As the second round of the Carabao Cup came to its conclusion, sides from all four divisions qualified for the third round (Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two), following an action-packed week of cup ties filled with entertainment, surprises and quality. Read on for our team of the round as some teams slipped on banana skins in the Carabao Cup.
GK – Ethan Horvath – Sheffield Wednesday
Sheffield Wednesday went into their tie against Premier League side Leeds United as the heavy underdogs, fielding an incredibly young squad whilst simultaneously playing in front of a practically empty home crowd, due to a boycott against owner Dejphon Chansiri, but Horvath was Wednesday’s hero, saving two penalties as well as making six saves throughout the 90 minutes.
Horvath denied Joel Piroe and Sean Longstaff from converting their penalties, diving correctly to his left on both occasions sending them through to a third-round tie against Grimbsy Town, also making some fine saves to keep Wednesday in the game against a strong Leeds United side, earning himself an 8.5 rating according to Fotmob.
LB – Matthew Sorinola – Plymouth Argyle
Sorinola was Argyle’s standout player during their trip to South Wales against Swansea City, and found himself as the provider for The Pilgrims, pinging an accurate freekick from just over the halfway line into the Swansea box, to find centre-back Brendan Sarpong Wiredu’s head, who slotted it into the right hand corner.
Sorinola had a masterclass in his attacking statistics, racking up six chances created throughout the 90 minutes (the most of any player on the pitch by a mile), but also had a tidy display defensively, with 10 defensive contributions registered, including six interceptions and two successful tackles.
Fotmob rated Sorinola an 8.8 for his efforts.
CB – Zak Bradshaw – Cambridge United
Cambridge pulled off a fantstic display against Championship side Charlton Athletic, beating The Addicks 3-1. Bradshaw hasn’t been a regular starter for Cambridge thus far, only starting in both Carabao Cup games, but has made a case for himself to become a regular, thanks to his goal and assist on Tuesday night.
His assist came first in the 29th minute, setting up striker Kylian Kouassi with a long ball forward, before the striker outmuscled opposition centre-back Zach Mitchell to slot it past the goalkeeper. He had to wait until the second half for his goal, which came from a scramble at the back following Elias Kachunga’s close range shot, with the keeper’s parry finding Bradshaw’s feet. These contributions helped provide Bradshaw with a respectable 8.6 Fotmob rating.
CB – Sean Grehan – Doncaster Rovers
Doncaster comfortably defeated struggling League Two side Accrington Stanley 3-0, and that clean sheet was thoroughly earned mainly thanks to Sean Grehan, who excelled in his second start for Donny since his return to English football.
Although he didn’t provide a goal contribution, like most defenders who achieve such a high match rating (8.6 according to Fotmob), his defensive statistics were impeccable, with 100% of his attempted tackles won, 100% of his ground duels won and the most clearances of any player on the pitch at 14. He also won the most duels of any player on the pitch, and with statistics like this, potentially he can break into Donny’s starting 11?
RB – Tyrell Warren – Grimsby Town
Warren was one of Grimsby’s heroes as they defeated Premier League side Manchester United 12-11 on penalties following a 2-2 draw in regular time, causing one of the biggest cup upsets in English football for a long time! The former Manchester United academy man seeked revenge on his former club where he spent a decade with their academy setup, scoring The Mariners’ second goal.
His goal came thanks to some questionable goalkeeping from Andre Onana, after Charles Vernam’s short corner was spilled by the goalkeeper, and Tyrell Warren slotted home into an open net, sending Blundell Park into absolute pandemonium, in what was a night to remember for The Marinersin the Carabao Cup!
CM – Harrison Armstrong – Everton
18-year-old central midfielder had a night to remember during his first start of the season against Mansfield Town, providing the assists for both of Everton’s goals in their 2-0 victory over The Stags. Fotmob gave Armstrong an 8.9 rating, which earned him both the man of the match award as well as a place in our team of the week!
