Carling Cup brings some shocks

Norwich manager Nigel Worthington was left to rue a missed opportunity after seeing his side crash out of the Carling Cup at Northampton.

Worthington was upset at missing out on “revenue and glory” after Josh Low’s early goal saw Third Division Northampton through to the next round, where they could meet Premiership opposition.

Huddersfield also pulled off a shock tonight, coming from behind to beat Derby 2-1 at the McAlpine Stadium.

Jonathan Stead levelled matters for the Terriers and boss Peter Jackson tipped the 20-year-old for great things.

He said: “Stead is one of the best strikers outside the Premiership and you saw that again here tonight.

“It was an excellent performance by Stead and the rest of the team tonight. We deserved our win and showed the right attitude.”

Derby boss George Burley claimed his side’s exit may turn out to be “a blessing in disguise”.

He said: “For us the league is the priority so this defeat may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as we are trying to get a squad together to keep Derby in Division One.

“It was disappointing to concede two goals from set pieces and it is going to be a big challenge for me to turn the club round.”

Oxford pulled off one of the surprises of the night to beat First Division Millwall at the New Den but boss Ian Atkins claimed his side had put the Lions in the shade.

He said: “We got a couple of Premiership scalps last season and it was nice to get a First Division one. I thought we deserved to win.

“We had a game plan and it worked well and fair play to the players, they implemented our tactics spot on.

Doncaster’s first League Cup clash for six years was a dramatic one as the Yorkshiremen came from two goals down to beat nine-man Grimsby with a last-minute goal.