Rodriquez breaks hearts

Burnley-born Jay Rodriguez became a local hero by sending Premier League Fulham out of the Carling Cup at Turf Moor as the Clarets won 1-0.

Rodriguez stepped off the bench to score the winner with two minutes remaining thanks to a cool finish.

The 19-year-old rounded the goalkeeper following a superb through ball from Chris Eagles, who had also stepped off the bench.

It means Owen Coyle's men move into the fourth round draw after stretching their unbeaten run to six games.

However the Clarets found themselves on the back foot in only the fourth minute when Andy Johnson skipped away, only for his cross to be diverted to safety by Clarke Carlisle.

Johnson then tried to pick out Clint Dempsey but Clarke made another vital interception for the home side in the penalty area.

Dempsey was seeing plenty of the ball and tried to chip Brian Jensen in the 17th minute, only for the goalkeeper to make a comfortable save.

Fulham were looking dangerous on the break and three minutes later Stephen Jordan did well to block Johnson's teasing delivery from the left.

Burnley responded and Martin Paterson made space in the area but sent his effort over the bar.

The home side almost took the lead in the 31st minute when Chris McCann latched on to pass from Paterson - only for goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler to get a vital touch.

Three minutes later the goalkeeper was put under pressure by team-mate Chris Baird's sloppy backpass.

The pacey Paterson tried to take advantage but Zuberbuhler made a crucial block to spare Baird's blushes.

Fulham hit back and Paul Konchesky came close in the 43rd minute following a quick free-kick from Johnson.

The full-back rattled in a shot from 20 yards but Steven Caldwell made the clearance.

Fulham started the second half brightly and Dempsey's effort went narrowly wide in the 56th minute after he had been set up by Gera.

The visitors kept up the pressure and a cross from Konchesky was cut out by the impressive Carlisle.

Burnley were penned back again on the hour when Zoltan Gera made room for himself, only to see his effort blocked.

The Clarets responded in the 62nd minute with a swift counter-attack and McCann rattled in a shot which was cleared by Gera.

From the rebound McCann saw his effort go past the goalkeeper but past the post as well.

Fulham launched a swift-counter attack in the 68th minute but Seol Ki-Hyeon failed to get a good enough touch to trouble Jensen.

McCann squandered a great chance of giving Burnley the lead in the 77th minute in front of a crowd of 7,119.

He peeled away from his marker following a cross from Stephen Jordan but he sent a soft header into the goalkeeper's arms.

Rodriguez, however, had the final word as extra-time loomed to leave Fulham stunned.

Blades hit for six

Arsenal's rampaging young Gunners will take some beating in the Carling Cup after thrashing Sheffield United 6-0.

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Bendtner slots his second goal home.

Manager Arsene Wenger stuck to his policy of giving youth a chance in the much-maligned knock-out competition, naming a starting line-up with an average age of just 19 against Sheffield United, and he was not disappointed.

Mexican striker Carlos Vela scored a hat-trick, while Nicklas Bendtner - at 20 one of the senior men on display and with a wealth of first-team experience already - had put the young Gunners in command with two first half goals.

Vela chipped in a wonderful fourth five minutes after the restart, with Jack Wilshere, still only 16, adding a fifth before the 19-year-old South American completed his hat-trick as the Coca-Cola Championship side were outclassed.

Sterner tests lie ahead for the likes of Wales Under-21 midfielder Aaron Ramsey, the raw talent of Wilshere and aspiring full-back Kieran Gibbs - but on this evidence their Wembley dream may not be so far away.

The young Gunners began brightly and a crisp passing move sent Gibbs away down the left, only for his low centre to fly across the six-yard box.

United forward Danny Webber did well to weave himself into space just outside the Arsenal penalty area but then could not get any power on his shot and the ball bobbled through to Lukasz Fabianski, captain for the night and at 23 the oldest man in the home team.

Another quick passing Arsenal move on the edge of the area saw Bendtner play in Johan Djourou and the big defender turned to fire a goalbound effort which Paddy Kelly saved at full stretch.

