Carlisle boss Paul Simpson described Jokull Andresson’s red card “amateurish” after the goalkeeper’s mistake led to a 2-0 defeat at Wycombe.

Believing he was alone in the penalty area after a routine save, Andresson dropped the ball to his feet but was immediately dispossessed by Wycombe striker Sam Vokes, lurking behind him.

Andresson brought Vokes down and also handled the ball outside the box, leaving referee Scott Tallis with an easy decision to show him red in the 29th minute.

Luke Leahy’s penalty, after Gareth McCleary was taken down just before half-time, and Vokes’ well-taken strike saw Wycombe prevail and left Simpson furious at full-time.

He said: “I think we brought this [the loss] on ourselves. We can’t blame anyone else. It’s about us. The sending off is just amateurish. Just absolutely amateurish, I’m afraid.

“The referee has obviously seen the situation and felt he’s needed to send him off.

“You then look at the penalty decision and our player got the ball but, by the letter of the law, he’s gone through the back of him and there’s nothing he can really do about it.

“We’ve gifted them situations. If we’re more professional, those things don’t happen, we don’t give them those opportunities.

“I think in the first half we were really poor. Forget those incidents, we were poor in not being front-footed and I think we needed to be aggressive in the way we defended but we weren’t.

“I got to say, though, in the second half, the attitude was absolutely first class. We probably should have got ourselves back into it with the opportunities we had.”

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield was pleased with his team’s performance and praised their maturity in facing 10 men for most of the game.

“Any win brings a really pleasing afternoon.

“This is a tough league, we’ve already seen that this season, and we knew the continuity they kept from their team last season and the way they’re built would make it difficult for us.

“I was pleased with the variety we showed in our display, especially against 11.

“Obviously, the game is going to change against 10. But we were really good, even if there were elements to improve.

“It’s one of football cliches that it’s never easy against 10 men. [In the second half], they reorganised and showed a real attacking intent.

“Fair play to Carlisle, they could have made our day uncomfortable, but we worked hard to get the win. We stuck to our task and it’s just a shame we couldn’t take more of our chances.”

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.”

Aiden O’Brien’s first goal for Sutton handed the League Two side a shock 1-0 win over Wycombe in the second round of the EFL Cup.

The Yellows travelled to Adams Park on the back of four straight defeats and as the second-lowest ranked team left in the competition.

But after weathering an early barrage from their League One hosts, O’Brien struck in the 19th minute to give Sutton a lead they would never relinquish.

The best of Wycombe’s early chances came when a clean-through Garath McCleary fired straight at Sutton goalkeeper Jack Rose.

Rose later launched a long ball upfield which Josh Coley ushered straight into O’Brien’s path with only Max Stryjek to beat.

The Irish international coolly slid his effort under the Wycombe goalkeeper and Harry Smith almost doubled the visitors’ advantage five minutes later with a swipe at the near post.

Sutton finished the half the stronger but the home side pushed hard after the break as substitute Luke Leahy rattled the woodwork from a Sam Vokes flick on.

But, just as in the first half, the early Wycombe pressure fizzled out, with one last opportunity for Kane Vincent-Young spurned high over the bar.

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield sang the praises of defender Joe Low after he played the role of local villain to perfection in a tense 2-1 victory over Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.

The former Bristol City defender put the Chairboys in command after 19 minutes when he headed in ex-Rovers skipper Luke Leahy’s free-kick, only to be booked for goading the home fans who greeted his celebrations with disdain.

Veteran striker Garath McCleary strengthened Wycombe’s grip on the game when he rounded off a swift counter-attack with a clever finish after 74 minutes only for Rovers’ on-loan Chelsea forward Harvey Vale to spark a tense finale with a deft strike 10 minutes later.

The Wanderers goal was under siege for most of the closing stages but 21-year-old Low showed off his defensive capabilities with a series of aerial clearances before his stoppage-time block to divert Tristan Crama’s goal-bound shot wide ensured a victorious return to Bristol.

“Joe said he enjoyed the block more than the goal, but I don’t want to go overboard about him,” Bloomfield.

“He’s done everything we’ve asked of him and we’re really proud to have him as one of us with the way he treats everyone and goes about his work.

“He’s going to be a very good player and we absolutely love him. We’ve got high hopes of Joe but at the time same time he’s got a lot to work on. He’s got to enjoy his football and keep improving.”

