WOLVERHAMPTON, England: Substitute Jorgen Strand Larsen scored twice in two minutes as Wolverhampton Wanderers beat fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United 3-2 to reach the third round of the League Cup on Tuesday.
Promoted Leeds United and Sunderland followed West Ham out of the competition, losing on penalties to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday and third tier Huddersfield Town respectively.
Strand Larsen came on in the 73rd minute and made an immediate impact, the Norwegian striking in the 82nd and 84th to turn around the match at Molineux after Lucas Paqueta had headed West Ham in front in the 63rd.
Rodrigo Gomes had scored Wolves’ first goal of the season two minutes before halftime, after Hwang Hee-chan’s penalty rebounded off the post, but Tomas Soucek headed an equalizer in the 50th.
The battle between the top flight’s bottom two teams provided no respite for West Ham manager Graham Potter, whose side have been thrashed 5-1 by Chelsea and 3-0 by Sunderland in the league.
Leeds went out 3-0 on penalties after fulltime at Hillsborough ended 1-1, a shock result watched from afar by many Wednesday fans who boycotted the match in protest at the financially-troubled second-tier club’s Thai owner.
US international goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was the home hero, the man of the match mobbed by his teammates after saving twice and keeping a clean sheet in the shootout on his debut after joining on loan.
“I have been in the door four or five days. I had to learn 10 new names in the first match I played and in this game I had to learn another 10 new names,” Horvath told Sky Sports television.
League One Huddersfield won their shootout 6-5 after regulation time at the Stadium of Light ended 1-1.
Brentford beat Bournemouth 2-0 on the South Coast in the night’s other all-Premier League match, with Fabio Carvalho and Igor Thiago scoring either side of the break and against the run of play.
Brentford’s record signing Dango Ouattara, who scored on his league debut on Saturday, came on as a substitute against his old club.
Burnley, one of seven Premier League sides fielding much changed lineups from last weekend’s games, beat second tier Derby County 2-1 with Oliver Sonne scoring a stoppage-time winner at Turf Moor.
Wrexham’s Hollywood owners had plenty to smile about after their side won 3-2 at Preston North End thanks to a stoppage-time Kieffer Moore goal after the hosts had twice taken the lead in the second tier clash.
League Two (fourth tier) Cambridge United beat Championship side Charlton Athletic 3-1.
The third round draw will take place after Wednesday’s matches.
