Carabao Cup roundup: League Two strugglers Crawley knock out Fulham

Struggling Crawley set aside their miserable League Two form to claim a third Premier League scalp in four seasons by dumping Fulham out of the Carabao Cup with a stunning 2-0 success.

Kevin Betsy’s side sit second bottom of the English Football League following a single point from five games but deservedly progressed to round three thanks to goals from captain Tom Nichols and Liverpool loanee James Balagizi. The hosts held on comfortably to prompt a pitch invasion after the final whistle.

“The players put in an amazing performance,” said former Fulham midfielder Betsy, whose team overcame League One outfit Bristol Rovers in the first round. “We were relentless in our pressing and our application. We stuck to the game plan extremely well. It worked. It was a fantastic night for everyone. Fulham are a good side. When I looked at the team sheet, I was like ‘Oh my God, there are a lot of good players in there’. We’re going through a little difficult patch in the league but in the cup we’re doing quite well.”

Bournemouth manager Scott Parker praised the character of his young side as they twice came from behind before beating Norwich on penalties to reach the third round. Former Cherries loanee Todd Cantwell missed the decisive penalty in a tense shootout after Adam Idah thought he had marked a return from a six-month injury lay-off with a late winner off the bench, only for Brooklyn Genesini to pull Bournemouth level in stoppage time and secure a 2-2 draw.

Steven Gerrard felt his Aston Villa side gave themselves just the lift they needed as they came from behind to beat Bolton 4-1. After a frustrating start to the season and a tough run of fixtures in the coming weeks, a cup shock at the University of Bolton Stadium on