The 2017/18 Carabao Cup campaign got under way in style, with goals and drama aplenty across the first night of fixtures.
Six of the 29 Tuesday evening encounters went beyond regulation time and into an additional 30 minutes, with Scunthorpe United’s home clash against Notts County going all the way to a penalty shoot-out.
In all matches which went beyond the 90 minutes, the 12 clubs involved all took advantage of the new substitution rules, permitting a fourth substitute to be brought on during the extra-time period.
Only 28 matches were completed however, as poor weather brought a premature halt to the meeting between Grimsby Town and Derby County at Blundell Park.
There were a further five on Wednesday, all settled within 90 minutes, including Aston Villa's 2-1 win over Colchester United live on Sky Sports, before Sunderland edged out Bury 1-0 in the week's final clash.
Five-star performances
We begin at St Andrew’s, where a Che Adams hat-trick set Harry Redknapp’s Birmingham City side on their way to a 5-1 victory over Crawley Town.
Adams’ trio of strikes were accompanied by finishes either side of half-time from David Davis and Robert Tesche, with Panutche Camara providing a late consolation for the visitors.
Bristol City also hit five at Ashton Gate, as they too saw off a Sky Bet League Two outfit - dispatching Plymouth Argyle 5-0.
The scoring commenced after just two minutes, with Jens Hegeler’s goal coming ahead of strikes from Nathan Baker, Korey Smith and Freddie Hinds before the interval.
Jamie Paterson then capped off the night with a fifth, 11 minutes from time.
Seven-goal thrillers
There was late drama at Oakwell, as Barnsley’s Ryan Hedges came off the bench to score a 95th-minute winner for the Tykes in their clash with Morecambe.
The Sky Bet Championship side had been in the driving seat early on in the game with Tom Bradshaw netting a brace – making it five goals in his last four Carabao Cup outings.
A valiant fightback from Jim Bentley’s men ensured the outcome was firmly in the balance, before Hedges' late strike consigned the Shrimps to a 4-3 defeat.
That scoreline was replicated at the Kassam Stadium, where it was the away team who emerged victors on this occasion.
Mo Eisa – a summer signing from the Isthmian League South – grabbed two goals, including a stunning extra-time winner to seal Oxford United's fate and send Cheltenham Town through.
Shoot-out success for Scunthorpe
The aforementioned match at Glanford Park would prove to be the only encounter which went the distance on the opening night of the Carabao Cup, as the Iron and the Magpies settled things from the spot, with the tournament’s new ABBA format being used.
Read more: 'ABBA' penalty format to be trialled in EFL competitions
The two sides met at this very stage of the competition just 12 months ago and, even on that night, they couldn’t be separated in normal time.
However, following four goals in a 90-minute period and two more in extra-time, Scunthorpe ‘keeper Matt Gilks was the hero - saving from Matt Tootle to earn his team a 6-5 shootout victory.
Carabao Cup Round One facts and figures
- Six non-seeded sides have made it through to Round Two
- 169,671 fans watched the action live across the week
- The match between Scunthorpe United and Notts County saw the competition use the ABBA penalty shoot-out format for the first time
- 122 goals were scored, with exactly 100 scored on the opening night
- The permitted use of a fourth subsitute in extra-time was utilised in all six of the matches that went beyond 90 minutes
The best of the rest
After ensuring Burnley’s exit in last season’s second round, Accrington Stanley were at it again - this time seeing off Lancaster foes Preston North End 3-2.
The game looked to be heading for an extra 30 minutes following Jordan Hugill’s stoppage-time leveller, but Billy Kee hit a 93rd-minute winner to send the Wham Stadium into raptures, on a night which they’d seen their team pegged back twice previously.
At Valley Parade, it was Doncaster Rovers who emerged triumphant in their Yorkshire derby against Bradford City, with teenager Rodney Kalongo among the goals on his Carabao Cup debut.
Barnet, Newport County and Carlisle United were the other sides to knock out seeded opposition in Round One, with Peterborough United, Southend United and Fleetwood Town falling victim.
EFL Young Player of the Year Ollie Watkins netted his first goal for new club Brentford, who advanced with another 16 Sky Bet Championship sides into Round Two. That includes Leeds United, who were helped to success by Elland Road debutant Samu Saiz, who netted a hat-trick against Port Vale.
The Carabao Cup Round Two draw took place on Thursday night, following the conclusion of Bury versus Sunderland, and you can view the full draw here.
