Southampton FC stunned, pitch invasion mars Burnley win over Blackburn

The Saints bid to return to the League Cup final ended in a shock 0-2 defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC defender Danny Batth, in picture, headed in Ivan Cavaleiro's corner in the 67th minute. (File | AFP)
Wolverhampton Wanderers FC defender Danny Batth, in picture, headed in Ivan Cavaleiro's corner in the 67th minute. (File | AFP)

LONDON: Southampton's bid to return to the League Cup final ended in a shock defeat against Wolves, while Burnley's victory over bitter rivals Blackburn was marred by an ugly pitch invasion on Wednesday.

Saints were beaten by Manchester United in last year's Wembley final, but this time they didn't make it past the second round.

Danny Batth headed in Ivan Cavaleiro's corner in the 67th minute and substitute Donovan Wilson ran through to seal the Championship side's 2-0 success with three minutes left.

It was a miserable first taste of English cup competitions for new Southampton manager Mauricio Pellegrino.

"It's a step backwards in our way, in our performance. We've got to try to learn from this situation," Pellegrino said.

"The best news for us is maybe we'll have more time to prepare better."

At Ewood Park, Burnley's 2-0 win against Lancashire neighbours Blackburn quickly turned nasty.

There was a huge police presence in and around the stadium, with police lining the streets in the build-up to kick-off of an encounter between feuding clubs only 15 miles apart.

But Blackburn fans managed to confront Clarets players after Jack Cork headed in Robbie Brady's cross to give the visitors a 27th-minute lead.

One appeared to push Burnley captain James Tarkowski before being tackled to the ground by team-mate Ashley Westwood.

The individual was eventually led away by stewards along with the other fan, while a Burnley supporter was also ejected after a flare was set off in the away end.

Brady added a second in the fourth minute of first-half stoppage time to ensure the Clarets saw off third tier Rovers.

Newcastle were the third top tier side to be eliminated from the second round as Nottingham Forest won 3-2 at St James' Park.

Rafael Benitez's side had lost their first two league games and they fared no better against second tier Forest.

Tyler Walker got Forest's extra-time winner after Jason Cummings scored twice to cancel out goals from Aleksandar Mitrovic and Rolando Aarons for Newcastle.

Huddersfield came from behind to beat third tier Rotherham 2-1 and maintain their flying start to the season.

Rotherham took the lead inside the opening minute when Anthony Forde's cross was headed in by Semi Ajayi.

But the Premier League side, winners of their first two top flight matches, turned it around with two goals in three minutes early in the second half from Philip Billing and Joe Lolley.

West Ham avoided another blow in their rough start to the season as Slaven Bilic's side won 2-0 at fourth tier Cheltenham.

Beaten at Manchester United and Southampton in their first two Premier League matches, the Hammers eased through thanks to goals from Diafra Sakho and Andre Ayew.

Stoke crushed third tier Rochdale 4-0, with two goals from Joe Allen either side of a Peter Crouch strike before Ramadan Sobhi completed the scoring with his first goal for the club.

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