Aston Villa was eliminated from the League Cup on Tuesday, losing 3-0 to lower-ranked Doncaster, while Arsenal advanced to the quarterfinals with a 3-0 win over Reading.
Doncaster, a League One club sitting 38 places below the Premier League side, reached the quarterfinals of the League Cup for the first time in 30 years.
”We have been playing very well and to do that against a Premiership side was a great performance,” Doncaster manager Dave Penney said.
”Three-nil was a great scoreline for us. We just work hard. We play a high tempo and the form we are in we are looking sharp. It is just all clicking together at the moment.”
In the other fourth-round match on Tuesday, Birmingham beat Millwall 4-3 on penalties. The match finished 1-1 after 90 minutes and 2-2 after extra time.
Michael McInode’s 19th-minute penalty, Paul Heffernan’s 52nd-minute goal and Sean Thornton’s 79th-minute strike gave Doncaster their win.
”Good luck to Doncaster; they’re a good footballing side and try to play football,” Aston Villa coach David O’Leary said. ”They’ve beaten Manchester City and ourselves [in the League Cup].
”In the second half, they were better than us. We came here not with a patched-up side, but to win and do well. We’ve got to move on and start climbing the league.”
Arsenal jumped ahead on goals by Jose Antonio Reyes in the 11th minute, Robin van Persie in the 41st and Arturo Lupoli in the 65th.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger used a second-string side for English soccer’s second-tier club knockout competition, with 10 of the team’s field players 23 years old or younger.
The Gunners also ended Reading’s 23-match unbeaten streak in all competitions. Reading leads the Football League Championship division.
Birmingham took the lead through Julian Gray’s ninth-minute strike, while Alan Dunne equalised for Millwall in the 56th. Twelve minutes into extra time, Emile Heskey gave Birmingham the lead, but Marvin Elliott equalised for Millwall to send the match to penalties.
Stan Lazaridis converted the winning penalty for Birmingham.
On Wednesday it’s Bolton vs Leicester, Charlton vs Blackburn, Manchester United vs West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough vs Crystal Palace and Wigan vs Newcastle. — Sapa-AP