Exeter manager Gary Caldwell was delighted with the second-half response from his side as they reached the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 2-1 win over Sky Bet League Two club Crawley.

After falling behind in controversial circumstances – former Plymouth and Torquay striker Klaidi Lolos headed in from a corner when Exeter were down to 10 men and trying to make a substitution – Kyle Taylor and James Scott scored in the last 15 minutes to turn the tie on its head.

It was Taylor’s first goal since returning from a nightmare 18 months out with a serious knee injury, while Scott’s goal was his second in successive matches.

In truth, it was no more than Exeter deserved as they dominated for long spells, but it took a half-time rollicking from the Grecians boss to get the response he wanted.

“It was a really difficult game and I said before the game that we can’t underestimate Crawley and I felt, in the first half, we did a little bit,” Caldwell said.

“We were a little bit flat, our press wasn’t as energetic as it needed to be and in fairness to them, they played a really open style of football and asked a lot of questions of us defensively with how they position players on the park. I thought they played well.

“We could have been better on transition and we could have been better on the press. We conceded the goal, but I thought our response after half-time was sensational and we came out and looked more like the team on Saturday, we played on the front foot, we played aggressive football and in the end, I think we deserved to win the game.

“I said to the players at half-time you can’t win a game without running for the team, but we did that second half and thoroughly deserved to win the game.”

Newport boss Graham Coughlan hailed a morale-boosting victory for his side as they fought back from a goal down to beat League One Charlton 3-1 in the Carabao Cup first round.

Daniel Kanu put the visitors ahead just before half-time, but second-half strikes from Aaron Wildig, Will Evans and Seb Palmer-Houlden sealed a second-round spot for the Exiles for the seventh successive season.

“I’m really pleased and I’m delighted for the lads,” said Coughlan, whose side were beaten 3-0 at Accrington on the opening day.

“They’ve had a tough couple of weeks. It’s not been easy.

“The fans were unbelievable tonight as well, even when we went 1-0 down, the way they got behind us.

“I’m trying to explain the club, the DNA and its principles to some of the new players, I don’t think I have to explain it after tonight. I think they’ve fully got it, and they know what the fans expect of them.”

Charlton boss Dean Holden questioned his players’ mentality after they allowed their fourth-tier opponents back into the game.

“We got ourselves into a good position with the goal just before half-time and we had them exactly where we wanted them until 60 minutes,” said the Addicks manager.

“We were 1-0 up and in complete control, complete dominance, but we didn’t have enough in the final third to take the game away from them.

“As comfortable as we were, there were too many errors. The goals were really poor. It was too easy for them to score. To end up losing 3-1 is really disappointing.

“There is potentially a mentality issue there. We need to stamp our authority on the game and take it away from them. But we didn’t do it and we got punished.”

New Swansea boss Michael Duff revealed the club are talking to star striker Joel Piroe to try to entice him to extend his stay at the club.

The Dutchman is out of contract next summer and gave Duff a first-hand look at what he can do by scoring two of his side’s goals in a 3-0 demolition of League One side Northampton in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

“We haven’t received a bid for Joel Piroe at the club, so it is pointless talking about his situation until someone makes a bid,” said Duff. “The club is talking to him. He hasn’t said yes and he hasn’t said no to a new contract.

“The one thing everyone is looking for in football is goals and Joel is a prized asset. If someone is willing to pay the right price then he may go.

“He was probably disappointed not to walk away with the match ball tonight because he had a number of chances to score more than two goals.”

Having been beaten by Newport and Oxford in the first round of the tournament in the last two seasons, Swansea fans were happy to see their side go through. As well as Piroe’s goals, new signing Josh Ginnelly fired home a 30-yard solo stunner to announce his arrival in added time.

“It was a tough lesson against a Championship side. We were left a bit short,” said Cobblers boss Jon Brady.

“There were a couple of chances in the first half. They are a high-level Championship team and it was hard.

“They played with excellent passing and movement, and they were very good out of possession and jumped all over us. There is lots to work on and much to sharpen up.

“We knew they would be really tough, especially with the changes we had to make. We had to give certain players minutes and build up our fitness. It is hard to get results when you are working through that.

“To only make four changes from their side last weekend made it a really tough challenge. We made seven changes from our team on Saturday, and we knew we would go through some tough moments.”

