That'll do for tonight
It’s been busy, and fun – although Celtic fans might disagree in particular with the latter. Thanks for your company, and see you again soon!
Selected Carabao Cup results:
Exeter 1-1 Ipswich (Exeter win 4-2 on pens)
Bristol City 0-1 Plymouth
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Bury (Forest win 10-9 on pens)
Yeovil 0-1 Aston Villa
Middlesbrough 3-3 Notts County (Boro win 4-3 on pens)
Leeds 2-1 Bolton
Oldham 0-2 Derby
Carlisle 1-5 Blackburn
Sheffield United 1-1 Hull (Hull win 5-4 on pens)
Millwall 0-0 Gillingham (Millwall win 3-1 on pens)
West Brom 1-0 Luton
Southend 2-4 Brentford
Crvena Zvezda survived a late penalty miss to secure that win in Trnava – so those Champions League results mean that the play-off draw is thus:
Crvena Zvezda v Red Bull Salzburg
BATE Borisov v PSV Eindhoven
Young Boys v Dinamo Zagreb
Videoton v AEK Athens
Benfica v PAOK
Ajax v Dynamo Kiev
The first legs are played next week ...
Updated
Another match report for you – it’s Ben Fisher’s take on Yeovil 0-1 Villa:
Middlesbrough have beaten Notts County 4-3 on pens – what a thriller that was at the Riverside, the underdogs going ahead three times before falling short from the spot.
More shoot-out fun at Cheltenham, who have defeated Colchester 6-5 – rendering that comeback irrelevant.
Macclesfield have done the business against Bradford – it’s 4-2 on penalties there.
Exeter have beaten Ipswich 4-2 on penalties! It’s another Ipswich old boy, Lee Martin, scoring the decider there – and it’s another shock result!
And Exeter are in the driving seat now – Trvoh Chalobah has just blazed one wide! The hosts lead 3-2 and can win it now ...
Joey Barton’s Fleetwood have beaten Crewe 4-3 on pens. And it’s 2-2 at Exeter.
Millwall have done it – they win 3-1 on penalties. At Exeter it’s now one spot-kick apiece.
Hull have beaten Sheffield United 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Bialkowski has saved Exeter’s first penalty for Ipswich ... and now Pym has saved from Teddy Bishop. There are also spot kicks happening at Millwall, where Gillingham have just missed one wildly.
Villa have won at Yeovil thanks to that Hourihane goal – and of course that missed penalty ...
Forest win! They make no mistake when the players go round again – it’s 10-9 on penalties after Luke Steele saves Owen O’Connell’s kick.
Both goalkeepers have scored from the spot at the City Ground! It’s 9-9!
A shock at Ashton Gate! Plymouth have beaten Bristol City 1-0!
Norwich have grabbed a third against Stevenage; meanwhile Exeter v Ipswich goes to spot kicks.
It’s currently 7-7 in the shoot-out between Forest and Bury ...
“Didn’t Liverpool have Debrecen in their CL group some seasons ago?” writes Conor Brennan. “Debrecen of Hungary that would be!”
Conor is right – I was wrong. That’s why it’s so good to talk!
A John Swift free-kick seems to have wrapped things up for Reading against Birmingham – the Royals lead two-zero!
Huge goal in Europe! Crvena Zvezda have scored in extra time against Spartak Trnava. It’s 3-2 on aggregate and they have the extra away goal. Nemanja Radonjic scored it and ripped off his shirt in celebration ... they’re almost there.
AFC Wimbledon appear to have won at Portsmouth via a late Anton Walkes own goal –it’s 2-1 there.
Here’s a report on Celtic’s Greek tragedy:
Late winner, surely, for Norwich – it’s a lucky one too, a corner striking Christoph Zimmermann and flying into the net!
Brentford seem finally to have settled the issue at Southend, Kamohelo Mokotjo with their fourth. Sam Hoskins has snaffled a leveller for Northampton against Wycombe.
Lincoln have a third at Port Vale, and then a fourth – while Newport have a fourth at Cambridge. It’s going to be all eyes on the shoot-outs elsewhere soon though ...
