Phil Parkinson branded Bradford’s penalty a “nothing incident” as he expressed frustration at the officials in their Carabao Cup second-round exit but was pleased with his Wrexham players.

Tyler Smith’s spot-kick inside three minutes put Bradford ahead but Will Boyle’s header took the game to a shoot-out.

Mark Howard saved Dan Oyegoke’s effort, but Luke Young missed and Harry Lewis saved James Jones’s penalty as the Bantams won 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Parkinson was frustrated with the decision to penalise Aaron Hayden’s challenge on Jamie Walker and doubted if referee Ben Speedie saw the incident.

He said: “For an absolutely nothing incident, the ref has given a penalty. He’s got four players in between him and the incident and he’s told me it was him who gave it, but there is absolutely no way he can see it so he’s clearly guessed.

“The linesman has got the best view of all and is mic’d up and is supposed to communicate and the officials are supposed to work as a team. I feel a little bit aggrieved by how that decision has come about, but we have to take it on the chin and we had to respond and I thought the lads responded really well.”

Bradford boss Mark Hughes said: “I think apart from one good save in the first half when Harry saved with his shins and the goal, we tried to keep that one out but it’s difficult with the big lads and we were lacking a little bit of size and weight tonight, but I thought the lads were excellent.

“In my view we fully deserved to win the game in normal time. Obviously you worry when you get to penalties because it can go either way but it was the right result.”

Ipswich assistant manager Martyn Pert praised his side for “doing the simple things” as they overcame League One Reading on penalties after a 2-2 draw to progress to the third round of the Carabao Cup.

Reading went ahead in the second minute courtesy of a Brandon Williams own-goal but Cameron Humphreys levelled in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage-time.

Freddie Ladapo gave Town the lead near the hour mark but Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan equalised in the 87th minute.

Reading missed three of their spot-kicks in the shootout to help ease Ipswich’s passage.

“I’m really happy and delighted to get through,” Pert said. “It was exciting in the end and, with Reading scoring early, they made it a real challenge for us.

“They were really well organised and didn’t give us much opportunity. It was so difficult for us to create any chances that were open.

“We were wondering where we were going to get a goal from but we just kept doing the simple things and then eventually we got the equaliser.”

Reading’s Charlie Savage, Caylan Vickers and Ben Elliott all failed from the penalty spot.

“It was a very tough game but we made it a tough game,” Reading manager Ruben Selles said. “But the boys did an exceptional job and they showed what they can do.

“In the end, unfortunately, we didn’t get it in the penalties. For some of our players, it was the first time in professional football that they were in front of that situation.

“We have to take that as a learning process and next time will be more ready for those situations.

“Yes we always practise penalties but it is very difficult to replicate the stress under pressure in those moments.

“We didn’t make it but hopefully next time we will be better.”

Leicester manager Enzo Maresca hailed the contribution of veteran striker Jamie Vardy as the Foxes continued their flying start to the season with a 2-0 Carabao Cup victory at Tranmere.

Second-half strikes from Wilfred Ndidi and former England international Vardy proved the difference as the Championship side ran out 2-0 victors against their League Two opponents.

It was a sixth win out of six for Leicester in all competitions this season and saw 36-year-old Vardy open his account for the campaign after returning to the starting line-up.

Maresca said: “I’m happy to continue in this competition and I’m happy for the players, especially the young players who don’t play every week.

“I’ve been really happy with Jamie Vardy because when a striker scores they are always happy for them as well as the team.

“He’s been performing well when he starts and as well when he’s been on the bench and his contribution has been amazing.”

The Foxes enjoyed large amounts of possession in the opening stages of the second-round clash at Prenton Park and had a number of chances to open the scoring with Harry Winks coming the closest after seven minutes.

But the 2016 Premier League champions did not have it all their own way with Rovers growing in confidence and, after defending resolutely for half an hour, created some decent openings through Dan Pike and Josh Hawkes.

The deadlock was finally broken nine minutes after the break when Ndidi’s effort from the right side of the box found its way into the net via both posts, and just four minutes later Vardy put the result beyond doubt with a close-range header from an Ndidi cross.