Michael Carrick praised his Middlesbrough side’s control as they ran out 3-2 winners over 10-man Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup first round.

Kian Harratt gave Huddersfield an early lead but they had Jaheim Headley sent off in the 13th minute.

And Boro took full advantage with goals from Samuel Silvera, Isiah Jones and Riley McGree before Kyle Hudlin’s late consolation.

Carrick said: “I was happy with the game. It was a little bit of a test going behind and it was interesting to see how the boys coped with the setback. I’ve got to take responsibility for the first goal.

“As the game went on we took control and made the extra man count. We looked dangerous and had a good balance in the performance. All in all, there were a number of things that made it a good night.”

Carrick rallied behind 19-year-old Rav van den Berg, whose mistake led to the opener for Huddersfield.

The former Manchester United and England midfielder said: “We’ve asked them to play out from the back, we’ve had a lot of success playing that way so far. We’ve got no problems conceding that way and I was really happy with the reaction.”

Town manager Neil Warnock had no complaints about the red card and drew the positives from his side’s performance.

“Nobody let me down tonight,” he said.

“There were a lot of plusses. The crowd was very good. All the way through the lads gave me everything.

“It would have been a very interesting game with 11 men because I felt we could get at them a little more tonight.

“Jordan Rhodes did a super job moving into midfield and it was nice for the big man Kyle Hudlin to score at the end too.

“Everyone feels we’re going to be underdogs this season. I want us to try and enjoy games now. They’ve enjoyed working hard tonight and for that, you can forgive them.”

Mansfield turned on the style to see off Grimsby 2-0 in the Carabao Cup first round and delighted Stags boss Nigel Clough believes a team could be in for a real hiding if they can reproduce that form.

Lucas Akins netted a 27th-minute penalty in a one-sided first half and Rhys Oates added a crucial second on 55 minutes.

But it could have been many more and Clough said: “I think you can see already that someone is going to cop for one sometime during the season.

“If we do put in a reasonable percentage of the chances and crosses then we will get four or five on occasions.

“I thought some of the football tonight was from a higher level. Some of our play from start to finish was excellent.

“The lads have set the standard in the first two performances.”

Grimsby goalkeeper Harvey Cartwright brought down Oates for the spot kick after a poor touch from a backpass and then Oates flicked home the second from David Keillor-Dunn’s pass.

Grimsby boss Paul Hurst admitted: “That was pretty much as good a performance as I’ve seen from a League Two side for some time.

“They (Mansfield) went very close last season and are a group that’s been together for some time.

“They played some very good football – Nigel Clough wants his team to play that way.

“We did contribute to that by inviting pressure, but there is no doubt about it they were the better team on the night by far.

“Harvey made the mistake for the goal but then made some good saves afterwards.

“And when we did have some good opportunities, Christy Pym made a good save from Danny Rose.

“Mansfield are one of the favourites in terms of that top group and on tonight’s evidence it suggests we are short of that.”

Sky Bet League Two Salford dumped Championship side Preston out of the Carabao Cup after a penalty shoot-out win at Deepdale.

Preston had fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 after 90 minutes, only for substitutes Ryan Ledson and Mads Frokjaer-Jensen to miss from the spot and send the Ammies through with a 4-2 win.

The home fans had earlier been left stunned as Preston took the lead after only five minutes.

Connor McLennan fired a rebound into the top corner after his initial strike from Luke Bolton’s low cross was blocked by Preston defender Patrick Bauer.

North End almost levelled soon after through summer signing Duane Holmes, before the Ammies doubled their lead after 39 minutes.

Preston debutant Jack Whatmough, who captained the side, gifted the ball to McLennan just outside the Preston box, and he slotted past David Cornell.

The home side halved the deficit just before the interval when Holmes set up Ben Woodburn for a neat finish from 12 yards.

Preston were level five minutes in the second half when Holmes pounced on a poor pass out from Salford keeper Alex Cairns.

Pushing for a winner, North End almost went in front soon after through Will Keane and Salford substitute Matty Lund missed a great chance to win it late on before the Ammies progressed from a dramatic shoot-out.

A youthful Blackburn survived a Carabao Cup first-round scare before overcoming Sky Bet League Two Walsall in a 4-3 victory.

The Championship outfit twice came from behind with goals from Oisin McEntee and Ross Tierney cancelled out by Zak Gilsenan and Niall Ennis before half-time.

