IRELAND’S CONOR HOURIHANE hit a brace for Aston Villa in their comprehensive 6-1 victory over Crewe Alexandra to book their place in the third round of the Carabao Cup.
The Cork midfielder hit both of his goals in the first half to ensure that the Premier League outfit took a 3-0 lead going into the half-time break.
Ezri Konsa, Keinan Davis, Frederic Guilbert and Jack Grealish also found the target for Villa while Ryan Wintle pulled back a late consolation goal for Crewe.
Meanwhile, Ireland teen star Michael Obafemi scored the only goal of the game in Southampton’s victory over Fulham.
The 19-year-old clinched the second senior goal of his career after getting on the end of a Nathan Redmond cross to tap the ball home in the 57th minute.
Premier League sides Norwich and Crystal Palace bowed out of the Carabao Cup after they were defeated by fourth-tier sides Crawley Town and Colchester United respectively.
Democratic Republic of Congo-born Beryly Lubala scored Crawley’s goal — his fifth of the season — in their 1-0 win over a second string Norwich side for the victors first ever win over top tier opposition.
Colchester progressed on penalties after they had held Palace to a scoreless draw after 90 minutes — Noah Chilvers converting the decisive penalty.
It was Colchester’s first win over top flight opposition in the League Cup since 1979.
Watford eased a little bit of the pressure on under-fire manager Javi Gracia by securing their first win of the season beating Coventry 3-0.
Newspaper reports on Tuesday said Gracia had until the second international break — in October — to save his job despite taking the Hornets to the FA Cup final last season.
Goals by Ismaila Sarr, who was making his first start since joining from Rennes for a club record fee reported to be £30million, Daryl Janmaat — a superb strike into the far corner for his first goal since February 2018 — and Venezuelan forward Adalberto Penaranda saw off the third tier team.
Jack Wilshere scored his first goal for West Ham since the injury-plagued former England midfielder moved from Arsenal last year as the Hammers ran out 2-0 winners over fourth tier Newport County.
The 27-year-old struck two minutes before half-time against the Welsh side.
Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals — the Hammers second most expensive signing when they bought him for £24million in the summer — added a second in the second-half tucking the ball away after Felipe Anderson, who had come on early for the injured Michail Antonio, set him up.
The second round concludes on Wednesday with seven more matches and the likes of Everton and Leicester in action.
The Premier League heavyweights such as holders Manchester City and the others who are involved in or have qualified for European competitions do not enter the fray till the next round.
Carabao Cup Second Round Results:
Burton Albion 4-0 Morecambe
Crewe Alexandra 1- 6 Aston Villa
Grimsby Town v Macclesfield Town (match abandoned due to waterlogged pitch)
Leeds United 2-2 Stoke
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Derby County
Preston North End 2-2 Hull City
Rochdale 2-1 Carlisle United
Sheffield United 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Bristol Rovers 1-2 Brighton
Cardiff City 0-3 Luton Town
Crawley Town 1 Norwich 0
Crystal Palace 0-0 Colchester United – Colchester win 5-4 on penalties
Fulham 0-1 Southampton
Newport County 0-2 West Ham
Oxford United 2-2 Millwall
Plymouth Argyle 2-4 Reading
Southend United 1-4 Milton Keynes Dons
Watford 3-0 Coventry City
Additional reporting by Sinéad Farrell
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