Further chances fell to the visitors as Rovers pushed forward with Vardy and Ndidi who were both foiled by Joe Murphy, a veteran of the meeting between these two in the final of this competition at Wembley 23-years ago.

Maresca added: “I was not happy at half-time so made some changes and we’ve played six games in around 20 days and we have one more to go before the international break.

“We’ve won six from six now and all the attention now turns to the game on Saturday before the international break when some of the players can conserve their energy.”

Despite the defeat, Tranmere manager Ian Dawes was keen to focus on the positives from the encounter.

He said: “We knew going into the game today that they don’t make many changes, they go really strong and the manager takes the competition seriously.

“We knew we had to get our defensive organisation right and we knew we needed to limit their chances on goal and push up as the game went on.

“We had to stifle the game a little bit, keep possession and then make opportunities ourselves and I thought we did that really well and it all went to plan and they probably scored the first goal when we were on top.

“We’ve got to be positive at the end of it, it still hurts getting beat and we obviously wanted to go through, but you’ve got to look at what they’ve got on the pitch.

“You look at their team and they’ve still got Premier League players in their team and taking things into context we can be nothing but positive and we have to take that into Saturday against Wrexham.”

Portsmouth boss John Mousinho refused to blame Joe Morrell and Abu Kamara after their missed penalties sent his side crashing out of the EFL Cup at the hands of 10-man League One rivals Peterborough.

Kamara had the chance to send Pompey into round three but blazed his penalty over the bar before Wales international Morrell sent his crashing against the post as Posh triumphed 5-4 in the shootout after a 1-1 draw.

Mousinho said: “I have no problem with that, I’ve been in those situations, it’s really difficult and you have to have a lot of steel to step up and take one.

“We’re obviously disappointed at not getting through to the next round.

“We had plenty of chances but couldn’t put them away.

“Christian Saydee was excellent tonight. A massive presence and a thorn in their side throughout and I was delighted he got the goal.”

Posh took the lead after 29 minutes when an in-swinging corner caused Pompey problems and David Ajiboye bundled the ball home from close range.

It took only six minutes of the second half for Pompey to equalise as a cross from Paddy Lane fell to Saydee who, with his back to goal, swivelled to fire superbly past goalkeeper Fynn Talley.

Peterborough’s Charlie O’Connell saw red after a second yellow card for a foul on Terry Devlin in the 59th minute, having already been booked for kicking the ball away in the first half.

Posh boss Darren Ferguson said: “I was so proud of the team tonight. They’ve brought on half the team who will start on Saturday, we’ve gone down to 10 men and we’ve managed to dig it out.

“If we had lost in the last minute or on penalties, I would have still been proud of them. They gave everything.

“This was as important a game as any other game this season. I need to see who can step up to the first team and there were some good performances out there tonight.

“We scored a really good goal, had other chances and should have had a penalty as well.”

Exeter manager Gary Caldwell was a happy man after his side reached the third round of the League Cup for the first time since 1989 by beating Stevenage on penalties at St James Park.

After Alex Hartridge, for City, and Jordan Roberts had traded strikes, it was left to Pierce Sweeney to score the decisive spot-kick after Viljami Sinisalo had saved from Dan Butler in the shoot-out.

“It’s fantastic, a great effort from the team again,” Caldwell said. “It was a really difficult game and both teams treated the game with respect with the teams that were picked and we got tested right to the limit and it had to go to penalties.

“I thought we remained extremely calm and our penalties were fantastic and Vil (Sinisalo) was fantastic in that situation.

“I thought we were really good in the second half and deserved to win the game, but we couldn’t get the second goal, which I think would have killed the game off, and you always run that risk with the way that Stevenage play. We didn’t defend one cross and we paid the price, it went to the wire, but thankfully we got through.

“It’s the first time in 34 years that we’ve won through and that’s a fantastic achievement for this team – a new team that’s only recently formed. The quick progress they are making shows the potential that they have.”

