Carling Cup Round-Up – Portsmouth crash out as Sanchez performs another cup miracle
Portsmouth were one of six Championship sides to crash out to lower league opposition as the Carling Cup got off to an enthralling start.
Barnsley, Coventry, Derby, Hull and Ipswich also fell by the wayside in the first round but it was Lawrie Sanchez’s men who arguably stole the headlines with a shock 1-0 win at Fratton Park.
The telling blow came in the 29th minute when former Northern Ireland international Mark Hughes headed home for the League Two side after the hosts failed to deal with a corner.
Pompey captain Liam Lawrence was particularly critical of the performance when he spoke to the club’s official website: “We weren’t getting the ball down and testing them and that’s not good enough at any level, never mind against League Two opposition.
“I don’t like losing any game and if this match had been a pre-season friendly I would still have been embarrassed.”
Another eye-catching upset was at the KC Stadium as Hull fell to a 2-0 defeat to Macclesfield Town. The visitors were in much need of a change in fortunes after a disappointing 1-0 home loss to Dagenham and Redbridge on Saturday and found a hero in the shape of Emile Sinclair as the striker scored a clinical brace to shock their more illustrious hosts.
There was another brace at Pride Park as Shrewsbury striker Marvin Morgan helped himself to two goals as the visitors raced into a 3-0 half-time lead. Second half strikes from Chris Maguire and Theo Robinson gave Derby hope but it wasn’t enough as Nigel Clough’s men failed to build on their weekend win against Birmingham.
Upsets aside it was a strenuous workout for some sides as eight games went to extra time with a further five going to the lottery of penalties.
Burnley needed extra time to defeat Burton at Turf Moor after the visitors had fought from 3-1 down with five minutes to go in regular time to force the additional period. However they failed to deal with the finishing of Jay Rodriguez as the highly-rated striker finished the game with a four goal haul, two of these coming in extra time as the game eventually finished 6-3 to the Clarets.
Penalties were needed to separate Nottingham Forest and Notts County as the city rivals slugged out a 6-goal thriller at the City Ground. After the game had finished 2-2 in normal time Lee Hughes gave County the lead in the 98th minute. However the bragging rights were cruelly snatched away from the visitors as defender Wes Morgan crashed home deep into injury time at the end of extra time.
A Neal Bishop miss proved to be the decisive one in the shootout after Luke Chambers had held his nerve to edge Forest in front. It was a cruel blow to the 6,000 Magpies fans who made the short trip as they also saw controversial striker Hughes miss the chance to win the tie but he blazed his penalty over the bar before Chambers’ and Bishop’s spot kicks.
The draw for the second round takes place on Thursday following Sheffield Wednesday’s clash with Blackpool and this round’s giant-killers will be licking their lips at the thought of money-spinning away ties at the likes of Newcastle, Everton and Liverpool.
See the full list of OLBG's free Football Tips here.
Related Articles
|