyreeq Bakinson ball on the right, might even have kissed the far post on its way behind.

Generally, though, it was the Mighten show and whilst he could not have been said to have made the opening goal for Windass, he gave the move impetus.

It started with his surge down the left before turning back and playing a safe pass. James worked it to Windass, who curled a wonderful shot inside the far post.

Even just before the half-hour, it looked like Wednesday would be in Monday's second-round draw so long as they kept their concentration at the back. With them, though, it is far from a given.

They did their best to keep it interesting for 20 first-half minutes both with their profligacy at one end and the odd defensive lapse at the other.

Dominic Iorfa had to head Phillips's chip over after Stockdale rushed way out of his goal without getting the ball to offer an empty net.

Stockdale saved well from Jensen Weir and Iorfa had to slide in to block another Phillips effort after Bakinson turned possession over with a poor pass from near the corner flag at his end of the field.

Mainly, though, the traffic went the other way, a Mallik Wilks run ending in a deflected shot, Windass heading the corner onto the bar via former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Connor Ripley's glove, then putting the next one wide from a tight angle, Smith backheeling James into a centre-forward's position without him finding a centre-forward's finish, and three Mighten shots, the winger was donated a terrible backpass to slot in.

As if to confirm it was game over, manager Darren Moore quickly made a triple substitution and Wednesday pot-shots – Wilks, and substitutes Fisayo Dele-Bashiru and Callum Paterson amongst them – were the only moments of note as they made serene progress to the iconic velvet bag.

The magic of the Cup will have to wait. The main thing for the Owls is that they are still in it.

Sheffield Wednesday: Stockdale; Hunt (Ihiekwe 70), Iorfa, McGuinness, James (Johnson 70); Bakinson, Vaulks; Mighten, Windass (Dele-Bashiru 70), Wilks (Paterson 81); Smith. Unused substitutes: Charles, Brown, Byers, Bannan, Gregory.Morecambe: Ripley; O'Connor, Bedeau (Phillips 46), Delaney; Cooney, Shaw , Rawson, Gibson; Gnahoua (Watts 76), Weir; Connolly.Unused substitutes: Smith, Fane, Stockton, Obika.Referee: SS Gill (Middlesex).