LONDON, Sept 21: Tottenham Hotspur, three-time winners of the competition, suffered a humiliating 1-0 defeat by fourth division Grimsby Town in the League Cup second round on Tuesday.
Portsmouth were the other Premier League club to be knocked out after losing 3-2 at Gillingham but Aston Villa crushed Wycombe Wanderers 8-3 and Charlton Athletic, West Ham United, Birmingham City, Sunderland, Wigan Athletic and West Bromwich Albion also progressed.
Democratic Republic of Congo forward Jean-Paul Kamudimba Kalala was Grimsby’s hero against Spurs, latching on to a poor clearance from an 89th-minute corner to lash the ball into the net from just outside the area.
“I’m just so happy for the team because we worked so hard in the game,” Kamudimba Kalala told Sky Sports.
Spurs coach Martin Jol said his side had not played well enough to win the match.
“If you only create three or four chances you don’t deserve anything,” the Dutchman said. “I am a bit angry with the players because we are a Premiership side and we should win games like this but we have to learn a lesson.”
Midfielder Andrew Crofts scored Gillingham’s winner against Portsmouth four minutes into extra time, helping the struggling third division side recover from 1-0 and 2-1 down.
Villa, five-time League Cup winners, trailed Wycombe 3-1 at halftime but they scored seven goals without reply after the interval, Gareth Barry, James Milner and Steven Davis claiming two goals each to ease the Premier League club through.
West Ham won 4-2 at Sheffield Wednesday, Charlton beat Hartlepool 3-1, Finland striker Mikael Forssell set Birmingham on the way to a 2-0 victory at Scunthorpe United and West Brom crushed Bradford City 4-1.
Striker Bobby Zamora scored twice to lead West Ham to a 4-2 win at Sheffield Wednesday and Jason Roberts grabbed the only goal of the game four minutes from time as Wigan beat Bournemouth 1-0.
Other lower division teams to progress included Sheffield United, Leeds United, Crystal Palace, Norwich City, Burnley, Leicester City and Reading.
There are three more second-round matches scheduled on Wednesday, involving Premier League teams Blackburn Rovers, Manchester City and Fulham.
The eight Premier League clubs who qualified for European competition, led by holders Chelsea, join the competition in the third round next month.—Reuters