Preston North End defeated Fulham 16-15 in the longest League Cup penalty shootout ever.
The Championship side took a first half lead in normal time, with midfielder Ryan Ledson finding the net from 20 yards with a stunning half-volley.
Fulham levelled after the break through Arsenal loanee Reiss Nelson, with manager Marco Silva making 11 changes before kick-off.
With no extra time at this stage of the tournament, the game went to penalties – and no-one in the ground could have anticipated what came next.
Eight outfield players from each side all stepped up and converted their spot kick, with each penalty high in quality.
An opening emerged for North End when centre-back Jorge Cuenca saw his penalty saved by Freddie Woodman, but Aston Villa loanee Kaine Kesler-Hayden couldn’t convert to win it.
The shootout therefore continued, with Woodman and his opposite number Steven Benda both taking surprisingly emphatic penalties.
Ryan Sessegnon then heightened Fulham nerves when his penalties squeezed underneath Woodman and went in off the post, before Milutin Osmajic made it 15-15.
Timothy Castagne then stepped up for Fulham, but sent his spot kick high over the crossbar as he tried to replicate many of his team-mates in finding the top corner.
Goalscorer Ledson then had the opportunity to become the hero again for North End – and he made no mistake to spark wild scenes around Deepdale.
Preston win 16-15 on penalties against Fulham#CarabaoCup pic.twitter.com/ieqlnPh66r
— Richard Frediani (@BBCFrediani) September 17, 2024
To underline just how astonishing the shootout was, the EFL’s scoreboard graphic was unable to go beyond 15 penalties each and reset to 0-0.
The record for the previous longest shootout was held by Liverpool, who beat Middlesbrough 14-13 in the 2014/15 season.
They matched the scoreline of the shootout from the Football League Trophy match between Dagenham & Redbridge and Leyton Orient in 2011.
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