Updated
Goal for 10-man Forest in the 93rd minute! They’ve been second-best to Bury throughout but it’s 1-1 and this one is going to pens!
So is Cheltenham v Colchester at this rate – two quickfire goals from the visitors for 2-2!
Extra-time in Slovakia – Spartak Trnava and Crvena Zvezda are locked at 1-1 (2-2).
West Brom finally lead Luton – a first goal for the club by Oliver Burke.
I was a bit previous in my last message but Boro have, indeed, equalised for a third time against Notts County – Fletcher again.
And Villa have the lead at Yeovil – it’s Conor Hourihane after some fine approach work from Grealish and Kodjia. They’re probably going to regret that penalty miss ...
We are, as things stand, heading for penalties in a few pretty interesting games – including Yeovil-Villa, Exeter-Ipswich, Boro-Notts and Norwich-Stevenage.
Billy Sharp has just belted in a fine equaliser for Sheffield United against Hull, so add that to the list!
Southend have hope against Brentford – quite a spate of goals there. It’s a great finish from Shawn McCoulsky so they’re just the 3-2 down there. MK Dons lead Charlton 3-0 now.
Updated
Mansfield are hammering Accrington 5-1; Cheltenham have added another against Cheltenham with a Conor Thomas penalty.
Derby have put it to bed at Oldham with a lovely, whipped finish from the edge of the box by the outrageously talented Mason Mount.
Notts County lead at Boro for a third time! It’s Stead again! And a Lucas Akins penalty has Burton the lead at Shrewsbury; Walsall lead 3-0 at Tranmere and the party is very much over for Southend, who have conceded a third Brentford goal to Said Benrahma.
Exeter equalise against Ipswich! It’s Troy Brown, who had a spell at Portman Road once, who nods in after what looked like an error from the visitors’ goalkeeper Bartosz Bialkowski. Rotherham now lead Wigan 3-0.
In the Champions League, Red Bull Salzburg beat Shkendija 1-0 (4-0 agg) and will play the winners of Spartak Trnava and Crvena Zvezda in the play-off. That one is poised at 1-1 (2-2 agg) with 10 minutes left. Nobody has added to those two early goals.
Quick as a flash, Brentford regain the lead at Southend through Julian Jeanvier. Walsall are two up at Tranmere and Jack Grealish has just curled one onto the bar at Yeovil!
Preston have gone 3-1 up against Morecambe through Graham Burke, Macclesfield and Bradford have traded quick goals for 1-1 and Southend have drawn level against Championship side Brentford though Theo Robinson.
“Yeovil Town were totally hosed in the first half when referee John Brooks called a non-existent foul to erase a perfectly good goal,” says JR in Illinois, of an incident I saw. “But just a couple minutes ago Gary Warren intentionally blocked a Hourihane drive with his arm. That was a clear penalty,” he says of an incident I didn’t. “Now both teams have been totally hosed.”
Alex Fisher’s spot kick is saved! The goalkeeper, Andre Moreira, dives to his left and gathers ... and Villa survive!
Danny Andrew has doubled Doncaster’s lead at Scunthorpe and ... oh ... Yeovil have a penalty against Aston Villa! It’s a foul in the box – wrestling more like – by Tommy Elphick!
Fenerbahce 1-1 Benfica is a result – which means the Portuguese win 2-1 on aggregate. They will face PAOK next.
Armstrong has scored again for Blackburn – it’s now 5-1 at Carlisle. Harry Pritchard has put Blackpool 2-1 up over Barnsley.
Updated
The most noteworthy amid a spate of early second-half Carabao Cup goals is one from Bolton’s Erham Oztumer at Leeds – the score’s now down to 2-1. Jason Holt has equalised for Fleetwood at Crewe.
AEK will play Videoton – MOL Vidi, as they are known these days – in the Champions League play-offs. They held on to draw 0-0 and beat Malmo on away goals. That’s an interesting one in itself ... Videoton would, by my reckoning, by Hungary’s first group stage participants if they made it through. They had a couple of great European runs in the 1980s and are supported by Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister.
Dinamo Zagreb have beaten Astana and will play Young Boys in the play-offs.