Bloomfield also leapt to the defence of the centre-back – whose father Josh started his career at Rovers – following his booking by referee Lee Swabey after scoring.

“When a local boy comes back against the team which is the opposite of the one he used to play for and then he scores, silly boy, and celebrates like that we’ll have to stop it,” Bloomfield added.

“But it’s all part of the emotion of the game and we’ve got to be careful we don’t take too much of that out. He enjoyed his moment, and you can’t hold that against him.

“These boys work extremely hard and sacrifice a lot in their lives and while we don’t encourage provocative behaviour in terms of inciting the crowd, you’ve got to be able to enjoy those moments.”

Rovers manager Joey Barton, who said defeat was “tough to take”, criticised the referee’s performance.

“We don’t get much out of that referee and we never tend to when he comes here and I’d quite happily never see him again,” Barton said.

“I don’t think he’s a fantastic referee for us. We’ve got this new directive to speed play up and he was constantly slowing play down to get himself a breather.

“He needs to get fitter. These are fit boys at this level and if a directive is coming from the EFL to drive more ball-in-play time then unfortunately the referees and assistants are going to have to get down and do a bit of work to keep up with the physicality.

“The little fella in there was gasping for air. He wasn’t the only one, there were a lot of W players doing the same.”

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield admitted to being put through the wringer during his side’s 3-2 win over Leyton Orient that gave them their first points of the season at the third attempt.

It was a frantic night at Adams Park as Orient had centre-back Dan Happe sent off in the second half in what was their third straight defeat in League One.

The incidents did not stop after the final whistle either as Orient head coach Richie Wellens and his assistant Paul Terry were both shown red cards for their protests towards the officials.

Bloomfield said: “It’s just a relief to get the first win if I’m honest.

“This job means the world to me, this football club means the world to me and it’s hurt a huge amount, losing the first two games in the manner in which we did.

“It’s really hurt and I’m desperate to do the right thing for this football club, I’m desperate to do a good job here.

“The emotion was up and down, we have to manage that at times and I felt like at times maybe we didn’t and we got a bit caught up in the game, but football is an emotional game.

“I know there are a lot of things trying to take the emotion out of the game at the minute, with all the new rules and everything, but we all love football because at times we love it and at times we hate it.”

Joe Low’s opener for Wycombe was cancelled out before half-time by Ruel Sotiriou, but momentum shifted five minutes after the restart when Happe was sent off for pulling back Dale Taylor when the last defender.

Low headed in Luke Leahy’s cross for his second to restore the Chairboys’ lead and Taylor then added a third for the hosts before Sotiriou’s second brought about a nervy finish.

Orient goalkeeping coach Simon Royce, speaking to the media because Wellens and Terry were barred from doing so, said: “I think with 10 men we were the better side.

“It’s nice to score a couple of goals away from home, but conceding three away from home is not going to win you many games.

“But the lads put in a great shift, the fans were unbelievable and they cheered us right to the end.

On Happe’s red card, Royce added: “He didn’t get close enough [to Taylor] to start with, he’s held his hands up in there, but we don’t say sorry in that changing room, we all stick together.

“He may have pulled his shirt a little bit, I haven’t seen it back.

“Whether it was a red card, I couldn’t see whether there was anyone coming around, but it did change the game a little bit.”

Centre-back Joe Low scored twice on his first league start for Wycombe as they edged to a 3-2 win over Leyton Orient to claim their first points of the season.

Orient’s tally remains empty, however, after their third straight defeat in League One and their cause was not helped by a red card for Dan Happe in the early stages of the second half.

Wycombe had their first league goal of the campaign after 15 minutes when Low did well to reach Luke Leahy’s cross and finish into the bottom corner.

Having drawn blanks in their opening three games in all competitions, Orient finally broke their duck as Theo Archibald’s cross was firmly finished by Ruel Sotiriou.

Happe was then sent off five minutes after the restart for tugging back Dale Taylor when the last defender and Wycombe restored their lead when Low nodded in another Leahy cross in the 68th minute.

Taylor appeared to have made the game safe in the last 10 minutes by tapping in Josh Scowen’s ball across goal, but Sotiriou quickly pulled one back by squeezing an effort under Max Stryjek.

Lincoln boss Mark Kennedy has challenged his side to attack their home games after a 3-0 victory over Wycombe.

Second-half goals from Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, Teddy Bishop and Daniel Mandroiu did the damage as the impressive Imps claimed maximum points against the Chairboys at the LNER Stadium.

