Doncaster Rovers vs Leeds United. Carabao Cup First Round.
The Keepmoat StadiumAttendance8,361.
Doncaster Rovers win 4-2 on penalties.
Friday 14 August 2015 00:27, UK
Leeds became the ninth Sky Bet Championship club to fall to the curse of the Capital One Cup as they were beaten 4-2 on penalties at League 1 Doncaster.
In a week where second-tier clubs fell by the wayside to lower-league opposition, the 10-man West Yorkshire side were dumped out at the first-round stage at the Keepmoat Stadium on Thursday as Sam Byram and Chris Wood missed from the spot after it had ended 1-1 after 120 minutes.
The visitors had gone in front in the first half through Lewis Cook, who was then sent off shortly after Rovers had equalised courtesy of Andy Williams' penalty.
Paul Dickov's side did enough to earn the win in the regulation 90 minutes but wasted a host of chances, meaning they had to wait for Richie Wellens' successful penalty to clinch a place in the second-round draw.
Leeds had burst into the lead with the first chance of the game in the 14th minute.
Mirco Antenucci was set free down the left and his shot across goal was palmed away by Thorsten Stuckmann and Cook reacted first to break his Leeds duck in his 40th appearance by tapping home into an empty net.
Rovers' response was a good one and they came within inches of levelling soon after, but a superb piece of defending from Giuseppe Bellusci kept Leeds' lead intact as he acrobatically cleared James Coppinger's looping effort off the line.
But the hosts were level in the 31st minute after they were awarded a penalty when Scott Wootton wiped out Cedric Evina and Williams converted from 12 yards to score his first goal in a Rovers shirt.
Clearly buoyed by that strike, he almost put Rovers in front moments later but his shot after a surging run was well saved by Ross Turnbull, who was playing against his former club.
Leeds were suddenly up against it and they made things harder for themselves seven minutes before the break when goalscorer Cook took the shine off his earlier good work when he received a straight red card for an ugly two-footed lunge on Aaron Taylor-Sinclair.
Rovers had a golden chance to go into the half-time interval in front when Evina burst into the box and squared for Coppinger, who, with the goal at his mercy, somehow skewed wide from eight yards.
Dickov's men were in total control after the restart and Williams - a constant threat - almost gave them the lead just before the hour, but his vicious first-time shot brought a superb flying save out of Turnbull.
Rovers threw everything forward in an attempt to get the job done in 90 minutes and Williams, Nathan Tyson, Coppinger and Harry Forrester all went close in a home onslaught but could not find the net.
Leeds came the closest to finding a winner in extra-time when Stuckmann spilled Antenucci's deflected effort, but was relieved to see it roll on to the post before grabbing it at the second attempt on the line.
It had to be decided by penalties and when Byram and Wood blazed over successive efforts, it was left to Wellens to coolly slot the decisive spot-kick home.