Full-time: AEK Athens 2-1 Celtic (3-2 agg)
And that’s it, AEK make the play-offs. Celtic are out of the Champions League and the Europa League play-offs – they’ll face either Latvian or Lithuanian opposition – are their focus now.
Updated
Close for Celtic with almost certainly the final action! Simunovic sticks out a foot and dabs the ball a whisker wide!
Those second halves are underway and Newport have, quick as a flash, gone three up at Cambridge though Jamille Matt.
The #CarabaoCup is all well n good - but dontcha think a UK cup would be more entertaining with teams from all the home leagues competing?
— neil crud (@neilcrud66) August 14, 2018
Wales, Scotland, Nth Ireland and England ?
That really would be fun – I just don’t see how and when it could be done, logistically, from the clubs’ points of view.
We’ve had – and I don’t want to jinx this – no goals anywhere for six minutes or so, which must have something to do with that half-time interval. Celtic have five minutes in Athens to squeeze through on away goals. Surely they’ll get one more chance ...
Goal! AEK Athens 2-1 Celtic (Sinclair 78, 3-2 agg)
Here we go! Sinclair has been a real threat off the bench and now he powers a brilliant header home from 12 yards. All of a sudden, one more goal wins this!
Updated
Back to Europe! Dinamo Zagreb have wrapped up the tie against Astana, Mario Gavranovic making it 3-0 on aggregate with 16 to play. And Neres has scored a third for Ajax, who lead Standard Liege 3-0 and have clear daylight!
Liam Mandeville has given Morecambe a glimmer at Preston, while it’s pretty much half-time in most of these cup games now. But not before Tyler Walker gets his hat-trick for Mansfield – it’s 4-1 there too!
Updated
There are always tonnes of goals in the first round. A header from Enes Mahmutovic has given Boro a second equaliser against Notts County. David Templeton, meanwhile, has levelled it for Burton at Shrewsbury.
That goal from Ball was outstanding – a superb free-kick. Meanwhile Kasey Palmer has scored Blackburn’s fourth at Carlisle ... and Yeovil think they’ve taken the lead against Villa, even wheeling away to celebrate, only for an offence to be spotted. Brentford lead Southend, thanks to Marcus Forss, while Semi Ajayi has made it Rotherham 2-0 Wigan.
James Ball has dampened spirits at Carrow Road – it’s Norwich 1-1 Stevenage. Could we yet see a shock there?
Doncaster are winning at Scunthorpe and Rotherham at home to Wigan. And a goal there for Ipswich at Exeter ... it’s either Kayden Jackson on his first start for Paul Hurst’s side or an own goal by the keeper Christy Pym, who seemed to fluff Jackson’s low cross.
Rochdale and Oxford have gone a goal up against Grimsby and Coventry respectively.
PAOK, meanwhile, have held Spartak 0-0 and make the Champions League play-offs! AEK are 22 minutes from joining their compatriots; Celtic aren’t quite carving enough out.
Goal for Frank Lampard’s Derby – it’s Chelsea loan man Fikayo Tomori jabbing home a free-kick. But what about this at the Riverside ... the veteran Jon Stead has just lashed in from 18 yards to put Notts County 2-1 up over Boro.
Leeds, running amok over Bolton, have doubled their advantage with a low finish from Samuel Saiz.
And Bradley Dack, such a fine player, has whipped a sensational 25-yarder into the top corner at Carlisle. That makes it 3-1 to Blackburn. Crewe lead Joey Barton’s Fleetwood and Bristol Rovers lead Crawley.
Louis Moult has made it Preston 2-0 Morecambe. Still goalless, and fairly tight, at Yeovil-Villa.
The goals have dried up in the Champions League, where four games are currently 0-0. Spartak Moscow and their 10 men have three minutes to stay in it against PAOK ...
It’s Norwich 1-0 Stevenage, the deadlock broken by a simple header from Marco Stiepermann. And the Bielsa revolution continues at Leeds! Patrick Bamford hurdles a tackle and rifles into the corner from 18 yards, so they lead Bolton 1-0. And a shock way out west? Yann Songo’o has put Plymouth ahead at Bristol City.
