LONDON // A fine curling effort by journeyman Adam McGurk heaped the pressure on English Premier League strugglers Queens Park Rangers manager Harry Redknapp as fourth tier Burton beat them 1-0 in the second round of the English League Cup late on Wednesday.
QPR, who came into the game on the back of a 4-0 hammering by Spurs last weekend, were not the only Premier League outfit to fall prey to giantkillers as Aston Villa also exited beaten 1-0 by third-tier side Leyton Orient, Romain Vincelot’s goal three minutes from time proving the difference.
They joined several other Premier League sides, most notably Manchester United, to fail to make it through to the third round.
Both last season’s finalists did make it to Wednesday’s third round draw with holders Manchester City getting a home draw with Sheffield Wednesday while Sunderland, who beat Birmingham City 3-0 on Wednesday, will host Stoke City in an all Premier League tie.
Redknapp, whose side are yet to win in three matches this season, was phlegmatic about the humiliating defeat which earned Burton a home game with Championship side Brighton.
“You give players an opportunity and you hope they can take it. But they didn’t’ take the opportunity tonight,” he told BBC radio.
“Nobody wants to get beat. You want to win every game. We came here – I picked a strong team on paper – with senior players, but they were poor and didn’t take the opportunity.
“We were short of quality tonight.”
His Aston Villa counterpart Paul Lambert, who could be facing a second successive battle againast relegation, was left extremely disappointed by the defeat to Orient.
“I’m really disappointed,” the Scotsman said.
“Leyton Orient took their chances and we didn’t take ours. Darren Bent, who is deadly from that range, would normally get you one.
“The goal we conceded was poor and I didn’t think we were strong defensively.
“The team I picked was strong. I expected us to win the game.”
While both Redknapp and Lambert will probably be given some more time that is unlikely to be the case for David Hockaday, the manager of second tier ailing giants Leeds United, as they went out 2-1 to third tier Bradford City.
Club owner Massimo Cellino, a renowned firer of coaches from his days in Serie A, apparently toyed with the idea of sacking him on Sunday after a 4-1 defeat by Watford and their exit on Wednesday will not have done the inexperienced manager’s cause much good.
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