Carabao Cup: Underdogs Prevail and Upsets Galore in First Round

Everyone’s second favorite domestic cup competition is back! Yay! The first round of Carabao Cup matches for the 2023/24 season is now in the history books. There were a few upsets in the round and then there were some straightforward wins too. 

Let’s round up and look at some of the memorable ties and events from the First round.

Gillingham 3 – 1 Southampton

The biggest upset of this round as League Two side Gillingham dumped Southampton out of the League Cup. Russell Martin did start his second-string side but having been recently relegated from the Premier League, Saints still had a pretty decent second team.

Southampton were last year’s semi-finalists in the Carabao Cup, so this upset will be pretty difficult to top. 

Preston 2 – 2 Salford City (Salford win 4-2 on Penalties)

Talking about upsets, we have yet another one as another League Two side dumped another Championship side out of the competition. Salford City beat Preston North End on penalties to advance to round two.

Connor McLeenan’s double had given a comfortable two-goal lead to Salford but Preston responded with Goals from Duane Holmes and Ben Woodburn. Preston’s new signing and Mads Frokjaer missed the decisive penalty to hand the tie to Salford City.

Stevenage 1 – 1 Watford (Stevenage win 4-3 on Penalties)

League One side Stevenage beat Championship high-flyers Watford on penalties to advance to the next round. This result is significant because Watford played with almost the same XI that tore apart QPR in the Championship last weekend.

Nathan Thompson scored the winning penalty for Stevenage as we witnessed yet another upset in the League Cup.

Swansea 3- 0 Northampton Town

Josh Ginnelly. That’s it. This tie will be remembered for Ginnelly’s goal-of-the-season contender. Swansea saw off Northampton Town with considerable ease with one or two shaky moments.

This tie though belonged to Josh Ginnelly’s superb individual goal where he collected the ball near the halfway line, nutmegged a player, and then arrowed in an effort straight into the top corner of Northampton’s net from 30 yards. Ridiculous goal. Must watch!

Barnsley 2 – 2 Tranmere Rovers (Tranmere Rovers win 7-6 on Penalties)

Tranmere Rovers knocked out a youthful-looking Barnsley from the Carabao Cup. The game was end-to-end as the shots on goal suggest. Barnsley had 15 shots to Tranmere’s 14. Barnsley scored an injury-time (90+8mins) equaliser to set up penalties.

The penalties went into sudden death, and Jack Shepherd’s miss for Barnsley proved fatal for the League One side as they bowed out of the competition.

Hull City 1 – 2 Doncaster Rovers

It’s not only the magic of the FA Cup, sometimes there is magic in the League Cup as well. Yet another highly motivated League Two side took down a Championship side in the Carabao Cup.

Two George Miller goals were enough to take Doncaster through to the second round. Hull took the lead in the 3rd minute through Estupinan but the Rovers roared back and scored two goals to tilt the tie in their favour.

Huddersfield Town 2 – 3 Middlesborough

An all-championship tie finished in favour of Boro as they came from behind to beat the Terriers at the John Smith’s Stadium. Huddersfield took an early lead but that is as good as it got for them.

21-year-old Jaheim Headley was sent off on 14 minutes for a professional foul on Isaiah Jones. The game was as good as over after that. Boro scored three times through Silvera, who was making his first start for the club, Jones, and McGree.

Despite a late goal from Hudlin, Boro held on and advanced to the next round.

Blackburn 4 – 3 Walsall

Walsall, commonly known as the Saddlers, narrowly missed advancing as they faced off against Championship team Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, ultimately losing 4-3. The game began cautiously for both sides, but Walsall’s Ross Tierney quickly emerged as a dynamic force, setting up numerous chances, and even contributing to the Saddlers’ first goal with a corner kick that Oisin McEntee headed in.

However, Blackburn quickly equalized, thanks to Zak Gilesnan’s goal confirmed by goal-line technology. Despite taking the lead once more via Tierney, Walsall was unable to maintain the advantage as Blackburn equalized again before half-time.

The second half saw Blackburn pull ahead for the first time, as Jake Garrett skillfully maneuvered through Walsall’s defense to find the net. The Rovers further extended their lead with John Buckley’s goal in the 67th minute. Although Walsall managed to narrow the gap to a single goal after Ronan Maher scored his first professional senior goal, they couldn’t find the elusive equalizer before time ran out. Despite a spirited performance and multiple lineup changes, including the introductions of Aramide Oteh and Danny Johnson, Walsall couldn’t force the match into penalties and were subsequently eliminated from the tournament.

Other Notable Results

• Derby County 0 – 2 Blackpool
• Notts County 0 – 2 Lincoln City
• Stoke City 2 – 1 West Bromwich Albion
• Sheffield Wednesday 1 – 1 Stockport County (Wednesday win 4-1 on Penalties)
• Wrexham 0 – 0 Wigan Athletic (Wrexham win 4-2 on Penalties)
• Millwall 0 – 4 Reading
• Newport County 3 – 1 Charlton Athletic