Stevenage boss Steve Evans said: “It’s obviously disappointing to lose, especially on penalties. We made six changes today due to the injuries we had, but I can’t fault the players for the effort and performance they put in.

“Exeter are a good team and Gary is a good bloke. We didn’t really get going in the first half, but I thought we were excellent after the break and the game could have gone either way. Unfortunately, penalties are a lottery and it didn’t go our way tonight.”

Republic of Ireland women’s coach Vera Pauw will not have her contract renewed when her current deal expires this week.

The Football Association of Ireland board has decided it does not want to retain the Dutchwoman’s services despite leading the country to their first World Cup this year.

“On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future,” said FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill.

“In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 where our women’s team made history and inspired a nation.”

Ireland failed to make the World Cup knockout stages after defeats to co-hosts Australia and Canada and a goalless draw with Nigeria.

There were also reports of a strained relationship with captain Katie McCabe and in the build-up to the tournament Pauw was forced to address – and deny – long-standing allegations of “abusive and inappropriate” methods during her time as manager of Houston Dash.

“The future is bright for women and girls’ football and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women’s team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team, and more broadly the development of women and girls’ football in this country,” added Hill.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke was unhappy with the retaken decisive spot-kick as Leeds suffered a dramatic 9-8 penalty shoot-out loss to Salford in the Carabao Cup.

Ossama Ashley scored at the second attempt after Karl Darlow had saved an initial effort only to be yellow-carded for moving off his line.

Farke said: “It was the only penalty to be retaken, but I can’t change the referee’s decision.”

Despite Leeds’ almost total dominance, the Ammies led at the break thanks to ex-Elland Road striker Matt Smith’s header.

Leeds skipper Pascal Struijk levelled it up with 14 minutes left, but they could not find a winner and Georginio Rutter and Jamie Shackleton missed as every outfield player stepped up in the shoot-out.

Farke said: “It’s disappointing, but we have to accept the loss.

“We hit the bar and the post, and had numerous chances to put the ball in the net, but we didn’t and we must improve on that.

“It’s not for me to punish or accuse anyone after going out of this competition – it’s just been one of those days.”

Salford boss Neil Wood has urged his players to take confidence from their latest scalp.

After beating Preston on penalties in the first round, the League Two Ammies went the distance again.

Wood said: “We really had to work hard, particularly defensively, so huge credit to the lads for that.

“There were moments when we had to defend for our lives, then once it goes to penalties, it really could go either way.

“We’ve been there before, so the lads know they’ve just got to keep their focus and hope for that little bit of luck.

“We got that, we’re through, but we’ve earned the right to be in the third-round draw.

“It’s great to test yourselves against sides from the Championship, so the lads need to take huge confidence from this victory.”

Ange Postecoglou defended his decision to make nine changes after Tottenham suffered a penalty shoot-out defeat at Fulham in the Carabao Cup second round.

Spurs entered this contest following back-to-back wins in the Premier League, which had generated a feelgood factor around the club despite the departure of all-time top scorer Harry Kane on the eve of the new season.

Only Micky van de Ven and Richarlison retained their starting berths from the win at Bournemouth and while Tottenham improved from a sluggish start, penalties were required after a 1-1 draw and Davinson Sanchez failed to score from 12 yards to hand the visitors a 5-3 spot-kick loss.

It inflicted a painful dent to the momentum built during the first couple of months of the Postecoglou era but the Australian pointed to the need for players to get minutes when quizzed on his changes.

“Obviously disappointed with the outcome, getting knocked out of the cup,” Postecoglou said after Richarlison’s second-half goal cancelled out Van de Ven’s own-goal after 17 minutes.

“We weren’t at our fluent best, particularly early on which was not surprising considering the amount of changes I made. A lot of the boys tonight, it was their first start of the season.

“We lacked cohesion and fluency, but I really liked the way we hung in there. There are many different ways to grow as a team and we showed some real character.

“We had our moments in the second half to maybe go and win it. We weren’t able to get over the line and lost on penalties.

“It is my priority (the cups) but there is no European football so how am I going to find out about our players? What opportunity would I have to do that other than the game? They are all part of our club.

