Swansea City were dumped out of the EFL Cup first round by Welsh rivals Newport County, while fellow Championship sides Queens Park Rangers, Birmingham City and Cardiff City also suffered upsets at the hands of lower-league opposition.
A first-half double from Tristan Abrahams, the first stabbed in from close range and the second after rounding the goalkeeper in the final minute of the half, secured a deserved 2-0 win for Michael Flynn’s Exiles. The League Two side are no stranger to a cup upset and knocking out their neighbours, the 2013 winners, will have been one of their most enjoyable yet.
Birmingham, another side to have won the competition in the past decade having triumphed in 2011, also fell to League Two opposition. Robbie Cundy, on loan from Bristol City, headed in the only goal early at St Andrews as Cambridge United made it an unhappy first match in charge for Aitor Karanka.
Plymouth Argyle, fresh from their promotion to League One, claimed the second-tier scalp of QPR, with Frank Nouble scoring the winning goal on debut in a 3-2 win. Ryan Manning gave QPR an early lead but Joe Edwards and Danny Mayor responded for the Pilgrims, who won it with Nouble volleying in a Conor Grant cross after Osman Kakay had levelled.
Northampton Town not only claimed an upset but did so in comprehensive fashion, beating Cardiff 3-0. Jordi Osei-Tutu, on loan from Arsenal, felled Joseph Mills to allow Harry Smith to score from the spot, and the Cobblers didn’t look back from there with Matt Warburton netting a second and Ryan Watson curling a delicious third from outside the box.
Collins sinks Norwich
Following their Premier League relegation, Norwich City began life back as an EFL club with a 3-1 defeat at Championship rivals Luton Town, where James Collins was the hero with a hat-trick in a match between two former Cup winners. The match came to life in the final dozen minutes, including three goals in the space of four minutes as Collins opened the scoring from the spot, responded instantly to Kieran Dowell’s equaliser on debut, and then completed his treble in the 95th minute.
Lucas Joao also scored a hat-trick as Reading came from a goal down to see off Colchester United. Both sides had new managers although Reading’s, Veljko Paunovic, couldn’t attend as he remained in quarantine after recently arriving in the country. The U’s new boss Steve Ball saw Jevani Brown put his side in front, but Joao levelled just before the break and scored two more in the second half.
Millwall had no problems at League Two side Crawley Town, with Scott Malone and a Jordan Tunnicliffe own goal putting them in charge. Sam Ashton did give the hosts some hope but Matt Smith’s header saw the Championship side through 3-1.
Bristol City dominated Exeter City, with Jamie Paterson and Antoine Semenyo giving them a 2-0 win, while Tyler Walker’s late strike saw Coventry City through despite Milton Keynes Dons dominating much of the tie after Declan Drysdale’s red card, from which Marko Marosi saved Carlton Morris’s penalty.
Ipswich impress
Ipswich Town laid down a marker for their season with an impressive 3-0 win over League One rivals Bristol Rovers, as Freddie Sears scored a brace for Paul Lambert’s side with a Luke Chambers header in between.
Charlton Athletic triumphed over Swindon Town with a 3-1 success, which included a goal for 17-year-old Charlie Barker. Macauley Bonne opened the scoring before substitute Jonny Smith levelled, but Chuks Aneke nodded down a free-kick for Barker to put Charlton back ahead before turning scorer to wrap up the result.
The final all-League One affair in the southern section went to penalties, with Simon Eastwood making two saves to send Oxford United through at the expense of AFC Wimbledon. Eastwood also saved an Anthony Hartigan penalty late in normal time, as the sides finished level after a Cameron Brannagan goal and a James Henry own goal.
Liam Sercombe scored the only goal from long range as Cheltenham Town edged past League One side Peterborough United, while Gillingham saw off Southend United, led by Mark Molesley for the first time, with Connor Ogilvie’s header giving them a 1-0 win despite playing the last half-hour with 10 men.
Leyton Orient won an all-League Two tie at Forest Green Rovers, with Danny Johnson and Conor Wilkinson amending a Dan Happe own goal for a 2-1 win.