Bendtner flicked on for Wilshere to collect in the overlap down the right but the teenager rushed his attempted curled shot and hit wide.

The Dane then showed the rest of the youngsters how it should be done with a fine finish after 31 minutes.

Vela held off Blades captain Chris Morgan before feeding the ball square to Bendtner just outside the penalty area.

The 20-year-old took a couple of touches before dispatching a low strike into the bottom right corner for his third goal of the season.

Arsenal felt they had a strong penalty claim when Morgan slid through on Wilshere but referee Phil Dowd was unimpressed.

After 42 minutes Ramsey - signed from Cardiff for £5million in the summer - weaved his way into the left of the penalty area before turning and playing a superb backheel to Bendtner who beat Kenny from six yards.

Before the visitors could regroup and look towards the respite of half-time they were further behind.

Bendtner turned provider as he chipped a pass through for Vela to run on to down the right.

The Mexican sprinted into the area before bending a delightful effort into the far corner.

In the second half Arsenal continued where they had left off as Gibbs stung the keeper's hands with a fierce angled drive from the left of the penalty area.

The full-back then sent a long pass upfield towards Vela who took the ball on his chest, leaving Morgan chasing shadows, and darted into the box to finish with an audacious chip over the stranded keeper.

It got worse for the battered Blades when Wilshere drilled in a fifth after 57 minutes.

Fran Merida's right-wing corner picked out the 16-year-old - Arsenal's youngest to appear in the Premier League - and he showed great composure to drill a low shot past Kelly from 22 yards.

However, Cesc Fabregas, by just more than a month, remains Arsenal's youngest scorer at 16 years 212 days with his goal against Wolves in December 2003.

There was no holding back by the rampant Gunners with Djourou heading over at the back post following another deep corner before Bendtner narrowly missed out on his hat-trick when his close-range shot trickled wide.

Vela then completed his treble with another well-taken effort after 88 minutes after running clear down the left onto Ramsey's pass.

Giantkiller Millers

Rotherham proved the undoing of yet another Coca-Cola Championship outfit as an impressive display of attacking football saw the League Two side reach the League Cup fourth round for the first time since 1984 with a 3-1 win over Southampton.

The Millers have already disposed of Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday in this season's Carling Cup - and they made light work of the struggling Saints on this occasion.

Despite lying 47 places above the Millers in the Football League Southampton were outplayed at the Don Valley Stadium and could have gone down to an even heavier defeat than the one dealt to them by goals from Nick Fenton, Danny Harrison and Drewe Broughton.

Stern John did manage a consolation for the visitors but it proved in vain as the Millers held on to book their passage through to the last-16 stage.

Rotherham manager Mark Robins was forced into one change from the side which beat Luton 1-0 on Saturday. Defender Mark Lynch suffered a dislocated shoulder at the weekend and was replaced by former Barnsley man Dale Tonge.

Southampton welcomed defenders Michael Svensson and Lloyd James back into their starting XI.

Saints captain Svensson missed the last three matches due to discomfort in his troublesome knee but was fit enough to start while James shrugged off an arm injury to line up against the Millers.

Bartosz Bialkowski also made his first start in goal with regular number one Kelvin Davis not included in the travelling squad.

An 4-3-3 formation signalled Robins' intent for his side to attack their higher league opponents and it was the hosts who had the first chance of the match after 10 minutes.

Southampton were caught napping as Alex Rhodes drilled in a low corner from the left and the unmarked Ian Sharps connected with a sweetly timed volley which went just wide of the post.

Although it was no surprise when the Millers took the lead it was contentious to who actually claimed the goal which arrived after 23 minutes.

After a looping Alex Rhodes corner caught Bialkowski out, Millers striker Broughton smashed the ball into the the net following Nick Fenton's initial header.

However, at at half-time the fourth official confirmed Fenton's header had crossed the line before Broughton made sure so the goal was awarded to the midfielder.

The visitors improved after going behind but failed to test United goalkeeper Andy Warrington despite several penetrating runs from Andrew Surman into the box.