Goal everywhere ... here’s another – a lesser-spotted Ashley Fletcher equaliser for Boro against Notts County. Morgan Ferrier has put Walsall 1-0 up at Tranmere, while it’s Reading 1-0 Birmingham, a cracking finish from Yakou Meite.
Hallam Hope has given Carlisle exactly that against Blackburn. It’s 1-2 there now. Hope was a big prospect at one stage, wasn’t he, with Everton I think.
Goal! AEK Athens 2-0 Celtic (Livaja 50, 3-1 agg)
Celtic’s goose might be cooked here. A set-piece is nodded back across goal and Livaja heads home a quite simple finish. It’s a long, long way back now.
Updated
Newport are winning 2-0 at Cambridge, Padraig Amond there. And now ...
It’s 2-0 to Ajax! Matthijs De Ligt has caused, errrm, delight at the Amsterdam Arena. George Moncur has done similar for Barnsley’s travelling fans at Blackpool and, more notably, Tom Crawford has thrilled Notts County’s fans at Middlesbrough. 1-0 in both of those games.
Red card – Nottingham Forest’s Jordan Smith is OFF OFF OFF against Bury, who lead 1-0.
Hull lead at Bramall Lane, Jon Toral rolling the ball home from close range. Liverpool’s Ben Woodburn, on loan for the season, is starting for the hosts today. Ryan Watson has made it MK Dons 2-0 Charlton.
Ajax 1-0 Standard Liege is a latest score – and it’s the old poacher Klaas-Jan Huntelaar with the goal on the half-hour. The Dutch side lead 3-2 on aggregate.
Mansfield now lead Accrington 3-1! It’s Otis Khan with the third. You do get some strange games in this round.
Tyler Walker – son of Des, on loan from Forest – has just converted another penalty for Mansfield. They now lead 2-1. Preston are a goal up against Morecambe and it’s their own loanee, Brandon Barket from Man City, with a belter.
Yeovil are dominating against Villa so far, the action on my screen tells me.
Dylan Asonganyi has scored for MK Dons against Charlton, so it’s 1-0. Can we keep up this level of detail all night? I’m not 100% sure. I can even tell you that Carlisle just twanged the Blackburn bar from a free-kick, and that a Tyler Walker penalty has equalised for Mansfield against Accrington.
Updated
“The qualifying round fixtures of Big Ears and Big Vase may not get the neutral’s pulse racing, but they are useful as a tough geography challenge. Shkendija? I can only guess that that’s probably not a town in Shkotland,” guesses Peter Oh, correctly. But yes, football is literally how I learned where anywhere is.
Accrington are winning at Mansfield, Sam Finley on target.
QPR and Blackburn are now both 2-0 up, against Peterborough and Carlisle respectively. Pawel Wszolek and Bradley Dack with the goals.
It’s Fenerbahce 1-1 Benfica, Alper Potuk scoring right on half-time. Can the hosts get two more? Meanwhile BATE held on to overcome Qarabag, while Dynamo Kiev did exactly that against Slavia Prague and join them in the play-offs.
Half-time: AEK Athens 1-0 Celtic (2-1 agg)
Brendan Rodgers’ boys have 45 minutes to save their Champions League campaign. They’ve not been playing badly but that early goal was key ...
Hello hello ... could be in for a shock in the Carabao Cup already. It’s Forest 0-1 Bury, and it’s Eoghan O’Connell putting the underdogs ahead. Luke Freeman has put QPR ahead at Peterborough, Adam Armstrong has put Blackburn in the lead at Carlisle, and Ryan Broom has opened the scoring for Cheltenham against Colchester.
Updated
Sky are showing Yeovil v Villa, so I reckon I’ll see a bit more of that than most of the other games. They’re walking out of the tunnel there *as we speak*, and this is classic banana skin territory for Villa.
What was I saying? El Fardou Ben Nabouhane has equalised for Crvena Zvezda and the former European champions are right back in it.
And I should have mentioned – Ajax and Standard Liege are also underway. Most of the Carabao Cup games start in six minutes or so, too.
Marek Bakos has put Spartak Trnava 1-0 up against Crvena Zvezda early on ... making it 2-1 on aggregate to the relatively unheralded Slovakians.
