Northampton Town v Manchester United
EFL CUP
Wednesday September 21st, 7.45pm
Sixfields
NORTHAMPTON TOWN 1
Alex Revell 42 pen
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
Michael Carrick 18
Ander Herrera 68
Marcus Rashford 75
Attendance: 7,798 (944 away fans) - new Sixfields record
Cobblers: Adam Smith, Brendan Moloney, David Buchanan, Zander Diamond, Gabriel Zakuani, Sam Hoskins, Jak McCourt (sub Marc Richards 72), Matt Taylor, Kenji Gorre (sub Alfie Potter 65), Harry Beautyman (sub John-Joe O'Toole 54), Alex Revell
Subs not used: David Cornell, Lewin Nyatanga, Emmanuel Sonupe, Joel Byrom
Manchester United: Sergio Romero, Marcos Rojo, Memphis Depay (sub Zlatan Ibrahimovic 55), Wayne Rooney, Chris Smalling, Michael Carrick, Daley Blind, Ashley Young, Ander Herrera, Tim Fosu-Mensah (sub Marcus Rashford 55), Morgan Schneiderlin (sub Marouane Fellaini 73)
Subs not used: Juan Mata, Jesse Lingard, Sam Johnstone, Matteo Darmian
Referee: Mr S Attwell
Booked:
Cobblers: Jak McCourt (47, 3rd of the season), Alfie Potter (90, 3rd)
Manchester United: Daley Blind (74)
5 cautions on or before 30 November; 1 match suspension
10 cautions on or before 11 April; 2 match suspension
15 cautions at any time in season; 3 match suspension
Sent off:
Cobblers: none
Manchester United: none
Sendings off: 2 cautions in one game; 1 match suspension but cautions do not count towards above totals. Other sendings off; 1 or 3 match suspension. Extra match ban for additional sendings off.
Manchester United rolled into town as the Cobblers took on Jose Mourinho’s side in the third round of the EFL Cup.
Having beaten higher league opposition in Barnsley and West Brom in the previous two rounds, a sold out Sixfields hosted one of the biggest clubs in World football.
Rob Page made two changes to the side, bringing in Gabriel Zakuani and Sam Hoskins for Lewin Nyatanga and the cup-tied Paul Anderson. Marc Richards, who played in the game when the sides last met back in 2004, was named on the bench.
Wayne Rooney started up front for United as Mourinho named a strong side packed full of internationals.
There was a vibrant atmosphere inside Sixfields as the game got underway with the Cobblers fans in strong voice on a mild September night.
Adam Smith made an early save to keep out a low shot from Rooney. The first corner of the game went to the Cobblers after some pressure down the right from Sam Hoskins. Matt Taylor delivered the set-piece but a United defender was there to head clear with Zander Diamond lurking.
United took the lead on 17 minutes, Michael Carrick curling a shot into the top corner after Rooney’s free-kick came back off the wall.
The Cobblers responded positively to falling behind and Sergio Romero was forced to punch the ball away under pressure from Alex Revell. The Town striker then put a shot over the bar from the home side’s second corner of the night.
Tim Fosu-Mensah headed against the crossbar as United went close to doubling their lead, Rooney nodding in the rebound only to be denied by an off-side flag.
Kenji Gorre tested Romero on 38 minutes, the young winger cutting in from out wide before firing in a shot that had to be turned behind by the United keeper.
The home side were really growing into the game and when Daley Blind fouled Sam Hoskins in the area, referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot.
Alex Revell stepped up to score from the spot to make it 1-1, sending Romero the wrong way with the coolest of penalties.
COBBLERS MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (2) 2
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (3) 6
CORNERS: (3) 5
FOULS: (1) 5
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (0) 0
MANCHESTER UNITED MATCH STATS (first half in brackets, match total out of brackets)
SHOTS ON TARGET: (5) 9
SHOTS OFF TARGET: (2) 3
CORNERS: (1) 3
FOULS: (3) 6
CAUGHT OFFSIDE: (2) 2
The above stats are recorded by club staff. The stats shown elsewhere on this page are recorded by Opta