Ryan Ledson scored the winning penalty as Preston won a record-breaking shootout 16-15 to dump Fulham out of the Carabao Cup.
The third-round match at Deepdale finished 1-1 with Reiss Nelson cancelling out Ledson’s opener, giving little clue of the drama that was about to unfold. Ledson volleyed home in the 35th minute, before Arsenal loanee Nelson converted Ryan Sessegnon’s cross to level the game just after the hour mark.
Both teams were ruthless from the spot, with the first 16 spot-kicks – eight per side – all finding the back of the net. Jorge Cuenca then saw his effort saved by Freddie Woodman, giving Kaine Kesler-Hayden the chance to win it for Preston – but his poor effort was kept out by Fulham keeper Steven Benda.
At nine-all, the keepers had to step up and Benda scored, followed by Woodman. It was time for the original penalty takers to go again, and all five players scored for both teams. Then, at 15-15, Timothy Castagne ballooned his second spot-kick over and Ledson sent Benda the wrong way to settle the League Cup’s longest ever shootout.
“As it wore on, eight-all, nine-all, it made me more determined to win it because of the effort and commitment put in to get to penalties,” said the North End manager, Paul Heckingbottom. “I’ve never been involved in a shootout like that. I’ve been told it’s the longest in the competition as well. It was a great atmosphere.”
Elsewhere, Eddie Nketiah scored his first Crystal Palace goal, striking from a narrow angle in the 16th minute as the Eagles edged a London derby at QPR. Sam Field cancelled out Nketiah’s opener early in the second half but Eberechi Eze struck the winner against his former club just after the hour mark.
“Who’s a better player than Eze? For me he’s absolutely top, if he was luckier this season he would have five or six goals,” said the Palace manager, Oliver Glasner. “He’s a guy who can always score and he’s someone who everyone likes. This is why he’s on the pitch because he’s able to score goals.”
Brentford recovered from an early setback to see off Leyton Orient in another all-London contest. Brandon Cooper put the League One strugglers in front early on but Fábio Carvalho levelled with an acrobatic finish at the Gtech Community Stadium.
Carvalho then crossed for Mikkel Damsgaard to head Brentford in front and Christian Nørgaard’s fine finish put the hosts in charge at half-time. Thomas Frank’s side held on in the second half, with Orient defender Jack Simpson sent off in the 67th minute.
Stoke City got the better of Fleetwood Town, who scored a last-gasp equaliser to earn a penalty shootout but then missed four of their five spot-kicks as the Potters edged through. The Stoke caretaker manager, Ryan Shawcross, said: “It was probably my best day in football. Take away my playing days, that was the best for me after a whirlwind 24 hours for the club.”
“I wasn’t expecting it, but to lead Stoke City it’s something I’ve aspired to do since doing my coaching badges,” said Shawcross, who took charge after Steven Schumacher left the club on Monday. “What I wanted to do was give some young lads a chance, they are the future of the club and that was my job today.”
Sheffield Wednesday also advanced as Di’Shon Bernard’s first-half goal was enough to defeat Blackpool at Bloomfield Road as both sides made several changes. “It was important to see that everyone in the squad is ready to play,” said the Wednesday manager, Danny Röhl. “We deserved to win. We did our homework in the cup and hopefully we can get an exciting draw but I will not look too far ahead.”