Spartak Moscow are goalless with PAOK at half-time. They need to score but it’ll have to happen with 10 men – Luiz Adriano the bad boy who’s been dismissed.
Leigh Griffiths knocks a McGregor cross *just* wide for Celtic and he normally scores those. It’s a big chance to equalise, 33 minutes in, but they’re knocking on the door and playing well.
Benfica have scored in Istanbul – that’s a huge away goal for them, making it 2-0 on aggregate against Fenerbahce. Gedson Fernandes score it and now the hosts need to get three!
Brendan Rodgers’ team is still pressing, Tom Rogic looking particularly in the mood. He’s just shot over and this one still looks very much in the balance ...
Updated
Alex Hleb is coming on for BATE Borisov, for whom he is in his 5750388485745th spell.
Most of those Carabao Cup games take place at 7.45pm UK time, with the games at Reading and West Brom starting 15 minutes later. There’s also an early one! Nottingham Forest v Bury kicks off at 7.30pm, so very soon indeed, presumably so the kids can get off to bed early.
Celtic have responded well to that setback in Athens, Leigh Griffiths shooting wide. Red Bull’s Salzburg’s tie at Shkendija, seemingly a foregone conclusion, has begun in the meantime.
A goal back for Qarabag in Belarus – so it’s 1-1 on the night and if they get another in the next 36 minutes they’re through! Dynamo Kiev are now 2-0 up against Slavia Prague, meanwhile, and that seems to be that.
Brendan Pooley asks: “So what do you think to Ipswich Town’s era under Paul Hurst, come up from Shrewsbury and recruited players from lower leagues, so most of the team looks a League 1 rather than Championship team! Already drawn and lost against two weaker teams in the League. How will they do against Exeter tonight and where do you see them finishing in the league?”
Well Brendan, I have a bit of an interest here although this is, of course, very much a neutral Clockwatch. I like the idea behind the signings and the more forward-thinking style of play; what I’d say is that Hurst will really need the next half-season, at least, to really get his ideas across and I think Ipswich may take a beating or two in the meantime. The fans need to be more patient than ever for this change to work. I think that, as long as they’re not deep in the relegation zone – as a worst case scenario – by Christmas then there could be exciting times ahead. It’s a strong selection against Exeter tonight and I’m backing Hurst to get his first win.
Goal! AEK Athens 1-0 Celtic (Galo 6)
A terrible start for Celtic as Galo converts a cutback clinically from 12 yards. Although they needed a goal anyway so ... wait for it ... “in a way that doesn’t change anything”.
Updated
Celtic are underway in Athens. Remember that whatever happens they need to score – AEK have an away goal from the 1-1 draw at Celtic Park. Dinamo v Astana, MOL Vidi v Malmo and Fenerbahce v Benfica have also begun.
Today is judgement day for Crvena Zvezda's Champions Legaue dreams. They are down an away goal to Spartak Trnava and need to put away their chances to advance. Should be a tense evening. Napred Zvezdo!
— Serbian Football (@SerbianFooty) August 14, 2018
I am an old (well, technically millennial) romantic and would LOVE to see them back in the Champions League.
Team news starting to flood in from the Carabao Cup. I’m not going to reproduce it all here because that would be just ridiculous, but there’s already evidence of a lot of sides making big changes. Like this:
Make that 10 changes for #ncfc from #wba. Strong bench, Let's hope they are not needed https://t.co/1pbDt4p6Po
— Paddy Davitt (@paddyjdavitt) August 14, 2018
Of course, the chances of a real outsider playing in the group stage have receded from this year now that the big leagues have succeeded in taking up more places in it. It’s harder for everyone else now. Minimal competition and maximum profit – it’s what the cabal of top clubs want and it’s what they’re getting, to the detriment of the sport’s overall health. How can it be fought against? Ideas welcome.
Qarabag could have got themselves into it against BATE just now but were denied by a decent save low down. Where’s the drama going to be tonight?
“I was wondering if you could keep an eye on the Zagreb vs Astana game,” requests Nick Syrgabaev. “My dad’s from Kazakhstan, so I’ve always loved it when I see a Kazakh team reach the group stages. Bit busy helping in my uni’s opening week, but soccer can come before freshmen!”