“We thought they’d be able to bring a different energy tonight and that doesn’t mean the cup or any game isn’t our priority.

“From my perspective, we’re very much at the discovery stage so we need to find out and give the players the opportunity to contribute, because that’s why they’re here.

“They’re not just here to make up the numbers. They keep working hard and deserved the opportunity to go out and play tonight.”

Fulham boss Marco Silva felt the best team won and insisted his players would react differently in the future if a repeat occurred of a bizarre incident with right-back Kenny Tete after half-time.

Tete was forced to leave the pitch for a number of minutes after he broke his boot and Spurs went on to score, with Ivan Perisic making the most of space on Tottenham’s left-hand side to cross in for Richarlison to head home the equaliser in the 56th minute.

Dutch full-back Tete was all smiles at full-time after he scored the decisive fifth kick to help Fulham progress into round three with a 5-3 shoot-out success at Craven Cottage.

“Yes the best team won and the best team on the pitch will play in the next round of Carabao Cup,” Silva, who served a touchline ban, said.

“During the 97 minutes, we were the team with the more chances to score and unfortunately we concede a goal in one moment we were with 10 men after the Kenny Tete incident.

“In the future we are going to approach that in a different way because you cannot give the opposition the chance to play against 10 men for two or three minutes because that incident happens.

“Of course it was the first and it will be the last time it happens for us because we will approach in a very different way.”

Crystal Palace boss Roy Hodgson praised his senior substitutes for the part they played in the 4-2 comeback EFL Cup win at Plymouth.

Jordan Ayew, Eberechi Eze and Jeffrey Schlupp were introduced after Plymouth went 2-0 up and each had assists as Palace stormed back after Ben Waine and Luke Cundle had put Argyle ahead.

An Odsonne Edouard strike and two goals in a minute from Jean-Philippe Mateta turned the tie on its head before French striker Mateta completed his hat-trick.

Hodgson said: “I realise we were heavily dependent on the senior players who have been playing in the first team to pull us through.

“So we have to say thank to you them and they enabled us to create those goal chances and score those goals.”

He added: “Plymouth are a good team and deserved their lead but we didn’t get anywhere near close enough to cause them problems in the first half and it didn’t look as though we were going to get that equalising goal.

“We tried to galvanise the team at half-time and then suddenly we found ourselves two goals down, so it was a really good performance to come back from that.

“It was quite obvious what we needed. It was a cracking game of football and we took our chances really well.”

On Mateta, Hodgson continued: “We know he can do that when he gets into those positions. He has that composure and ability to strike the ball very well. I was very pleased with his goals.

“I am sure he will be knocking on my door telling me how good he was. It is nice to have that situation but I thought Edouard was very good as well.”

Argyle boss Steven Schumacher said: “It’s obviously gutting to go out and not get to the next round but I felt we played really well, we pushed a top team in Crystal Palace all the way.

“We showed in large parts of the game what we are capable of and just for a five-minute spell in the second half we got undone with three really brilliant moments of play from top quality players.

“It’s something for us to learn from but overall I am pleased with the performance but gutted to be out. They’ve got top quality players to find space and get their players the ball. And then we just switched off in and around our box.

“When Roy bought on Eze, Ayew and Schlupp I just felt that changed the momentum of the game and just for a second we switched off, lost concentration and we got punished.

“We needed fresh legs tonight and as I always say, we haven’t really got a starting XI, we’ve got a squad who I think are capable of playing. The lads who played tonight were brilliant and I probably have got a few selection headaches ahead of Saturday.”

Gary O’Neil has said he expects Matheus Nunes to remain at Wolves beyond Friday’s transfer deadline day with Manchester City yet to lodge an improved offer for the Portugal international, who has stopped training in a bid to force through a move.

City last week saw a £47million bid rejected for the 25-year-old, who moved to Molineux for a club-record £38million last summer, and O’Neil said the champions were yet to return with a better offer.

“He’s not with the group at the moment, his choice,” O’Neil said. “After the bid from Manchester City he decided it was best for him to not to be with the group. Club policy and how we deal with things like that is set in place.