Forward Hackett-Fairchild rifled the hosts ahead with a sweet 68th-minute strike, before substitute midfielder Bishop doubled the lead just five minutes later with a clinical first-time finish.

Irishman Daniel Mandroiu finished the job with a fine effort five minutes from time.

“I was really pleased,” beamed Kennedy.

“I said to the guys just before they went out that all we needed was a few W’s to our name.

“It was nice to get a win and really nice to get a performance. It’s nice when you see it on the training ground, but it’s even better when it comes off.

“But we’re two games into a long, long season, so we’ve spoke about staying grounded, being humble and next on to another incredibly tough game on Tuesday.

“We drew our first three games last year and started really positively, but I’d have taken a defeat and a win today because, without sounding like an idiot, we’ve actually got more points after two games than we did after three last season.

“We’ve spoken to the players about going for games and trying to win games, I want to win games of football.

“That might not be away from home, but certainly at home.”

The visitors created decent chances of their own but lacked a killer finish in front of goal.

Frustrated Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield said: “I’m very disappointed with the way we played in the second half.

“I thought we were good value in the first half and we had a good goal threat about us.

“But we had a goal disallowed from a free-kick and I thought we were in the ascendancy.

“However, I did not see that second half coming. I was really disappointed with the way the goals went in, it was really basic goals which we need to defend better and should defend better.

“I’m bitterly, bitterly disappointed, but goals change games.

“I felt we were still the side threatening even though that first goal didn’t count, but if that goes in then you really back yourselves [to win].

“We felt we were on the front foot, but there’s no excuses for the way we gave away three goals in the second half.

“The second half defending has to better, we have to defend our box better.”

Second-half goals from Reeco Hackett-Fairchild, Teddy Bishop and Daniel Mandroiu secured Lincoln a 3-0 victory over Wycombe at the LNER Stadium.

Forward Hackett-Fairchild rifled the hosts ahead with a sweet 68th-minute strike, before substitute midfielder Bishop doubled the lead just five minutes later with a clinical first-time finish.

Irishman Mandroiu finished the job with a fine strike five minutes from time.

Imps shot-stopper Lukas Jensen thwarted defender Jack Grimmer with a smart save early one, before midfielder Luke Leahy rifled a left-foot shot just wide for the visitors.

Danish midfielder Lasse Sorensen wasted a glorious chance to put the Imps ahead just before the half-hour mark, volleying over from close-range from Jaden Brown’s pass.

Lincoln forward Ben House was left frustrated after he was sent tumbling after a strong challenge in the box, but referee Adam Herczeg waved away shouts for a penalty.

Mandroiu tested Chairboys keeper Max Stryjek with a long-range strike, but the keeper was equal to the effort.

But Hackett-Fairchild broke the deadlock and Bishop put the Imps in control, before Mandroiu capped off a fine second-half showing with his first goal of the season.

Wycombe manager Matt Bloomfield praised the impact of his substitutes after they helped see off MK Dons in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Brandon Hanlan struck the opener for the League One Chairboys deep into the second half before setting up the second for Chris Forino after the visitors had to endure an uncomfortable first 45 minutes at Stadium MK.

Bloomfield said: “We had to abandon all good plans because we had a couple of knocks and had to make another couple of changes.

“We’re still maybe slightly behind in our fitness with some of the boys but I was really pleased in terms of how the finishers came on and really impacted the game tonight.

“I thought Brandon was fantastic, and Tjay (De Barr) and Luke (Leahy).

“I thought the finishers came on and really helped us get over the line, which was a good impact to see.”

Wycombe goalkeeper Max Stryjek made good saves to deny Warren O’Hora and Alex Gilbey in the first half, which was shaded by the League Two Dons.

The Chairboys broke through after 73 minutes when Hanlan pounced after Craig MacGillivray pushed out Freddie Potts’ cross before Forino nodded in to make the tie safe with eight minutes remaining.

Dons boss Graham Alexander said: “I thought we certainly played our part in the game and I thought it was about both boxes in the end.

“They were a little bit more clinical than us because we certainly had the opportunities to score.

“I was disappointed to concede at that stage of the game because I thought we were doing reasonably well.

“There was still time for us to get back into the game, but we conceded a second, although even after that we still had opportunities to get one.”

