Last night Ipswich Town defeated Premiership side West Bromwich Albion by a solitary Grant Leadbitter goal, to secure a place in the last four of the Carling Cup. 

The only team in the Championship remaining in the competition, this is a welcome boost for an Ipswisch side that is struggling for form and still reeling from a rout in the East Anglian derby last Sunday. 

Any jubilation or overzealous ambition was soon tapered though as it became clear that luck is not something in abundance at Portman Park at present, with the Tractor Boys drawing Arsenal in the semi-finals. 

Keane himself conceded that this was the “toughest draw we could have had” with West Ham and Birmingham avoiding the only member of the Premier League top six left in the competition. 

Earlier in the week Roy Keane was facing a tough examination of his ability to take the club forward, yet this result will lift the pressure albeit temporarily if Ipswich’s losing league run continues. 

The Carling Cup could be the key to the Irishman avoiding a P45, if Ipswich avoid a relegation dogfight, a surprise victory in the semi-final would most likely eclipse most of the negative feeling around the club’s league form this season. 

This would in turn be likely to buy Keane another season to improve the league fortunes of the Suffolk club. 

In a strange twist, going one step further, winning the competition outright would be likely to turn Keane from lame duck to hero within just a few months. 

The Carling Cup would represent the club’s first silverware since the days of Bobby Robson in the early eighties and give the Tractor Boys a Europa league spot making this year’s league form seem irrelevant providing the team stay in the Championship. 

These are all long shots but you have to be in it to win it and with the possible exception of their East Anglian rivals I am sure the entire football league will be willing Ipswich to upset the odds and go all the way, for the underdog story rather than an innate desire to save the career of a controversial Irishman.

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It will be an all Premiership final once again in the Carling Cup, Derby and Burnley were beaten in the two leg tie but battled all the way. Derby came into the second leg of the tie with a slim 1-0 advantage but were beaten 4-2 and 4-3 on aggregate. Manchester United dominated the second leg storming to a 3-0 lead thanks to goals by Nani, O’Shea, and Tevez. Giles Barnes hit back in the 80th minute with penalty but Ronaldo sealed Derby’s fate with a penalty in the 89th minute. Barnes however never gave up and scored in extra time. It wasnt enough for Derby but for Derby fans it was good to see Barnes back playing after his lengthy absence due to a knee injury.

Burnley faced an uphill battle against Spurs after going down 4-1 in the first leg. That deficit didnt seem to matter as Burnley took a 3-0 lead in normal time to knot the tie at 4-4. In extra time Burnley hearts were broken as Spurs scored two goals to take the tie 6-4 on aggregate. Burnley battled all through the tie, dominating Spurs most of the match. It was only in extra time did Spurs finally get the winner to progress to thier second consecutive Carling Cup Final.

Two Championship sides remain in the hunt for the Carling Cup, Derby County thanks to an injury time penalty winner via Nathan Ellington over Stoke and Burnley 3-0 winners over Arsenal. Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are the other two clubs in the draw. The draw for the two legged semi-final will be held on Saturday December 6th on Sky Sports. Will Derby and Burnley face one another or will they have to overcome Premiership opposition for a shot at the Carling Cup and a spot in the UEFA Cup? We will find out on Saturday and the path to the Carling Cup will become somewhat clearer.

Three Championship teams remain in the hunt for the Carling Cup and there will be no all Championship ties for the quarter-finals. The fixtures will be played on December 2, and at 2:45 pm eastern time. Here are the opponents for the three remaining Championship clubs:

Stoke City v Derby County – Britannia Stadium

Burnley v Arsenal – Turf Moor

Watford v Tottenham – Vicarage Road Stadium

Manchester United v Blackburn – Old Trafford

It has been 40 years since a side from outside the top flight of English football has won the League Cup, when Swindon beat Arsenal 3-1 way back in 1969. However the lose of Liverpool and Chelsea last night has opened the way for the clubs from the Championship to claim some major silverware.

Lower league clubs have been in the final in recent history with Birmingham the last one, pushing Liverpool all the way only to lose on penalties. The year before that Tranmere narrowly lost to Leicester. So this year could be the year that someone goes that step further and perhaps shows that despite being less prestigious than the FA Cup this competition can provide just as big an upset.

Looking through the sides left in the draw for the quarter finals the obvious favourites in the football betting will be Arsenal, Manchester United and current holders Tottenham. However if the draw throws two of those three together then we could easily see the likes of Burnley, Watford or Derby reach the semi-finals at least.

Burnley will certainly fancy their chances against anyone after their victory at Chelsea and with the Clarets flying high in the league they are the ones to avoid for the Premier League sides if they don’t want to become their next cup victims.

Despite my head telling me that the winners will come from either Spurs, Arsenal or Man Utd my heart is praying for it to be one of the Championship sides left in the competition. Whilst my head is telling me that one of those three sides will be lifting the trophy at Wembley in February it is far from impossible that we won’t be seeing Paul Connolly or Jay DeMerit taking that long walk up the steps to collect the three handled trophy.