“As far as I’m aware there’s been no improved bid. Matheus Nunes is still our player, we have a long contract still with him and at this moment I fully expect him to be here come September 2.

“The next few days will be key of course and conversations will take place that will be private between me and Matheus and I’m sure the situation will be resolved.”

Speaking after watching a much-changed Wolves line-up brush aside League One Blackpool 5-0 to reach the third round of the Carabao Cup, O’Neil stopped short of criticising Nunes’ actions, saying he first needed to speak to the player.

“You never need (to stop training) but players do,” he said. “You’ve seen it all over the country, I’ve seen it when I was playing, we’ve seen it in recent transfer windows, I can think of one in January, and it won’t change how the club deals with any bids or any situation.

“He definitely didn’t (need to) and there is a way to deal with these things but I’ll keep most of my thoughts private for when I speak with Matheus.

“I will speak to him and there will be advisors and representatives and there’s a lot of things that go on – it’s too simplistic to say ‘he’s done this and we think that’. There’s a lot involved in situations like this.

“For me to try and answer in a press conference without Matheus for me to speak to about it and understand exactly where everything is is probably unfair…I’ll save my opinions until after I’ve spoken to him.”

Asked how easily Nunes would be reintegrated into the squad should he stay at Molineux, O’Neil said: “The conversation and our understanding of the situation will be the deciding factor. At this moment I don’t have enough information to make an accurate decision on it.”

Regardless of how the situation with Nunes plays out, Wolves go into the final few days of the transfer window with work to do. Daniel Podence is out of favour and seemingly on his way out, while Goncalo Guedes has returned to Benfica on loan – a move which frees up space on the wage bill.

“I’m excited because I’m still convinced that on September 2 the squad will be in a better place than it was last week,” O’Neil added. “I’m excited for the next few days…

“Does that mean there’s going to be loads of players arriving? Possibly, possibly not. But we’re as well prepared as we can be for the end of a transfer window where things can move quickly.”

Wolves saw off Blackpool with a brace from Matt Doherty, and goals from Sasa Kalajdzic, Fabio Silva, and debutant Nathan Fraser, leaving the Seasiders without a win or a goal in five matches.

“It was a difficult night against really good players, a good team,” Blackpool boss Neil Critchley said.

“Everything just seems to be going against us a little bit…But I can’t fault the players in the way they went about the game and they went after it.”

Luton boss Rob Edwards knew the result was all that mattered as the Hatters went through to the third round of the Carabao Cup by beating League Two Gillingham at Kenilworth Road.

The hosts led 2-0 at half-time thanks to goals from Jacob Brown and Alfie Doughty, before Jayden Clarke pulled one back early in the second period.

Cauley Woodrow then put Town 3-1 in front before Tom Nichols scored late on, only for Luton to hang on.

Edwards said: “We could only win by winning the game, the expectancy was obviously on us, it’s a little bit different to the last couple of games we’ve had, so I feel very pleased.

“We had quite a lot of changes, tweaked the shape a little bit, and I liked a lot of what I saw.

“It was a good start and I thought we built on it as well.

“We controlled pretty much all of the first half, going 2-0 up was great, a brilliant goal from Alfie and we spoke at half-time about the next goal.

“The next goal was really important and the game could really hinge on that.

“They got it, they probably had five or 10 minutes then when we had to deal with it, but we still looked OK.

“Cauley’s goal settled us down but then we controlled it again until the very last couple of minutes.

“There’s probably a reason we lacked a bit of fluency tonight, but there were a lot of good things I saw.”

Brown opened his Luton account after just two minutes with a low drive into the bottom corner, before Doughty hammered in a brilliant 25-yarder following a clever free-kick routine.

After the break, Clarke raced away to pull one back, as Ashley Nadesan and Macauley Bonne missed great chances to level the scoring.

Woodrow’s terrific volley restored Luton’s two-goal lead after 66 minutes, before Nichols’ header led to a nervy finale, Jonny Williams denied an equaliser by Tim Krul in stoppage time.

