Fleetwood stun Premier League champions Arsenal in Carabao Cup
Poulton-le-Fylde-born Matt Lawlor inspires Fleetwood Town to huge cup upset over reigning Premier League champions Arsenal
League Two Fleetwood shocked Premier League champions Arsenal in a penalty shoot-out to advance to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals after a 1-1 draw.
Bruno Guimaraes saw his spot-kick saved by Jay Lynch before Fleetwood’s teenage defender Conor Haughey lashed home an emphatic penalty to spark a pitch invasion at Highbury Stadium as Fleetwood triumphed 5-3 in one of the greatest upsets in the competition’s history.
Fleetwood, 18th in League Two and managed by Poulton-le-born Matt Lawlor, dared to dream after Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi put them in front after 21 minutes against a much-changed Arsenal side struggling to find any fluidity on the Fylde coast.
The half-time introduction of Martin Odegaard changed the game as the Gunners looked much improved after the break, drawing level in the 50th minute when Viktor Gyokeres just about managed to turn in his first goal of the season.
But as Arsenal tuned up the the heat without reward, their frustration boiled over as their teenage prodigy Max Dowman was sent off with five minutes left to play.
There was still time for Lynch to make huge saves from Ben White and Odegaard before it went to a shoot-out in which Fleetwood were perfect from the spot to secure a historic win.
Earlier, play was bizarrely interrupted in the opening stages by a drone flying above Highbury Stadium.
Barely a minute of the match had been played when referee Michael Salisbury was alerted to the drone overhead.
Arsenal had been preparing to take a free-kick when Salisbury halted the match to speak with officials next to the touchline.
The referee then called both sets of players over to the touchline, speaking to both captains and managers, but moments later the drone flew off and play resumed after a delay of more than eight minutes.