Colchester head coach Wayne Brown hailed a “massive, massive plus” for his club a they beat his old side Ipswich 1-0 in the opening round of the Carabao Cup.His team defended tenaciously throughout a resolute 90-minute display and won the game with their only clear-cut chance when Luke Hannant pounced on a slack pass across his own penalty area by Rakeem Harper in the 29th minute.Mea...Full Story »

Walsall manager Michael Flynn claimed it was a case of if, not when, Walsall would score against 10-man Swindon.The Saddlers took 79 minutes to get their noses in front through a Danny Johnson penalty after Harrison Minturn saw red on his professional debut for the visitors, before Timmy Abraham wrapped things up with his first Walsall goal two minutes later.“It was just a matter of if not...Full Story »

Mansfield Town boss Nigel Clough said his battling Sky Bet League Two side did not deserve to exit the Carabao Cup at the first hurdle after losing a thriller 2-1 to League One neighbours Derby County.Oli Hawkins levelled for the Stags on 56 minutes after Elliott Hewitt had put through his own net on 30 minutes before Tom Barkhuizen headed Derby a 69th minute winner and the home side had Jordan ...Full Story »

Sky Bet League Two side Mansfield pushed visiting neighbours Derby all the way before losing 2-1 and having Jordan Bowery dismissed near the end of a Carabao Cup thriller.An exciting first half saw the Rams go in ahead after Lewis Dobbin had turned a low cross from the left at goal which went in off defender Elliott Hewitt from close range on the half hour.Home keeper Christy Pym had already had...Full Story »

League One Oxford shocked Championship outfit Swansea 5-3 on penalties after storming back from two goals down at half-time to force a 2-2 draw.Penalties were earned thanks to Cameron Brannagan’s stoppage-time equaliser, but Swansea should have been out of sight after a dominant first half.Jay Fulton fired the Swans ahead in the eighth minute, curling a 20-yard free-kick around the wall af...Full Story »

James Waite scored the late winner as League Two Newport upset Championship side Luton in the Carabao Cup first round, winning 3-2 at Kenilworth Road.The Hatters went close twice inside the opening 20 minutes, Louie Watson’s curler missing the bottom corner, while Luke Berry’s blast parried away by Exiles keeper Joe Day.Admiral Muskwe was unable to beat Day, before Town were ahead on...Full Story »

Dramatic late goals from substitutes Mikael Mandron and Jordan Green powered Gillingham to a 2-0 win over AFC Wimbledon and into the second round of the Carabao Cup.The visitors should have taken the lead after just five minutes when Lewis Walker latched onto a defence-splitting pass from fellow summer signing Shaun Williams, only to stab the ball well wide of Nathan Broome’s goal.The Dons...Full Story »

Danny Rose struck a late winner as an inexperienced Reading side slid out of the Carabao Cup first round after a 2-1 home defeat by Stevenage.The League Two outfit dominated a scrappy first half, going ahead early on when 19-year-old loanee Saxon Earley scored from inside the home area.Reading levelled in the 63rd minute through Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan’s first goal for the club but Danny Rose...Full Story »

Mateusz Hewelt saved the 26th penalty in a mammoth shootout as Tranmere came from 2-0 behind to draw 2-2 and win 12-11 on penalties against Sky Bet League One side Accrington.Stanley led 2-0 before Tranmere grabbed an equaliser through Paul Lewis with almost the last kick of the game.It went to penalties and Hewelt saved Joe Pritchard’s effort while his counterpart Lukas Jensen kept out Rh...Full Story »

Wycombe battled into the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 victory at Northampton.Two moments of quality in the first half from Joe Jacobson and then D’Mani Mellor did the damage and ultimately booked Wycombe’s spot in round two despite a late penalty from Louis Appere.After a tame opening 10 minutes, things picked up with chances at both ends as Northampton goalkeeper Jonny...Full Story »

Exeter stormed into the second round of the EFL Cup with a 7-0 drubbing of fellow League One side Cheltenham on their own turf.It took them 23 minutes to open the scoring but they then fired four goals in a 12-minute spell.A poor clearance was seized upon and Jake Caprice’s low ball was touched over the line by Sam Nombe to make it 1-0.Alex Hartridge’s cross from the left then found ...Full Story »

Preston advanced to the second round of the Carabao Cup with a comfortable 4-1 victory over Huddersfield.The visiting Lilywhites, who had failed to score in their opening two league outings, enjoyed a rampant opening 30 minutes where they took complete control of the tie.Despite ringing the changes, new Terriers boss Danny Schofield could not prevent his side slipping to a third consecutive defe...Full Story »

Elias Kachunga scored one goal and assisted for a second as Bolton swept aside Salford 5-1 to reach round two of the Carabao Cup for only the third time in eight seasons.Ian Evatt’s Sky Bet League One side suffered a scare when their fourth-tier visitors took a 23rd minute lead through Brandon Thomas-Asante.But Kachunga-inspired Wanderers, who hadn’t conceded a goal in two previous m...Full Story »

Sheffield Wednesday manager Darren Moore will assess the effects of the new season to date on his players before picking a team to face Sunderland in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday evening.Experienced midfielder Barry Bannan picked up a minor knee problem in Saturday’s 1-0 Sky Bet League One win at MK Dons, and he will be among those players checked ahead of kick-off.Defender Akin Famewo, ho...Full Story »

Plymouth could hand starts to defenders Nigel Lonwijk and Brendan Galloway in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup first-round tie with Peterborough.Dutchman Lonwijk is awaiting his Argyle debut after arriving on a season-long loan from Wolves, while Galloway has not played a competitive first-team match since suffering a serious knee injury last November.Jordan Houghton seems likely to return in centr...Full Story »

Timo Werner is on the brink of leaving Chelsea to rejoin RB Leipzig, sources have told ESPN. The 26-year-old is expected to arrive in Germany for a medical ahead of a permanent move thought to be worth in the region of €30 million, although various performance-related add-ons are yet to be finalised. Werner is keen to kick-start his career ahead of the World Cup in Qatar after a disapp...Full Story »

Barcelona sent a letter to Frenkie de Jong in July warning the player that the renewal contract he signed in 2020 under the previous board had alleged irregularities, club sources told ESPN. When contacted by ESPN, sources close to the player said the contract is legal and claim the letter that Barca sent was intended to put pressure on the Netherlands midfielder to either accept a move away ...Full Story »

The Red Devils are looking to bring the France international to Old Trafford in case they fail to land a Barcelona talisman Manchester United are in talks to sign Adrien Rabiot from Juventus, having already reached an agreement over a fee with the Serie A side, GOAL understands. However, the Premier League team have not yet struck a deal with the midfielder. United are in the market for a ne...Full Story »

Mansfield trio Oli Hawkins, Rhys Oates and Hiram Boateng are all injury doubts for the home Carabao Cup tie against Derby.All three players were replaced in Saturday’s win against Tranmere, while manager Nigel Clough has confirmed he will field his strongest possible line-up against his former club.Hawkins (hamstring), Oates (ankle) and Boateng (ankle/hamstring) will be assessed and will n...Full Story »

Accrington are set to be without defender Jay Rich-Baghuelou for their Carabao Cup first-round clash against Tranmere.Rich-Baghuelou was forced off after 21 minutes of Saturday’s victory over Shrewsbury with an ankle injury and the club are waiting to learn the extent of the problem.Ryan Astley, who replaced him at the weekend having recently overcome injury himself, could continue.Defende...Full Story »