Gills boss Neil Harris said: “I’m really proud of the group, that was a fantastic second half against a Premier League side and to put them under pressure shows the character and personality as at 2-0 down after 35 minutes, teams may have crumbled against this level of opposition, but we didn’t.

“We regrouped at half-time and had a right go second half.

“I’m disappointed with the first goal, the second goal is a worldie, Premier League standard from Alfie, and the third one is against the run of play, again Premier League standard.

“To get back it at 2-1, 3-2, having pressure at the end, we just didn’t have that next goal in us.

“We could have scored but they’re the margins that you need when you go against the top sides.”

Cardiff manager Erol Bulut was delighted with his team’s 3-1 victory over Birmingham – and hopes he can bolster his defence before Friday’s transfer deadline.

The Bluebirds boss watched as his side scored through Rubin Colwill, Ryan Wintle and Zion Etete and saw Blues’ Lukas Jutkiewicz sent off midway through the second half.

They did so having made 10 changes to the side which beat Sheffield Wednesday at the weekend – and with a makeshift defence as Ebou Adams lined up alongside Perry Ng and full-back Mahlon Romeo.

“I am delighted because today we played without centre-backs, we created a back three with midfielders,” said Bulut.

“After the opponent was with 10 players we get a little bit relaxed and thought the game was finished. It is not finished, sometimes against 10 players it is more difficult.

“We need centre-backs, today we tried to create centre-backs. I hope at least one, maybe two centre-backs.

“I cannot see anything, wait until Friday then we will see some surprises – I hope.”

Blues counterpart John Eustace felt Jutkiewicz’s dismissal was the turning point.

“I thought it was very harsh from where I was, Jukey was pushed over at the start, he was rolling over then he has turned to try and get the ball and he has caught the lad on the back of the legs,” he said.

“It is a hard red card, it is something we will have to look at and see if we can appeal it. I will have to have a good look again tonight.

“I felt the first 20 minutes caused us a lot of problems, their shape, we couldn’t get used to that. The early goal certainly helps them as well.

“I thought we grew into the game, we got to grips with their shape, we were better with their press, were higher up the pitch. We need to be better in that final third with the decision-making.

“Coming into half-time we were positive, we tweaked a couple of things and I thought we started the second half quite well then obviously the red card just changes the game.”

Andoni Iraola hailed acting captain David Brooks for the role he played in Bournemouth’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Swansea as the Spaniard celebrated his first victory as Cherries boss.

Brooks slotted home a second-half equaliser to cancel out Matt Grimes opener at the Swansea.Com Stadium as the Wales international celebrated his first competitive goal for over two years, and first since returning from cancer treatment.

“He was the captain today, and it’s good that he scored. Like the others, he was much better second half,” said Iraola.

“He’s trying to push himself and fight for a starting place. It is good to have this kind of competition.”

A first goal for the club since his £25mmillion summer transfer from Hamed Traore then gave the Cherries the lead before Jamie Paterson tied matters up again in the 79th minute.

Just as it looked as though the second-round tie would go to penalties, Ryan Christie rounded off a sweeping move in the first of eight added minutes to clinch victory for the Premier League visitors.

“It was a game with two different halves. We started very badly and we were slow to move the ball,” said Iraola.

“The second half was different and we were much quicker, and we moved higher up the pitch. But this is the cup and sometimes you have to suffer.

“The attitude and willingness to attack the space in the second half was much better. We were more aware of the situations, and after half-time, the game was more open.”

Iraola gave a first start of the season to Wales striker Kieffer Moore before substituting him at half-time.

Moore remains a transfer target for his old club Cardiff, but Iraola says he is happy to keep him in his squad.

“The situation is the same, it depends on whom leaves the club, but the market can go until the last day,” he added.

“We are happy with Kieffer as he gives us different options. Right now, this is the situation, but it can change from one hour to another.”

While Iraola had something to celebrate, it was another defeat for new Swansea boss Michael Duff.

He said: “You don’t want to lose any game, but it would have been nice to have gone through. Ultimately, they still had to bring their big guns on to see us off.

