Underdogs rise to Carling Cup challenge
It was a terrible night for Championship clubs in the first round of the Carling Cup, as QPR, Derby, Coventry, Barnsley, Nottingham Forest and Bristol City were all knocked out of the competition by lower league opposition.
Neil Warnock's QPR, who surged to the top of the Championship table at the weekend, found themselves 3-0 down to Port Vale just after half-time at Loftus Road, two goals from Justin Richards and one from Sean Rigg putting the League One side in charge. Antonio German pulled one back for QPR but Vale held on to win 3-1.
The Rangers boss blamed his side’s lack of strength in depth for the shock defeat. Warnock told Skysports: “I'm still looking at bringing some players in, absolutely. It showed tonight - if we want to be at the top end of the table then we've got to improve the squad.”
It was a similarly depressing night for fans of Coventry City, who slipped to an embarrassing 2-0 away defeat against Morecambe in the first game to be played at their new Globe Arena. Andrew Fleming, making his Morecambe debut, got both goals.
New Rochdale signing Anthony Elding grabbed the only goal of the game at Oakwell as Rochdale continued to pile the misery onto Barnsley, whose last win in a competitive match came in February against Blackpool.
Nigel Clough’s Derby were brought back down to earth following their 2-1 opening day win over Leeds by League Two side Crewe, who profited from some sloppy Rams defending to progress to second round with a 1-0 victory. Shaun Barker sliced into his own net on the stroke of half-time to dampen the early season expectations at Pride Park.
Nottingham Forest continued their winless run this season as League Two Bradford came from behind to defeat Billy Davies’ side in extra time. James Hanson scored Bradford's extra-time winner to seal the 2-1 win.
Another side tipped for promotion from the Championship this season, Bristol City, also went down in extra time to a League Two side. Cash strapped Southend United had Matthew Patterson to thank as he netted twice as the Shrimpers rose to the challenge to see off the Robins, who had David James watching on from the bench.
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