QPR crash on bad night for big guns
QPR lost 2-0 at home to Rochdale as all three Premier League newcomers crashed out of the Carling Cup at the first hurdle last night.
Norwich were thumped 4-0 at home by MK Dons and Swansea lost 3-1 at Shrewsbury, while Sunderland were the other top-flight casualties in the second round, going down 1-0 at Brighton after extra-time.
QPR came into the game in high spirits, with Saturday’s victory at Everton following Tony Fernandes takeover of the west London club last week.
But a side featuring eight changes went behind after just five minutes against the League One outfit when Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro netted a rebound. Gary Jones completed the upset with nine minutes left when he found the top left-hand corner.
Aston Villa needed a pair of late goals to defeat Hereford 2-0, West Brom swept Bournemouth aside 4-1 and Wolves were even more emphatic in despatching Northampton 4-0.
Crystal Palace, Charlton and Millwall boosted the London presence in the competition by seeing off Crawley Town, Morecambe and Reading respectively.