THERE have been plenty of sleepless nights at Wanderers of late – so someone might want to set an early alarm call for the third round draw on Thursday morning.

With everything going on off the pitch at the Macron this week, the Carabao Cup had been somewhat of an unwanted distraction.

But the Whites will take their place in the hat – inexplicably timed at 4.15am in Beijing – but only after clinging on to victory in a five-goal thriller at the Macron.

Wanderers would have had nightmares had they spurned a three-goal lead given to them by Dorian Dervite, Adam Armstrong and Jem Karacan.

Old enemy Jordan Rhodes pulled two back, and BOTH managers were sent to the stands as the latter stages of the game descended into chaos.

Police and stewards descended on an abandoned technical area after the two managers retreated to the stands behind the dugouts, presumably to calm things down.

Owls boss Carvalhal is understood to have clashed with a steward who had asked him to move further back in the stands and could now face punishment, as the incident went into the referee's report.

Parkinson was punished for straying from his technical area and may also get a warning from the FA.

On the pitch things were going at 100-miles-per-hour, the result in doubt right up to the final kick of the game.

Phil Parkinson made seven changes, giving Ben Alnwick, Stephen Darby, Mark Little, Will Buckley, Antonee Robinson, Aaron Wilbraham and Derik Osede a chance to stretch their legs.

Wednesday made a similar number – although their second-string line-up still included Rhodes, Fernando Forestieri and Ross Wallace… Oh, how the other half live.

Former former Bristol City full-back Little started against Crewe in the previous round and kept his place at Millwall but hadn’t yet set the place alight since his summer move.

Signs were positive indeed early on as he tormented Adam Reach, raiding into the penalty box at will.

Parkinson had kept faith with the 3-5-2 formation which had come in for such a pounding after the Derby defeat but with both wing-backs willing to move on at pace, the system looked just fine in the first half.

Unlike the last two home games, Wanderers’ defensive shape stayed solid too – and there was no repeat of the cheap errors which gave them such a mountain to climb.

One of the reasons was a disciplined display from Derik, who sat in front of the back four to good effect.

The Spaniard has found it difficult to force his way into the reckoning under Parkinson but believes he is more suited to a technical Championship than the hustle and bustle of League One. On this evidence, it was hard to argue.

Derik may not have the physical attributes of some of his midfield peers but what he lacks in physique, he makes up for in technique on the ball and rarely wasted a pass against Wednesday.

He may even have had a second Carabao Cup goal to celebrate, heading narrowly wide from Buckley’s corner midway through the half.

Goalscoring opportunities became more prevalent as the half wore on, Sam Winnall twice going close for Wednesday before the visitors were nearly caught on the break as captain-for-the-night Karacan seized on a loose ball on the edge of the box and narrowly missed Armstrong with his cross.

The opening goal came from an unlikely source but not an unfamiliar scenario as Wilbraham’s physicality caused problems, a shout of handball briefly going up before Dervite pivoted to volley into the bottom corner.

It was the Frenchman’s second goal for Bolton and only the seventh of a 204-game career in English football – but his block to deny Rhodes at the other end 60 seconds later was arguably just as important.

An almighty melee erupted in the Wanderers box but judging by the pats on the back and high fives being dealt out to Dervite as the danger dispersed, his was the vital body in the way.

Wednesday looked hungry for an equaliser after the restart but were perhaps guilty of pushing too far forward as they got caught on the break for a second goal.

Armstrong raced through the middle and played a perfectly-timed pass to Buckley – his touch was heavy but keeper Joe Wildsmith’s challenge was clumsy and referee David Webb had little choice but to point to the spot.

It was Armstrong, who had scored against Crewe in the previous round, who stepped up to drive home the second.

Joy turned to ecstasy moments later as Wanderers scored a third.

Derik showed both sides of his game, spraying a wonderful cross-field pass to Little then winning back possession in the middle to allow Robinson to cross for Karacan to loop his header over Wildsmith.

It gave Parkinson the chance to swap a few players round with Friday’s trip to Hull City in mind – and with 20 minutes left on the clock the game looked over and done with.

No one told Wednesday, and they forced their way back into as Dervite blotted his copybook, failing to clear and allowing Rhodes to prod the ball past Alnwick at close range.

Giant striker Atdhe Nuhiu missed a sitter at the far post and Darby had to hook a shot from sub Marco Matias off the line.

Wednesday threw everything forward in a frenetic final few minutes and Rhodes netted a second before both managers were sent to the stands after reacting to a foul by ex-Wanderers loanee Barry Bannan on Fil Morais.

Neither wanted to retreat far and took up a position in the first row of seats. Both were asked to move by the stewards - but an angry exchange between Carvalhal prompted a brief flashpoint. It is understood the incident has not been reported to the police.

Six added minutes made things even more nervy for the Whites faithful but their team held on.