With the big clubs failing to take this competition seriously due to European or relegation concerns then this, as we head for the quarter finals, is a major opportunity to create a piece of history.

Derby and Watford both have recent Premier League experience, albeit unsuccessful, and so will know what to expect if they draw a Premier League side. As for Burnley they have already knocked out Fulham and now Chelsea so whatever the football odds say I believe there is a chance, even if it is a small, for a Championship side to win the tournament.

Chances are that one will reach the semi-finals, Wycombe being the last side to do it although it was a 100-1 shot that they would make all the way, whilst Watford narrowly missed out in 2005 to Liverpool.

So lets hope the upsets continue for the neutral, obviously if your side is still left in the competition and isn’t in the Championship you won’t be hoping for the same thing. Everyone else will be hoping for a repeat of this years FA Cup, albeit a better game to watch than that dull affair!

The Carling Cup returns on Tuesday and four Championship sides are still in the mix for the Cup.Here are the fixtures for Round Four of the Carling Cup.

Derby County v Leeds United – Pride Park Stadium 2:45 pm est

Swansea City v Watford – Liberty Stadium 2:45 pm est

Manchester United v QPR – Old Trafford 3:00 pm est

November 12:

Chelsea v Burnley – Stamford Bridge 2:45 pm est

Round Five will be played the week of December 1st. When the draw is announced I’ll post who and where the remaining Championship Clubs will be playing.

Wolves kept up there winning ways with a 2-0 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Burnley at Moleniux putting pressure on Birmingham to keep pace. The Blues however could not equal Wolves win only managing a 1-1 draw with bottom of the table Nottingham Forest. The draw sees Birmingham now 6 points off first place and only 1 point ahead of Reading for the second automatic promotion slot. Reading beat Derby County 3-0 at the Madjeski keeping there unbeaten home record intact. Kevin Doyle celebrated a new contract with two goals against a hapless Derby defense.

Sheffield United kept up there bid for a playoff place with a 2-1 win over Barnsley. The final club in a playoff position, Cardiff City lost to QPR 1-0 at Loftus Road. That gave QPR a chance to draw even on points with Cardiff and only goal difference between the two separate them for the final playoff slot. Ipswich, Swansea City and Bristol City all kept up thier charge for a playoff spot with wins over the weekend as well. The three teams at the bottom of the table, Nottingham Forest drew, Doncaster lost 1-0 to Sheffield Wednesday and Watford were thoroughly beaten by Swansea City.

In other results, Charlton drew 2-2 with Plymouth, Southampton lost 1-0 to Bristol City, Norwich and Preston played to a 2-2 draw, and Crystal Palace were 2-0 winners over Coventry City.

Midweek sees the Carling Cup return for Round Four and Championship Sides, Derby County,Swansea City, Watford, QPR will be playing on Tuesday.

Here is the Carling Cup draw for the remaining Championship sides. The matches will be played the week of November 10th.

Chelsea v Burnely -Stamford Bridge
Swansea City v Watford – Liberty Stadium
Manchester United v QPR – Old Trafford
Brighton/Derby County v Leeds United

The Brighton v Derby match will be played on November 4th, the winner will host Leeds United with the date to be determined.

Here are the scores for the Championship teams that were still alive in the Third Round of the Carling Cup.

Arsenal 6 ( Bendter 31′, 42, Vela 44′, 50′, 87′, Wilshere 57′) Sheffield United 0

Burnley 1 ( Rodriguez 88′) Fulham 0

Rotherham 3 ( Fenton 20′, Harrison 56′, Broughton 69′) Southampton 1 ( John 61′)

Swansea 1 ( Gomez 57′) Cardiff City 0

Stoke 2 ( Pericard 9′, Sidibie 50′) Reading 2 ( Henry 45′, 75′) Stoke win 4-3 on penalties

Watford 1 ( Mullins 70′ (og) ) West Ham 0

Aston Villa 0 QPR 1 ( Stewart 58′)

Ipswich 1 ( Walters 61′) Wigan 4 ( Cattermole 52′, Kapo 64′, Sharner 70′, Camara 90′)

Manchester City and Brighton Hove and Albion played thier 2nd Round tie today after it had been postponed due to Manchester City’s involvement with the UEFA Cup. The winner will face Derby County.

Brighton 2 ( Murry 89′, Anyinsah 95′) Manchester City 2 ( Gelson 64′, Ireland 108′) Brighton win  5-4 on penalities

Brighton will face Derby at Withdean Stadium, the date has yet to be determined.

The draw for the third round of the Carling Cup has been made and here are the draws for the Championship Clubs still alive. The matches will be played the week of 22 September.

Arsenal v Sheffield United

Brighton Hove& Albion/Man City v Derby County

Burnley v Fulham

Rotherham United v Southampton

Swansea City v Cardiff City – This is a tasty all Welsh tie!

Ipswich Town v Wigan

Stoke City v Reading

Watford v West Ham

Aston Villa v QPR