Watford were the victims of an Capital One Cup giant-killing as the English Premier League side lost 1-0 at Championship club Preston North End in the second round on Tuesday.
Hornets manager Quique Flores made 11 changes to the team whose goalless stalemate against Watford were the only one of 11 Premier League teams in action on Tuesday who failed to make the third round.
On-loan Sheffield Wednesday defender Marnick Vermijl slotted in a close-range winner in the eighth minute and Watford’s woes were compounded when debutant Miguel Britos was sent off in the 75th minute for violent conduct after the Uruguayan defender lashed out with his elbow.
Photo: Reuters
Stoke City were pushed to the brink of a shock exit before beating fourth-tier side Luton Town 8-7 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road.
Mark Hughes’ side, who had former Barcelona forward Bojan Krkic back for the first time since January, went ahead through Jon Walters’ 67th minute goal, only for Cameron McGeehan to force extra-time with a 90th minute equalizer.
In the shootout, Luton’s Scott Griffiths hit the bar at 7-7 and Stoke’s Geoff Cameron drilled in the winner.
West Bromwich Albion also required penalties to defeat third-tier team Port Vale at the Hawthorns.
West Brom were without Tottenham Hotspur target Saido Berahino, who has handed in a transfer request, and they could not break down the Vale defense in a 0-0 draw after extra-time before taking the shootout 5-3.
Jermain Defoe’s hat-trick spared Sunderland’s blushes as the Premier League strugglers defeated fourth-tier outfit Exeter City 6-3 at the Stadium of Light.
Dick Advocaat’s side blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads before finally avoiding further embarrassment.
Aston Villa were also indebted to a hat-trick hero as Scott Sinclair inspired a 5-3 win over fourth-tier side Notts County after extra-time.
Genaro Snijders’ 16th minute deflected strike put County ahead. Teenage forward Adama Traore marked his first Villa start with the equalizer, slotting home in the 24th minute.
Jon Stead’s penalty in first-half stoppage-time put County back in front.
Sinclair equalized in the 50th minute, only for Graham Burke to put County ahead again with a superb long-range effort six minutes later.
However, Villa’s extra quality paid off as they pulled level through Sinclair’s 78th-minute penalty before the former Manchester City winger completed his treble in the 99th minute.
Joe Bennett’s 111th-minute goal put a flattering look on the scoreline for last season’s FA Cup runners-up.
Florian Thauvin marked his first Newcastle United start with a goal in a 4-1 win against fourth-tier team Northampton Town.
Thauvin bagged a third-minute goal at St James’ Park and Siem de Jong’s header put the hosts further in front five minutes later.
Marc Richards’ penalty reduced the deficit before Daryl Janmaat and Mike Williamson struck in the second half for Steve McClaren’s men.
Crystal Palace needed extra-time to see off League One side Shrewsbury Town, who had taken the lead through Matt Tootle before penalties from Dwight Gayle and Glenn Murray, and Lee Chung-yong and Wilfried Zaha strikes sealed a 4-1 win for the hosts.
Joe Dodoo hit a debut hat-trick as Leicester City claimed a 4-1 win at third tier Bury.
Norwich City flop Ricky van Wolfswinkel scored only his second goal for the Canaries in their 2-1 win at Rotherham United.
Swansea City, who won the competition in 2013, defeated York City 3-0, while Premier League newcomers AFC Bournemouth also beat fourth-tier opposition, winning 4-0 at Hartlepool United.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
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