Strikes from Jake Garrett and John Buckley gave Blackburn breathing space but Ronan Maher’s late strike ensured a nervy finish.

Walsall were worth their 19th-minute lead when McEntee buried a looping header beyond Joe Hilton, but Ryan Hedges crossed for Gilsenan to squeeze home a 21st-minute leveller.

Ennis forced a smart save from Jackson Smith before Tierney finished off a well-worked team goal in the 37th minute, side-footing into the bottom corner from 12 yards.

However, the lead lasted just three minutes as Hedges crossed for Ennis to calmly slot home from 10 yards out.

Rovers were ahead five minutes after the break when Buckley fed Garrett, who rifled into the bottom-right corner. Buckley got in on the act after Gilsenan’s superb first-time pass set him free and he placed beyond the despairing dive of Smith.

The Saddlers gave themselves hope six minutes from time when Maher curled spectacularly into the far-left corner, but Blackburn held on.

Blackburn had earlier announced the signing of Sweden goalkeeper Leopold Wahlstedt from Odds Ballklubb for an undisclosed fee.

Wahlstedt, 24, has agreed a three-year contract and is the club’s fourth summer signing. He has spent the last three seasons at Norwegian top-flight club Odds BK – making 64 appearances – and made his senior debut for Sweden in a 2-0 win against Finland at the start of this year.

English Football League new boys Wrexham dumped out Wigan on penalties as they reached the second round of the Carabao Cup for the first time in 16 years.

The hosts dominated but were held to a goalless draw in normal time before winning the shoot-out 4-2.

Charlie Hughes and Thelo Aasgaard both hit their spot-kicks high over the crossbar as the Latics crashed out.

Jake Bickerstaff squandered a big early chance for Wrexham when his overhead kick missed the target with Wigan goalkeeper Sam Tickle stranded after committing to a missed punch.

Home striker Ollie Palmer then nodded over 10 minutes before half-time.

Moments later, Tickle kept out James Jones’ strike before the onrushing Callum McFadzean inexplicably poked the rebound over with the goal at his mercy.

Dominant Wrexham had the first opportunity of the second half as Palmer powered an effort wide after cutting in from the left.

Tickle produced a brilliant double save to first keep out Bickerstaff’s strike before smothering Jordan Davies’ follow up.

Bickerstaff made it a trio of missed chances when he fired straight at Tickle, but his blushes were spared by a shoot-out win, with Luke Young, Elliot Lee, Thomas O’Connor and Sam Dalby all scoring for the hosts.

Sutton reached the second round of the Carabao Cup for the first time after beating League One Cambridge on penalties after the game had finished 2-2.

Both sides came close in the space of a minute early on, as Cambridge goalkeeper Will Mannion kept out Aiden O’Brien’s header with Sutton unable to force the rebound in. Down the other end Elias Kachunga was denied by Steve Arnold.

The visitors went ahead when a mix-up between Arnold and Louis John as they tried to deal with a long ball allowed Fejiri Okenabirhie to run the ball in to the empty net.

Sutton levelled eight minutes before half-time when Harry Smith rifled in from close range following a long throw.

Matt Gray’s hosts might have scored within the first minute of the second half as Harry Beautyman headed just over, and Mannion then made a superb save from Smith’s header.

On the hour Jack Rose, who had replaced Arnold in goal, was adjudged to have fouled Okenabirhie, who converted the penalty.

Mannion saved well again from Beautyman, the but Us captain was on the scoresheet nine minutes from time when he also scored from the spot after being fouled.

More spot-kicks ensued as the scores finished level, with nine of the first 10 taken by substitutes as well as Rose in goal, and after Ben Goodliffe and George Thomas had both seen kicks saved, Rose made the crucial stop from Cambridge captain Harrison Dunk to send Sutton through.

Tranmere progressed to the second round of the Carabao Cup after defeating League One Barnsley 7-6 on penalties following a 2-2 draw at Oakwell.

Luke Norris and Sam Taylor gave the visitors the lead either side of the break, with Herbie Kane and Aiden Marsh twice equalising for the Tykes.

Rovers’ early persistence paid off in the 24th minute, breaking the deadlock through a well-worked free-kick routine. Jake Leake’s ball into the box was headed back across goal by Tom Davies for Norris to guide home.

The hosts levelled three minutes into first-half stoppage time when Jon Russell broke into the box from the right, cutting back to Kane whose shot was spilled in by Joe Murphy.

Rovers regained the lead two minutes after the break. A succession of chances saw Taylor strike the crossbar before finding the far corner from the edge of the box moments later.

Neill Collins’ young Barnsley side remained resilient and found the leveller in the eighth minute of injury time as Charlie Winfield’s cross was flicked in by Marsh.

After the shootout reached sudden death, Paul Lewis’ success from the spot meant that Jack Shepherd’s following miss resulted in defeat for Barnsley.

Chris Rigg became Sunderland’s youngest ever goal scorer but his efforts proved in vain as they crashed out the Carabao Cup with a 5-3 penalty shoot-out defeat at the hands of Crewe.

At the age of 16 years and 51 days, Rigg also became the youngest player to net in the competition’s history as his second-half strike cancelled out a first-half header from Crewe defender Luke Offord.

However, with the game finishing 1-1 at the end of 90 minutes, Pierre Ekwah’s penalty miss proved crucial as Crewe converted all five of their spot-kicks to book a place in the second round.

Crewe came within inches of breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute but, while Jack Powell’s direct free-kick curled around the Sunderland wall, the ball rebounded off the base of the right-hand post.

Alex Pritchard went close with a set-piece of his own, forcing a smart low save out of Harvey Davies, and also aimed two more long-range efforts straight at the Crewe goalkeeper.

Nathan Bishop was making his Sunderland debut at the other end following a summer move from Manchester United and the goalkeeper was beaten in first-half stoppage time.

A corner from the right-hand side passed all the way across the Sunderland goalmouth, enabling Offord to head home at the back post.

The Black Cats equalised midway through the second half, with the Crewe defence failing to adequately deal with a cross from substitute Jack Clarke. The ball fell at the feet of teenager Rigg, who fired home to claim his first senior goal.

Ekwah struck the post as Sunderland pushed for a winner, but Davies saved from Bradley Dack in stoppage time to send the game to penalties.

Stevenage progressed to the EFL Cup second round with a 4-3 penalty shootout upset of Watford following a 1-1 draw.

Neither side was able to gain control early on but Watford took full advantage of the first big chance on six minutes as Tom Dele-Bashiru’s whipped free-kick bounced across the six-yard box and was tapped in by Vakoun Bayo.

Stevenage grew into the contest, started to apply pressure and levelled just before half-time when Forster-Caskey’s corner was flicked on by Aaron Pressley and Josh March reacted first to volley past Ben Hamer.

Both sides had early opportunities to lead after the break as Watford’s Ryan Porteous headed wide from Imran Louza’s corner before Stevenage midfielder Forster-Caskey’s deflected shot whistled past the post.

With 20 minutes remaining, a Watford counter-attack ended with Louza firing towards goal from six yards but his effort was tipped over the crossbar from point-blank range by Krisztian Hegyi.

Hegyi was called into action again in the 90th minute as the Boro goalkeeper was at full stretch to tip Rhys Healey’s towering header past the post.

Few chances came in the closing stages and the match was decided on penalties, with Stevenage sealing a 4-3 win after Porteous and Healey both missed and Nathan Thompson fired in the decisive spot-kick.

Carlisle’s hoodoo against Harrogate continued on Tuesday evening as Paul Simpson’s team were knocked out of the Carabao Cup at the first-round stage.

The newly-promoted Sky Bet League One outfit had failed to beat the League Two Sulphurites in seven previous attempts and saw that run extended by a 1-0 defeat in North Yorkshire.

Jack Armer should have given the visitors an 18th-minute lead, but he cleared the crossbar from just a couple of yards out.

And Carlisle were punished for that miss soon afterwards, former Middlesbrough forward Sam Folarin stroking a precise 25-yard finish into the bottom corner.

Harrogate remained in the ascendancy until half-time, though both Luke Plange and Jon Mellish could have levelled matters, but neither man could beat Mark Oxley in one-on-one situations.

Simpson made four changes at the break, though it was the hosts who threatened first after the resumption when George Thomson curled a free-kick just over the bar.

Town began to drop deeper and deeper as the half progressed and, although they appeared relatively untroubled, Oxley’s foul on Taylor Charters saw Carlisle awarded a 76th-minute penalty.

Harrogate-born Ryan Edmondson would, however, fluff his lines from the spot and the Sulphurites were able to see the game out.