Northampton Town 3-0 Cardiff City: Cobblers beat Bluebirds in cup upset
- Published
Harry Smith's penalty against Cardiff City was his first goal in the Carabao Cup since he scored against Walsall in August 2018
League One newcomers Northampton Town are through to the second round of the Carabao Cup with a 3-0 win over Championship side Cardiff City.
Cardiff debutant Jordi Osei-Tutu brought down Joseph Mills inside the area after 33 minutes and Harry Smith made no mistake from the penalty to put the Cobblers ahead.
Robert Glatzel struck the Northampton bar as Cardiff looked for an immediate response, but they were almost two goals behind when Ryan Watson forced a smart save from Alex Smithies at the other end.
Shortly after half-time though the hosts had their second goal as Mathew Warburton beat the offside trap and lifted the ball over Smithies at the near post from a tight angle to put the hosts 2-0 up.
The result was put beyond doubt on the hour mark at Sixfields as Watson got the better of Smithies from outside the area to send Northampton into the second round for the first time in four seasons.
It marked a perfect start to the campaign for Keith Curle's side, picking up where they left off last season when they beat Exeter City 4-0 in the League Two play-off final.
For Cardiff it is a second first-round exit in the Carabao Cup in five seasons.
The Bluebirds were without summer signing Kieffer Moore, who scored Wales' winning goal against Finland in the Nations League on Thursday, but had a number of first-team players in action.
Neil Harris' side begin their Championship campaign at home to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday, 12 September.