Substitute Brandon Hanlan opened the scoring as Wycombe defeated Buckinghamshire rivals MK Dons 2-0 in the first round of the Carabao Cup.

Victory at Stadium MK was just what the Chairboys needed to restore confidence after their opening-day loss against Exeter and they managed to avoid a minor upset against their League Two opponents.

The Dons shaded the first half, however, and almost went ahead when Warren O’Hora’s low 25-yard strike travelled through a crowd before being tipped behind by Wycombe goalkeeper Max Stryjek.

Stryjek was called upon again when he did well to get down to Alex Gilbey’s shot before Mo Eisa’s long-range effort clipped the top of the bar as the match remained goalless at half-time.

A lovely backheel by Sam Vokes opened things up for Wycombe’s Dale Taylor but his eventual shot was cleared off the line by Daniel Harvie.

The deadlock was finally broken by the Chairboys after 73 minutes when Hanlan was on hand to convert after Dons goalkeeper Craig MacGillivray could only push out Freddie Potts’ cross.

The visitors then made the result safe with eight minutes remaining when centre-back Chris Forino headed in after Hanlan had nodded Luke Leahy’s corner back across goal.

Matt Bloomfield admits his Wycombe players suffered a significant “reality check” after weeks of pre-season work went up in smoke against Exeter.

Two goals in the first five minutes fired Gary Caldwell’s red-hot Grecians to a comfortable 3-0 opening day victory as Jack Aitchison, captain Will Aimson and James Scott all netted at Adams Park.

Bloomfield says that left his players “shell-shocked” and the Chairboys boss urged them to deliver a rapid response when their travel to Lincoln next weekend.

He said: “It’s a reality check – if you look at the way we conceded those goals the lads were shell-shocked.

“It’s a disappointing scenario to find yourself in – there’s a lot of planning that goes over in over the summer and during this week, and then to find yourself 2-0 down.

“I think behind the scenes we’ve seen during pre-season that we have been missing bodies – we’ve had far too many of our top performers not being able to take part.

“The football league has a habit of throwing up these scenarios so unfortunately we were on the wrong end of one of those today. We have to make sure we are up to speed as quickly as possible.”

“We gave the ball away in a dangerous area early on, and unfortunately that ends up in the back of the net.

“There’s been plenty that’s happened at this football club that isn’t in our control, and in those situations where we are we have to make sure we’re better.”

Aitchison was one of 13 debutants across both sides and made the perfect start since joining from Motherwell, scoring after just 24 seconds.

A goalmouth scramble from a corner three minutes later then saw Aimson tuck home to double the lead.

Sam Nombe could have made it three from the spot, after Demetrii Mitchell was felled by Max Stryjek, but the Wycombe keeper saved superbly.

Wycombe rung the changes and had second-half penalty appeals waved away after substitute Josh Scowen was barged over in the box, but failed to muster a single clear-cut chance and Scott’s late goal saw Exeter seal victory.

Grecians boss Caldwell loved his side’s razor-sharp attacking performance and added: “It was an amazing start – I don’t think any of us would have thought we would have scored that early.

“I thought the intent and the aggression we showed in the first 15-20 minutes was incredible.

“We spoke a lot in the last couple of weeks about wanting to have a style of play and to play in a certain way, and we have to be a team that’s aggressive with and without the ball.

“And I thought the way we played in that early period, how we landed on second balls and when we ran forward – we called them so many problems.

“We looked a really dynamic front-foot football team, which is what we want to be. Every time we passed the ball forward today I thought we looked a real threat.”

Two goals inside the opening five minutes helped Exeter to a 3-0 victory over a lacklustre Wycombe at Adams Park.

Debutant Jack Aitchison and captain Will Aimson both bagged early goals, before the visitors had a Sam Nombe penalty saved after just 10 minutes.

The opening left Wycombe stunned and they were unable to fight back, with substitute James Scott scoring for the visitors seven minutes from time.

Aitchison was one of 13 debutants across both sides, and made the perfect start since joining from Motherwell, scoring after just 24 seconds.

A goalmouth scramble from a corner three minutes later then saw Aimson tuck home to double the lead.

Nombe could have made it three from the spot after Demetri Mitchell was felled by Max Stryjek, but the Wycombe keeper saved superbly.

Wycombe rung the changes and had second-half penalty appeals waved away after substitute Josh Scowen was barged over in the box, but failed to muster a single clear-cut chance and Scott’s late goal saw Exeter seal victory.