Luke Williams urged his Swansea side to use their convincing 3-1 victory over 10-man Gillingham in the first round of the Carabao Cup as the benchmark for their forthcoming league performances.Ronald’s solo effort gave the dominant Swans the advantage at half-time. Liam Cullen then struck a second after the Gills were reduced to 10 men in the 51st minute, Euan Williams given his marching o...Full Story »

Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder felt his younger players took their chances in the 4-2 win over Wrexham in the Carabao Cup.Will Boyle put the visitors ahead at Bramall Lane before Auston Trusty equalised.Lewis Brunt’s own goal and strikes from Louie Marsh and Anis Slimane sealed the win, with Seb Revan netting a late consolation for Wrexham.Wilder said: “I enjoyed it. I thought...Full Story »

Fleetwood manager Charlie Adam highlighted the importance of “a solid base, a good foundation to work from and players who can hurt the opposition” after his League Two side’s shock 2-1 Carabao Cup comeback win over Championship West Brom.Well-worked goals from Ryan Graydon and Ronan Coughlan cancelled out an early Modou Faal opener from the Baggies.Adam, who has been in charge...Full Story »

Doncaster manager Grant McCann was pleased with the battling qualities his side showed in their 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Salford.A clinical strike from veteran Billy Sharp and a late goal from substitute Luke Molyneux secured Rovers’ progress into round two.McCann said: “It’s never easy here in Salford on a wet Tuesday night but it was a good performance from us.“We had to ...Full Story »

Oxford boss Des Buckingham was delighted with his squad players after making eight changes yet still seeing plenty of quality in their 2-0 Carabao Cup win over League One Peterborough.First-half goals from Tyler Goodrham and debutant Matt Phillips gave Championship new boys Oxford a comfortable victory, as Posh rued missing good early chances.Buckingham said: “We spoke about the importance...Full Story »

Walsall boss Mat Sadler hailed Josh Gordon’s bottle after the striker rebounded from missing a penalty in normal time to hit the winning spot-kick in a 4-3 shoot-out win over Exeter to reach the second round of the Carabao Cup.Gordon has netted just once in his past 50 games and, with League Two side Walsall behind with nine minutes to go, he was foiled from the spot by Exeter goalkeeper J...Full Story »

Crawley boss Scott Lindsey felt his young team were thoroughly good value for their Carabao Cup win over Swindon – but felt they made hard work of the 4-2 home victory.Swindon, trailing to goals from Ade Adeyemo and Jack Roles, fought back midway through the second half to score twice and also miss a penalty through Will Wright inside a six-minute period.The Robins pulled level with goals ...Full Story »

Barrow boss Stephen Clemence praised his side’s performance in Tuesday night’s 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over League Two rivals Port Vale.Despite leading within a minute, the hosts found themselves 2-1 down after Tom Sang’s wonder strike but Clemence’s side won it through goals from substitute Emile Acquah and Ben Jackson.Bluebirds boss Clemence was particularly pleased wit...Full Story »

Millwall boss Neil Harris hailed his young cubs as the Lions booked their place in Carabao Cup second round for the first time in three years with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth.Homegrown talent Romain Esse, 19, impeccably slotted the only goal of the game in the 13th minute at Fratton Park.Esse, who grew up in Peckham and Bermondsey, grabbed his third goal for the club, while 18-year-old Alfie Masse...Full Story »

Boss Simon Weaver made a jubilant return to the LNER Stadium as the former Imps defender oversaw Harrogate’s 2-1 EFL Cup upset win over Lincoln.Weaver played around 100 games for City between 2002 and 2004 and was delighted to enjoy that winning feeling once more at ‘the Bank’ as Sam Folarin and James Daly produced the goods, with Jovon Makama replying with a late penalty.&ldqu...Full Story »