Carling Cup Roundup

Following my expression of love for the Carling Cup, it would be a little weird to not pay any attention to events on the pitch. This week has been third round week, and here's my roundup of all the action.

Tuesday

Ten-man West Bromwich Albion held on until the 68th minute, when Arsenal's Sanchez Watt broke the deadlock at the Emirates. Carlos Vela made it two eight minutes later with the easiest goal of all time. Possibly. Barnsley emerged victorious from an exciting encounter at Oakwell, beating Premier League Burnley 3-2.

Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United went to extra time. Goals from Herita Ilunga and Kevin Davies in normal time were followed by two from Bolton to win it, Gary Cahill cracking in a lovely goal from the edge of the area and Johan Elmander (remember him) getting off the mark for the season.

Portsmouth overcame an early scare at Carlisle United to win 3-1, and David Ngog scored the only goal for Liverpool as the ran out winners against Leeds United at Elland Road. Benni McCarthy's goal saw Blackburn Rovers through against Nottingham Forest.

Danny Guthrie was dismissed for Newcastle United as two first half goals from Peterborough sent them crashing out of the cup in limp fashion, while Scunthorpe United failed to break down Port Vale until two quickfire extra time goals got the job done.

In the game of the round, Blackpool took a 2-0 lead at the Britannia against Stoke City. Three goals in five minutes put Stoke ahead, but they led for just one minute before Blackpool made it 3-3. With the game heading for extra time, Andy Griffin scored late in injury time to make it 4-3.

Finally, two early goals at the Stadium of Light were enough to put Sunderland through at the expense of Birmingham City.

Wednesday

Wednesday's games all went the way we might have expected, though it was far from comfortable for one or two of the clubs which progressed.

Gabriel Agbonlahor flicked the ball in after John Carew ran more than 60 yards with the ball to give Aston Villa a 1-0 win over Cardiff City. James Milner hit the post with a penalty, and Jay Bothroyd had a stoppage time goal chalked off for offside. Saloman Kalou netted the only goal for Chelsea against Queens Park Rangers.

Goals from Yakubu, Jo, Dan Gosling and Leon Osman gave Everton an impressive 4-0 win over Hull City, who were 3-0 down inside 25 minutes. Manchester City needed an extra time Kolo Toure goal to knock out Fulham. Zoltan Gera and Gareth Barry scored in normal time.

Fabio da Silva was sent off after just 30 minutes for Manchester United, but the ten men triumphed thanks to the only goal of the game, scored by Danny Welbeck. And a Peter Crouch hat-trick guided Tottenham Hotspur to a 5-1 win at Preston North End, their goalscoring completed by Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane.

The draw for the fourth round will take place on Saturday on SKY Sports' Soccer Saturday show. Fingers crossed for Liverpool, Manchester United or Chelsea at home for the Villa!