Of course, Nick – I tend to keep an eye out for Astana myself, as I visited them just under three years ago when they reached the group stage. A fascinating – and quite strange – club, city and story. Would be keen to return some day. They’ve got a mountain to climb in Zagreb, two down from the first leg, but an early goal could change everything.
Another Champions League tie is getting underway now – it’s Spartak Moscow vs PAOK, and given that the Greek side won the first leg 3-2 we could be in for a fun one there.
Oh, BATE have scored against Qarabag, I just saw it. Mirko Ivanic capitalised on a catastrophic ball from the back, sashayed on and finished with glee. It’s 2-0 on aggregate.
As always, do get in touch throughout the evening. Is there a tie you have your eye on – in either competition? A team I should be excited about? A game you’re at? Something else you want to say? Don’t hold it in – the addresses are above.
Because the football never ever stops, a couple of those Champions League ties have already begun! Dynamo Kiev lead Slavia Prague 1-0 with half-time approaching, which will see them through to the play-offs if it stays like that. BATE and Qarabag are goalless 12 minutes in, which will suit the Belarusians just fine.
Evening all
We have ... a lot of football on our hands tonight. A lot. I make it 44 games under our aegis over the next few hours, including one or two that are already underway. If you were still feeling your way into the new season then Champions League and Carabao Cup are words that should eliminate any doubt as to where we’re at – and if you stick around we’ll sift through the best of it together.
In the Champions League third qualifying round (second leg), we’ll see Celtic battle for a place in the play-offs against AEK Athens (7pm UK time). Easier said than done, you’d fancy, as they drew 1-1 at home and now need a result at a Difficult Place To Go. We’ll follow that one closely. Fenerbahce v Benfica (0-1 after first leg) is another one to keep you abreast of.
In the Carabao Cup first round there is, for your scribe and probably all of the players, excellent news to begin with. There’s no extra-time anymore, meaning things get wrapped up more quickly and that we almost certainly get a *lot* of penalty shoot-out fun later. Stand out fixtures include: Yeovil v Aston Villa, Oldham v Derby, Leeds v Bolton, Sheffield United v Hull, Exeter v Ipswich, Southend v Brentford and West Brom v Luton. We’ll whip around the best of them and make sure you don’t miss a thing.
And here, because we’re kind to you, are tonight’s matches in full:
Champions League third qualifying round, second leg (first-leg score in brackets)
Dynamo Kiev v Slavia Prague (1-1)
BATE v Qarabag (1-0)
Spartak Moscow v PAOK (2-3)
Fenerbahce v Benfica (0-1)
Videoton v Malmo (1-1)
Dinamo Zagreb v Astana (2-0)
AEK Athens v Celtic (1-1)
Shkendija v Red Bull Salzburg (0-3)
Spartak Trnava v Red Star Belgrade (1-1)
Ajax v Standard Liege (2-2)
Carabao Cup first round
Nottingham Forest v Bury
Blackpool v Barnsley
Carlisle United v Blackburn Rovers
Crewe Alexandra v Fleetwood Town
Grimsby Town v Rochdale
Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers
Macclesfield Town v Bradford City
Mansfield Town v Accrington Stanley
Middlesbrough v Notts County
Oldham Athletic v Derby County
Port Vale v Lincoln City
Preston North End v Morecambe
Rotherham United v Wigan Athletic
Scunthorpe United v Doncaster Rovers
Sheffield United v Hull City
Shrewsbury Town v Burton Albion
Tranmere Rovers v Walsall
Bristol City v Plymouth Argyle
Bristol Rovers v Crawley Town
Cambridge United v Newport County
Cheltenham Town v Colchester United
Exeter City v Ipswich Town
Millwall v Gillingham
MK Dons v Charlton Athletic
Norwich City v Stevenage
Oxford United v Coventry City
Portsmouth v AFC Wimbledon
QPR v Peterborough United
Southend United v Brentford
Swindon Town v Forest Green Rovers
Wycombe Wanderers v Northampton Town
Yeovil Town v Aston Villa
Reading v Birmingham City
West Bromwich Albion v Luton Town
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