Division 2 Blackpool upset unbeaten Premier League Birmingham 1-0 on Tuesday to reach the third round of the League Cup but Paolo Di Canio made sure Charlton didn't go out too.
Scott Taylor's sixth minute goal settle the game for the Tangerines at Bloomfield Road although Blues, seventh in the top flight, should have level but Stephen Clemence fired a penalty over the bar and Clinton Morrison hit the bar.
Luciano Figueroa, signed from Rosario Central, made his debut but little impact as Steve Bruce's team, yet to lose in five outsings in the Premier League, limped out of the competition.
"We wouldn't have scored if we had played until midnight," Bruce said.
Di Canio scored his first for Charlton deep into injury time to avoid a 3-2 loss at home to division two Luton and force the game into extra time.
Kevin Foley and David Bayliss put the visitor ahead at the Valley before the Addicks hit back through Scott Parker and Kevin Lisbie. It looked as Charlton had turned things round but Gary McSheffrey scored the again for the Hatters 14 minutes from the end of regulation time.
Danish international Claus Jensen finally put Charlton ahead for the first time in the 95th minute only for Chris Coyne to make it 4-4 in the 110th and keep Luton's hopes alive. The match went to a marathon penalty shootout which Charlton won 8-7.
In another upset, division one leader Wigan Athletic edged Fulham with a goal by Nathan Ellington 17 minutes from the end at the JJB Stadium. Paul Jewell's Wigan reached the quarterfinal last season as a division two team, ousting three more Premier League clubs including Fulham. There were no such scares for the other Premier League clubs in action.
Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel scored three as Aston Villa romped to a 5-0 win at division two struggler Wycombe while Leicester edged to a 1-0 victory over Crewe thanks to a Paul Dickov penalty.
Wolves, last in the Premier League with just one point from six games, shrugged off its league blues by beating division three Darlington 2-0 at Molineux with goals by Alex Rae and Johannes Gudjonsson while Tim Sherwood and Jason Roberts hit two goals each as Portsmouth downed division three Northampton 5-2.
Jermaine Defoe netted a hattrick as West Ham, relegated from the top flight last season, hit back to win 3-2 at Cardiff, for whom Welsh international Rob Earnshaw had put the Bluebirds 2-0 ahead at Ninian Park.
In a minor upset, division two Queens Park Rangers won 2-0 at Sheffield United which lost in last season's division one playoffs.
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