Stoke and Fulham exit from League Cup

Stoke and Fulham were biggest casualties in the League Cup second round on Tuesday as the Premier League clubs slumped to shock defeats against Swindon and Sheffield Wednesday respectively. Tony Pulis’s Stoke had held Arsenal to a 0-0 draw on Sunday, but League One side Swindon, managed by former West Ham striker Paolo Di Canio, upset the odds with a dramatic 4-3 victory after extra time at the Britannia Stadium. Fulham were the other top-flight side to bow out as Martin Jol’s team were beaten 1-0 by Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. Pulis made six changes from the Arsenal match and one of those switches quickly backfired as a mistake from reserve goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen allowed James Collins to score in the 27th minute. Collins struck again four minutes before half-time with a header from Raffaele De Vita’s cross. Kenwyne Jones launched Stoke’s fightback when he scored in the 63rd minute and Jon Walters came off the bench to force extra-time with an 86th minute equaliser. Aden Flint put Swindon back in front in the 105th minute and, after Peter Crouch equalised in the 111th minute, Collins capped a rollercoaster clash when he completed his hat-trick with the winner in the last minute of extra-time. At Hillsborough, Fulham became the latest victims of Wednesday’s revival under boss Dave Jones, who has inspired promotion from League One and an unbeaten start to life in the Championship since taking over in March. Gary Madine’s 50th minute penalty, awarded when Chris Maguire was hacked down by Stephen Kelly, was enough to see off the Cottagers. Aston Villa, beaten in their opening two Premier League matches, won for the first time under new boss Paul Lambert as goals from Fabian Delph, Chris Herd and Darren Bent secured a 3-0 victory over League One side Tranmere at Villa Park. Japan striker Tadanari Lee scored his first goal of the season for Southampton as Nigel Adkins’ team won 4-1 at Stevenage. Billy Sharp, Jason Puncheon and Ben Reeves also got on the scoresheet as Saints won for the first time this season. Swansea maintained their 100 per cent start to the season as Michael Laudrup’s side defeated Championship team Barnsley 3-1 at the Liberty Stadium.