An action-packed Carling Cup first round produced plenty of upsets and an astonishing 99 goals, along with penalty heartbreak.
One of the biggest upsets of the round came at the Crown Ground, where an injury time Paul Mullin header gave League Two Accrington Stanley a shock 2-1 win over 10-man Walsall of League One. Championship side Watford eventually overcame a spirited Barnet, with extra time strikes from Mike Williamson and Scott Severin putting the Hornets into the draw for the second round. Meanwhile, A Nicky Maynard header gave Bristol City a narrow 1-0 win at Brentford and a Darryl Duffy brace proved enough to see Bristol Rovers triumph 2-1 over Aldershot.
Elsewhere, West Brom booked their place in the second round with a 2-0 win at Bury, whilst their Championship rivals Reading and Preston both recorded comprehensive victories over League Two opposition – the Royals beating Burton Albion 5-1 and Preston overcoming Morecambe by the same scoreline. Cardiff built on their weekend win by beating Dagenham and Redbridge 3-1. Scott Dobie’s last minute header ensured Carlisle scraped past League One rivals Oldham and a Lee Barnard brace gave Southend a 2-1 win at Cheltenham. At Selhurst Park new signing Darren Ambrose scored twice to help Crystal Palace to a 2-1 win against Torquay.
Leyton Orient progressed thanks to a 2-1 victory at Colchester, whilst Blackpool prevented a shock exit after winning by the same scoreline at League Two Crewe. Wayne Routledge’s first career hat-trick inspired QPR to a crushing 5-0 win over Exeter at St James’ Park, whilst Paul Sturridge’s miserable Carling Cup record continued as his Plymouth side lost 2-1 at Gillingham. An extra-time strike from Jonny Godsmark saw giant killers Hereford claim another scalp with a 1-0 win over Charlton. Elsewhere, a Jordan Rhodes double helped Huddersfield progress with a 3-1 win over Stockport.
A solitary Daniel Bogdanovic strike was enough to give Barnsley a 1-0 win at Lincoln and a hat-trick from Milwall’s all time top scorer, Neil Harris, gave the Lions a comfortable 4-0 win over Bournemouth.
Swindon made up for their weekend humiliation by beating MK Dons 4-1, whilst Notts County – who recently announced Sven Goran Eriksson as Director of Football, lost 1-0 at home to Doncaster. League Two Rotherham produced one of the shocks of the round by beating Championship side Derby County 2-1, who last year reached the Carling Cup semi-final before going out to Manchester United. Scunthorpe booked their place in the second round with a win against Chesterfield, the result again 2-1. A Marc Richards brace helped Port Vale to a shock 2-1 victory over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.
Jermaine Johnson scored a goal in each half to help Sheffield Wednesday to a 3-0 victory over Rochdale, whilst League Two Shrewsbury twice came from behind in a gripping 3-3 draw with Roy Keane’s Ipswich, before cruelly going out 4-2 on penalties. Southampton went through following a 2-0 win against Northampton and a Stephen Dobbie brace inspired Swansea to a 3-0 win at home to Brighton. Tranmere and Peterborough both progressed with comfortable 4-0 victories against Grimsby and Wycombe respectively, whilst a Grant Holt hat-trick gave crisis club Norwich a morale boosting 4-0 win at Yeovil.
Carling Cup first round results
Accrington 2-1 Walsall
Barnet 0-2 Watford (aet)
Brentford 0-1 Bristol City
Bristol Rovers 2-1 Aldershot
Bury 0-2 West Brom
Cardiff 3-1 Dag & Red
Carlisle 1-0 Oldham
Cheltenham 1-2 Southend
Colchester 1-2 Leyton Orient
Crewe 1-2 Blackpool
Crystal Palace 2-1 Torquay
Exeter 0-5 QPR
Gillingham 2-1 Plymouth
Hereford 1-0 Charlton
Huddersfield 3-1 Stockport
Lincoln 0-1 Barnsley
Millwall 4-0 Bournemouth
MK Dons 1-4 Swindon
Notts County 0-1 Doncaster
Preston 5-1 Morecambe
Reading 5-1 Burton
Rotherham 2-1 Derby
Scunthorpe 2-1 Chesterfield
Sheff Utd 1-2 Port Vale
Sheff Wed 3-0 Rochdale
Shrewsbury 3-3 Ipswich (aet)
Southampton 2-0 Northampton
Swansea 3-0 Brighton
Tranmere 4-0 Grimsby
Wycombe 0-4 Peterborough
Yeovil 0-4 Norwich
Coventry 0-1 Hartlepool (aet)
Macclesfield 0-2 Leicester
Nottm Forest 3-0 Bradford
Carling Cup second round draw
West Brom vs. Rotherham
Norwich vs. Sunderland
Tranmere vs. Bolton
QPR vs. Accrington
Bristol City vs. Carlisle
Leyton Orient vs. Stoke
Port Vale vs. Sheffield Wednesday
Hull vs. Southend
Leeds vs. Watford
Cardiff vs. Bristol Rovers
Portsmouth vs. Hereford
Crystal Palace vs. Manchester City
Wolves vs. Swindon
Gillingham vs. Blackburn
Blackpool vs. Wigan
Southampton vs. Birmingham
Preston vs. Leicester
Newcastle vs. Huddersfield
West Ham vs. Millwall
Hartlepool vs. Burnley
Nottingham Forest vs. Middlesbrough
Reading vs. Barnsley
Swansea vs. Scunthorpe
Doncaster vs. Tottenham
Peterborough vs. Ipswich
