3rd-tier Burton Albion into English League Cup for 1st time
LONDON (AP) — Burton Albion, a team in 16th place in the third tier of English soccer, reached the League Cup quarterfinals for the first time in its 68-year history by beating Nottingham Forest 3-2 on Tuesday.
The unheralded club from central England was joined in the last eight by Premier League team Bournemouth, which continued its strong start to the season with a 2-1 win over second-tier Norwich.
The last 16 was already the furthest Burton had reached in England's second club knockout competition, with Nigel Clough's team having upset top-flight Burnley and second-tier Aston Villa. Forest — Clough's former team as a player — became its latest victim, with an own-goal and strikes by Scott Fraser and Jake Hesketh putting Burton 3-1 ahead.
Forest reduced the deficit in injury time but Burton held on.
Bournemouth is defying expectations by sitting in sixth place in the Premier League after 10 games, and the south-coast team also could have a trip to Wembley Stadium to look forward to.
Fielding a largely second-string team, Bournemouth went ahead through Junior Stanislas and clinched victory through Steve Cook's goal in the 72nd, two minutes after Norwich's equalizer.
It's only the third time that Bournmeouth has reached the quarterfinals of the competition.
Leicester was scheduled to play Southampton in the other match Tuesday, but it was postponed following the death of Leicester's owner, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and four other people in a helicopter crash on Saturday.
On Wednesday, Chelsea, Arsenal and Crystal Palace play lower-league opposition in Derby County, Blackpool and Middlesbrough, respectively, while there's an all-Premier League game between London rivals West Ham and Tottenham.
Defending champion Manchester City hosts Fulham on Thursday.
