REPORT: Southampton exit Carabao Cup

Southampton suffered a shock second round exit from the Carabao Cup following a 2-0 defeat to Championship side Brentford at St Mary’s Stadium on Wednesday night.

Christian Norgaard and Josh Da Silva each scored approaching half-time whilst Saints showed little fight despite manager Ralph Hasenhuttl naming a strong team.

The Austrian made just one change to the team that lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace on the Premier League’s opening day, handing a full first-team debut to Nathan Tella.

But Brentford, who narrowly missed out on promotion via the playoffs in August, took full advantage of their opportunities on target.

Norgaard broke the deadlock when headed home from Bryan Mbuemo’s corner on 41 minutes minutes before Da Sivla added one in first-half stoppage time.

Southampton mustered just three shots on target during the match, including one from Danny Ings, which forced Luke Daniels into a reactionary save, but hardly threatened their opponent.

After making yet another slow start to the campaign, Saints are now faced with a tough task against Tottenham on Sunday.

Southampton (4-4-2): McCarthy; Bertrand, Bednarek, Stephens, Walker-Peters; Redmond (Djenepo 71), Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Tella (Obafemi 84); Adams (Long 84), Ings

Unused subs: Forster (GK), Vestergaard, Vokins, Smallbone

Goals: None

Bookings: McCarthy (8)

Brentford (4-4-3): Daniels; Thompson (Henry 71), Bech Sorensen, Goode, Dalsgaard; Baptiste, Norgaard, Da Dilva (Marcondes 71); Fosu, Mbeumo; Forss (Dervisoglu 77)

Unused subs: Zamburek (GK), Pinnock

Goals: Norgaard (40), Da Silva (45+1)

Bookings: Thompson (12), Dalsgaard (52), Goode (58)