The first assist came from a pulled back pass following some trickery, finding Alcaraz who slammed it past the goalkeeper from outside the box, with his second coming from a clever run into the box evading both the offside flag and his defender, before passing it into the centre to find Beto unmarked.
CM – Ben Close – Doncaster Rovers
The second Doncaster player on this list, Ben Close bagged his second goal of the competition, taking advantage of his gametime after falling out of favour in Grant McCann’s side. Not only did Close score, but he also found himself leading in the statistics of the match in passes completed (63), chances created (4) and Fotmob match rating at 8.9.
The goal came in the 82nd minute, when he latched onto the end of an Owen Bailey pass to fire the ball into the right-hand corner past Liam Kelly, sending Doncaster straight into third round of the Carabao Cup where they face Tottenham Hotspur.
CM – George Lapsile – Bradford City
Bradford City stunned current Championship leaders Stoke City, by dominating them in a 3-0 victory, with George Lapsile bagging their third and final goal of the game , after Tyreik Wright’s shot from close range was saved by Jack Bonham, who’s save fell straight into Lapsile’s path who fired into an open net whilst unmarked.
Lapsile also turned provider in the 31st minute, setting up full-back Bradley Halliday who was open in space following a lack of communication between Stoke defenders, in what turned out to be an abysmal night for The Potters in the Carabao Cup, although it was an amazing one for Lapsile, who ended up with an 8.6 Fotmob rating, which would likely have been higher if he featured for the full 90.
LW – Charles Vernam – Grimsby Town
The second Grimsby Town player on this list, and arguably the most deserving player to feature on this list, Charles Vernam was Grimsby’s Starman, opening the scoring against Manchester United, and whipping in the cross for Tyrell Warren to score the second goal following Onana’s spill.
His goal will be remembered by Mariner’s supporters for a long time, as in the 22nd minute, Darragh Burns send a cross into the opposite flank, which ended up finding Charles Vernam unmarked, who powerfully struck the ball past Onana into the bottom left corner (although questions were raised over Onana’s attempt at a save. For his heroics, he racked up an 8.5 rating, which I’d argue should be a lot higher!
RW – Brajan Gruda – Brighton and Hove Albion
Gruda hasn’t set the world on fire since his big money move from Bundesliga side 1.FC Mainz 05, but if he continues to perform like he did against Oxford United, he will become a nailed on first team regular.
Gruda’s match stats were immaculate in this second round Carabao Cup clash, winning the greatest number of duels of any player on the pitch with 12, creating the most chances at 6, and successfully executing 9 dribbles throughout the 90 minutes, earning a 9.3 Fotmob rating.
Not only this, but also Gruda registered both a goal and an assist, with his assist setting up Oliver Boscagli after some impressive footwork to get past the defender, who’s shot took a heavy deflection to loop over the keeper. His goal came just seven minutes later, picking up Veltman’s long ball, before taking the ball past Elliott Moore to cooly slot home.
ST – Stefanos Tzimas – Brighton and Hove Albion
The second Brighton attacker featuring on this list, Stefanos Tzimas starred during his 26-minute debut cameo, bagging a brace and an assist during his first appearance for The Seagulls following his 40 million euro move from 1.FC Nurnberg, racking up an impressive 8.9 Fotmob rating in his 26-minute spell.
Tzimas’ first goal came just five minutes after being substituted on, picking up youngster Harry Howell’s forward ball, running into a one-on-one situation, but comfortably tucked it away past Matt Ingram, and just six minutes later his second goal came, following some sloppy playing out from the back, with the same combo linking up for a second time.
His assist came from yet again some more shambolic playing out from the back, with Ingram’s pass finding Tzimas’s feet, who passed to fellow debutant Tom Watson to round up a route one victory for The Seagulls.
Which tie in the third round of the Carabao Cup intrigues you the most and why? let us know in the comments.
