David Slays Goliath: Gillingham's Sensational Victory Over Southampton Headlines an Eventful First Round of the Carabao Cup
Carabao Cup shocks: Gillingham stun Southampton 3-1, Hull and Millwall fall to Doncaster and Wrexham respectively on penalties, while eight Championship teams crash out; Watford, Preston, West Brom, and Huddersfield also eliminated
Gillingham caused a major upset in the Carabao Cup first round by eliminating Southampton, who were semi-finalists last season. Ashley Nadesan's goal, accompanied by a brace from Robbie McKenzie, led the League Two team to a 3-1 victory over the recently relegated Premier League side at Priestfield.
Saints manager Russell Martin opted to make 11 alterations to the team that emerged victorious at Sheffield Wednesday on Friday. However, this decision had disastrous consequences, despite substitute Carlos Alcaraz providing a consolation goal in the dying moments of the match.
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Carlos Alcaraz scored a late consolation goal for Southampton
Hull suffered a defeat in the Championship, losing 2-1 to League Two Doncaster. George Miller scored two goals for Doncaster after Oscar Estupinan had initially given Hull the lead. Millwall also faced an exit as troubled Reading dominated with a commanding 4-0 victory at The Den, with Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan scoring two goals and additional strikes from Charlie Savage and Mamadi Camara.
Content Three Championship teams were eliminated by lower-division clubs on penalties. Crewe defeated Sunderland 5-3 in the shootout following a 1-1 draw, while Stevenage advanced by knocking out Watford. Salford pulled off an upset by overcoming Preston.
In stoppage time, Sheffield Wednesday secured a 1-1 draw against Stockport thanks to a goal from Tyreeq Bakinson. The Owls then emerged victorious in the penalty shootout, winning 4-1.
Aiden Marsh scored the equalizer for Barnsley in the 98th minute, securing a 2-2 draw against Tranmere. However, Tranmere emerged victorious in a penalty shootout, winning 7-6. Newport, from League Two, staged a comeback after conceding a goal to defeat Charlton, who are from League One, with a final score of 3-1.
Newly-promoted Wrexham, playing their first League Cup tie since 2007, went through on penalties after a goalless draw at home against Wigan.
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League Two side Wrexham made it past Wigan on penalties
Peterborough emerged as the winners through penalty shootout after a 1-1 deadlock against Swindon. Similarly, Rotherham secured the victory after a 1-1 tie at their home ground against Morecambe.
Sutton achieved victory from the penalty spot after a thrilling 2-2 draw with Cambridge. Moreover, Bradford managed to overcome their League Two rivals Accrington by a commanding scoreline of 4-1 in the penalty shootout, following a 1-1 draw.
Stoke emerged victorious with a 2-1 win against West Brom, while Middlesbrough triumphed in the all-Championship clash against Huddersfield with a 3-2 scoreline. Swansea secured a 3-0 home win over Northampton, thanks to Joel Piroe's double, marking new manager Michael Duff's first victory. Birmingham also secured their spot with a 2-0 success at Cheltenham, courtesy of two goals from Juninho Bacuna.
There were also wins for Blackpool, Bolton, Plymouth, Port Vale, Portsmouth, Exeter, Mansfield, Lincoln, Wycombe and Harrogate.