“The strength of their bench shows the gaps have got big again. The gulf between the leagues is now as big as it was 15 years ago.

“There are loads of positives. We were really good for 25 minutes and then we defended well, too. There were other parts that were not so good and it’s about stitching the good parts together for 90 minutes.”

Duff was delighted to see Paterson claim his goal, saying “He’s never had blistering pace, but he’s a jinker, has good feet and has real quality”, and admitted goalkeeper Steven Benda is on the verge of joining Premier League side Fulham.

“It’s a deal that suits the player and the club. We know we need a few people in, but if we don’t, we don’t – we’ll just crack on,” added Duff.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank paid tribute to debutant goalkeeper Ellery Balcombe after his two spot-kick saves ensured the Bees edged past Newport 3-0 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at Rodney Parade.

Mathias Jensen thought he had won the Carabao Cup tie for the visitors in the 88th minute but teenage substitute Kiban Rai headed home deep into stoppage time for the hosts to take the game to spot-kicks.

Adam Lewis then hit a post with Newport’s first effort, before Balcombe saved from Nathan Wood and Bryn Morris, and Keane Lewis-Potter settled the contest in the Premier League side’s favour.

“Our debut goalkeeper made fantastic saves in the shoot-out,” said Frank.

“He’s been at the club since he was eight years old and it’s a fantastic story for him to make a debut like this with his family watching in the stadium.

“We want to go far in the cup competitions, and you need to get the job done. We did that in the end.”

Frank praised League Two County for their dogged display.

“It’s all about getting through,” added the Dane, who was forced into bringing on Jensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa after an hour.

“Of course, we’d have loved to come here and win 3-0 but it’s never easy.

“I had to bring on three more experienced guys. It’s always a balance. You want to play some of the ones who don’t play so much. With all due respect, that should be enough to win the game. But we just made it right in the end.

“Big credit to Newport, I think they defended very well. They put a lot of effort into it and made it very difficult for us.

“I could definitely see why they have created upsets in the past, and they’ve had a decent start to the season with three wins in the first five. I see them having a very good season.”

Exiles manager Graham Coughlan had mixed emotions after a fantastic effort from his players.

Midfielder Harry Charsley typified their performance, heading off the line to deny Lewis-Potter early on before heading just wide at the other end from an Omar Bogle cross.

“I am proud of the lads. They will get all of the plaudits and pats on backs they deserve but, at the end of the day, you want to win football matches,” he said.

“We were very good but that didn’t get us through to the next round and we want to be winners and to be successful.

“We had probably the best chance of the game with Harry Charsley stealing into the six-yard box.

“When you play the big boys, you need those moments and slices of luck.”

Sutton manager Matt Gray is hoping for a money-spinning EFL Cup tie after Aiden O’Brien gave the League Two side a shock 1-0 win at Wycombe.

The Shrewsbury loanee netted his first goal for the Yellows midway through the first half and the visitors held on to reach the third round for the first time in the club’s history.

Following four straight defeats since their dramatic penalty shootout win over Cambridge in the previous round, Sutton were on the back foot early in the first half.

But O’Brien’s cool finish swung the momentum of the game and proved enough to put United in the hat alongside the Premier League’s top eight.

“We’re on a nice little run now, with two League One opposition beaten,” said Gray. “We’re obviously not going to win the competition, but you want a big tie, a big money-maker to help my budget. Simple as that.”

And Gray was delighted with how his side handled higher-league opposition, who came closest when Luke Leahy struck the post in the second half.

Gray said: “We’re really pleased with the first-half performance with our threat on the counter-attack. The second half we really dug in and it was a solid defensive performance.

“We rode our luck at times but we deserved the clean sheet and to go through in the end.”

Wycombe boss Matt Bloomfield was left rueing missed opportunities after seeing his team enjoy the majority of possession and territory.

“I think we controlled the game,” said Bloomfield. “We had 18 shots, an xG of 2.58, hit the post, near misses, that pretty much sums up the game.

“Then you give Sutton something to hold on to and they defended for their lives but we’ve created more than enough chances to win the game.”