Sheffield Wednesday's Championship match against Coventry City at Hillsborough was briefly halted after some fans ran on to the pitch to protest against the home side's owner Dejphon Chansiri.
The incident appeared to unsettle the hosts as they fell to a 5-0 defeat to Frank Lampard's side.
A small group of supporters entered the field of play in the 10th minute and gathered in the centre circle before security staff removed them and the match was able to resume. The delay lasted around five minutes as both sets of players waited by the sideline.
Chansiri's ownership of the club has come under heavy criticism of late. Owls fans and local MPs are continuing to demand Thai businessman Chansiri sell the cash-strapped Championship club.
Various embargoes have been placed on the club for tax debts, late payments to players and staff, while money owed to rival clubs has left them in a perilous financial position.
Commenting on the issues affecting Wednesday which led to the on-pitch protest, Lampard said: "I very much sympathise with them.
"I think they're doing great in the way they're carrying themselves and even the fans come on the pitch, my opinion, but I think it's understandable and they came off the pitch quickly. I want to say that because this is a great club."
Thomas-Asante opened the scoring early on Saturday and completed his double just after the half-hour mark, while Haji Wright, Ellis Simms and Tatsuhiro Sakamoto were also on target.
The visitors got off to a great start when Thomas-Asante produced a close-range finish in the third minute after the Owls defence failed to deal with a corner effectively.
Wednesday's Yan Valery had a chance soon after the goal but fired the ball off target from the right-hand side of the area.
The 10th minute saw play suspended as fans entered the pitch and Wednesday's fortunes did not improve following the restart.
Wright wasted a great chance for Coventry after putting through on goal, prodding the ball wide from a good position. He then had a shot blocked as the visitors continued to press for a second goal.
Their pressure paid off when some hesitant defending from Dominic Iorfa saw him caught in possession and Thomas-Asante took advantage, producing a fine low finish into the far corner of the net from inside the box.
Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath made an important save towards the end of the half to deny Coventry a third goal, getting down smartly to save a close-range effort from Ephron Mason-Clark, who had got on the end of a low cross from Thomas-Asante.
It proved to be a temporary respite, however, as the visitors did score a third goal in first-half stoppage-time.
Matt Grimes swung the ball into the area, it was headed on by Thomas-Asante and Bobby Thomas' far-post header was moving towards the net but Wright got the final touch from close range.
It looked to be offside and there were strong protests from the Wednesday players but referee Adam Herczeg dismissed the appeals.
He and his fellow match officials faced a barrage of boos as they left the pitch at the end of the half.
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Thomas-Asante went close to completing his hat-trick just after the hour-mark when his header was saved by Horvath.
Substitute Simms added a fourth goal after 68 minutes as he fired Kaine Kesler-Hayden's low cross into the net after arriving unmarked at the far post.
With 15 minutes remaining, Sakamoto made it 5-0, hammering the ball into the net after the defence failed to deal with a free-kick played into the area as Coventry extended their unbeaten start to the season to nine matches.
Information from PA contributed to this story.