The Carabao Cup is back with a bang! There were goals galore on Tuesday night, with one tie still to come on Thursday evening. Here's a round-up of the action...
Stag Party
The big winners of Carabao Cup Round One were Mansfield Town, who hit Accrington Stanley for six on the opening night of the 2018/19 competition.
Tyler Walker was the star of the show, hitting a first-half hat-trick for the impressive Stags. Otis Khan, Danny Rose and CJ Hamilton added the gloss.
Also among the goals were Blackburn Rovers, who put on a five-star showing at Carlisle United. Adam Armstrong and Bradley Dack netted two apiece for Tony Mowbray’s men.
Momentum maintained
Leeds United were one of 10 teams with a perfect league record coming into Carabao Cup Round One, and Patrick Bamford and Samu Saiz made it three wins from three against Bolton Wanderers.
Aston Villa were made to work hard in the night's televised fixture, with Andre Moreira making a penalty save on his debut before Conor Hourihane got the goal to see off Yeovil Town's challenge.
From League One, only Doncaster Rovers managed to maintain their positive start to the season — Mallik Wilks grabbing his third goal of the campaign in a 2-1 triumph at Scunthorpe United.
The three League Two sides extended their fine form, too. Teenager Dylan Asonganyi got his first professional goals in a 3-0 win for Milton Keynes Dons against Charlton Athletic, while Lincoln City romped to a 4-0 victory at Port Vale.
Exeter City needed penalties, but they edged past Championship side Ipswich Town after a 1-1 draw in 90 minutes. The Grecians' Troy Brown cancelled out Kayden Jackson's opener before the Devon outfit kept their nerve to head into Round Two.
Upsetting the odds
Plymouth Argyle lost 5-0 to Bristol City at this stage a year ago, but they exacted their revenge with a 1-0 success at Ashton Gate to knock out last season’s semi-finalists.
Yann Songo'o grabbed the only goal of the game to send the Pilgrims through and into Thursday's Round Two Draw.
Round Two Draw: Click here for more information
Aside from the previously mentioned Exeter and MK, Macclesfield Town were the only other side to knock out higher-tier opposition. The Silkmen, playing in the competition for the first time since 2011, knocked out Bradford City via spot-kicks.
Straight to pens
In addition to the aforementioned penalty shoot-outs, there were plenty more after the decision to remove extra time from this season’s competition.
Nine of Tuesday night’s ties were settled by spot-kicks, with the four in the South Section all won by the home team — Cheltenham Town, Millwall and Wycombe Wanderers adding to Exeter’s success against the Tractor Boys.
In the North Section, Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest both survived scares against League Two opposition before prevailing from 12 yards. The only away side to advance via penalties were Hull City, who knocked out Sheffield United after a 1-1 draw.
