CANARIES’ CUP CHEER
NORWICH EDGE PAST SWINDON IN CARABAO CUP - AND IT’S SUNDERLAND NEXT FOR THEM
Norwich City boss Daniel Farke was forced to fend off questions on Nelson Oliveira’s absence following his side’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Swindon.
Striker Oliveira was left out of the matchday squad against the League Two Robins following his bare-chested goal celebration in front of Farke when he was left out from the start in Saturday’s Championship opener at Fuham.
Farke – whose side host Sunderland in the Championship on Sunday – opted to praise those he unleashed against the Robins, with Cameron Jerome, Wes Hoolahan and James Maddison downing the plucky visitors, who scored twice through Olly Lancashire and Paul Mullin.
“There was so much attention on Nelson in the last few days. I don’t want to speak about this topic,” said Farke. “It is always about the group and the group who won the game and got us into the second round. That is all I want to say on the matter.
“(It was) a really brilliant 45 minutes. We were not so precise in the last third and the finishing but we dominated the game in terms of possession, then we conceded an unnecessary setpiece goal.
“The reaction was good. The last 20 minutes of the first half we were nearly perfect. We scored three goals and could have scored even more.
“All in all, I am very happy with the first half. Not with the second half. I can’t explain why. It was an unnecessary struggle but it was all about getting into the next round of the cup.
“We did, so I am happy with the result and the firsthalf performance. We have to improve some things. We will work on those.”
Farke was seething at conceding two goals from set pieces.
“I’m a little bit angry about this situation because we talked about it in the preparation,” he said.
Billy Kee’s last-minute strike saw Accrington dump Alex Neil’s Preston out with a dramatic 3-2 win at the Wham Stadium.
Defender Ben RichardsEverton and Jordan Clark also netted, with Jordan Hufgill – linked with a move to Sunderland – twice hauling Preston level.
Che Adams netted a hattrick as Birmingham swept into the second round with a 5-1 win over Crawley.
Bristol City made it two wins in a row when they coasted past League One side Plymouth 5-0, while Grimsby’s clash with Derby was abandoned after just 19 minutes due to a waterlogged pitch at Blundell Park.
The Rams were 1-0 up following a fifth-minute header by defender Richard Keogh before the game was temporarily halted after a downpour and then called off.