Rotherham began the second half with a real purpose and their three-pronged attack continued to cause the Saints defence all sorts of problems.

They made their dominance count 10 minutes after the break when Danny Harrison showed a real touch of class to send a sublime curling 30-yard shot past the helpless Bialkowski.

Substitute John breathed life back into the tie five minutes later with a well-struck shot of his own which sailed into the top corner from well outside the penalty area.

The introduction of John gave the visitors the lift they were craving and suddenly Surman and Adam Lallana started to find their passing range from midfield.

And the visitors came close to grabbing an equaliser as Lallana sent in a dangerous cross which only just eluded John at the far post.

But the Millers constantly looked a threat on the break, in particular the lively Andy Rhodes who forced a good save out of Bialkowski with a stinging volley.

And it was from another incisive counter attack from which Rotherham added a third goal in the 68th minute.

Reuben Reid, who had scored the decisive penalty in the previous round against Wolves, embarked on an impressive run past several Saints defenders before sliding the ball across to Broughton, who tapped into an empty net.

Hornets sting Zola

West Ham started the day with unwelcome news off the pitch and finished it by crashing out of the Carling Cup as Hayden Mullins' own goal handed a 1-0 victory to Watford.

The third round tie was seen as the perfect way for the Hammers to forget about the ruling in the Carlos Tevez affair, which could cost them £30million by Sheffield United's estimation.

However, Aidy Boothroyd's side belied their place in the bottom half of the Championship.

The winner in the 70th minute was bizarre but they are used to that at Vicarage Road after Reading's phantom strike at the weekend.

After conceding that infamous goal against Reading at the weekend, Peter Walton was the high-profile late replacement for Keith Stroud as referee.

Watford may have been puzzled at the decision to give Stuart Attwell a Premier League game as a fourth official this weekend after his performance at the weekend, and giving Walton the tie gave them reason to be concerned as well.

Walton gave a penalty against Boothroyd's men two years ago when the ball had hit Chris Powell's head, although his blunder was not in the same scale as Attwell's and his assistant Nigel Bannister.

Half the crowd thought Lionel Ainsworth had given the hosts the lead in the 12th minute when his drive crashed into the side-netting but Walton correctly awarded a goal-kick.

It was closer to being a legitimate strike compared to Reading's `goal' - but lightning was not going to strike twice at the same ground within four days.

Ainsworth's effort was part of a lively start from the hosts. Ross Jenkins had a diving header that dropped wide of the post and Ainsworth also lobbed over Jan Lastuvka in the 14th minute and the Czech goalkeeper, making his debut, peddled back to tip over.

Freddie Sears was making the running for the visitors and he cleared the angle of crossbar and post with a drive, then Jordan Parkes panicked and almost headed a clearance past his own goalkeeper.

As the Hammers eased themselves into the game, Scott Loach was required twice to keep the score level.

Luis Boa Morte's effort from the edge of the area was heading for the top corner until it was tipped over, then David Di Michele's reverse pass sent Mark Noble through, with Loach parrying again.

Boothroyd's side were rubbing shoulders with Premier League heavyweights two seasons ago and they showed no fear as they finished the first half strongly.

Ainsworth went close again, drilling across the face of goal. Lastuvka was also required to save twice from Tommy Smith, the first after a flowing move that ended with Will Hoskins backheeling into his path.

Di Michele had sight of goal at the near post after the break but the hosts hustled him off the ball at the cost of just a corner.

Lastuvka was busier than Loach at the other end. He saved a powerful drive from Parkes before leaping to his right to stop Smith's header from Lee Williamson's cross from the left.

Lastuvka's good work was undone with 20 minutes remaining. After Walton awarded a questionable handball against Walter Lopez, Williamson swung over the free-kick from the right, the goalkeeper dived over the dipping cross, with the ball hitting Mullins and trickling over the line.

Jay DeMerit was injured and hobbled down the tunnel with five minutes to go, leaving Watford with 10 men - but they held on to inflict a first defeat for Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola.