The ‘big four’ Welsh clubs are all into the second round of the Football League Cup for only the second time in the competition’s 63-year history.
Our quartet of Football League teams – Cardiff City, Newport County, Swansea City and Wrexham – all made it through their first round ties this week.
The only previous time this has happened since the Football League Cup was introduced in 1960/61 was in 1986-87.
In the first round that season, Cardiff beat Plymouth Argyle 6-4 on aggregate, Swansea defeated Hereford United 8-4 over two legs, Newport edged past Exeter City, the games finishing 1-0 and 0-0, while Wrexham eliminated Chesterfield 4-2 overall.
The second round saw Wrexham lose to Portsmouth (1-2, 0-2), Swansea beaten by Leicester City (0-2, 2-4) and Newport turned over by Everton (0-4, 1-5).
Cardiff City advanced to round three in strange circumstances. Opponents Luton Town banned away fans from Kenilworth Road and were disqualified from the competition.
Cardiff and Swansea have entered every one of the 64 League Cup tournaments under its various sponsor names since 1960/61, but Wrexham have only just returned to the competition after being relegated from the Football League in 2007-08.
Newport County were involved every League Cup before losing Football League status in 1987-88.
The club folded in 1988-89, reformed in 1989 as Newport AFC, reintroduced the name Newport County in 1999, but did not return to the EFL – and the League Cup – until 2013-14.
In this week’s first round ties of the currently-named Carabao Cup, Wrexham beat Wigan Athletic 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw, Newport defeated Charlton Athletic 3-1, Swansea saw off Northampton Town 3-0 and Cardiff overcame Colchester United 3-0 on spot-kicks after a 2-2 result.
The second round draw has seen Wrexham land a home tie against Bradford City in the North section, while in the South, Cardiff travel to Birmingham City, Newport host Brentford and Swansea entertain AFC Bournemouth.
Swansea are the only Welsh club ever to win the League Cup, defeating Bradford City 5-0 in the 2013 final. Cardiff lost in the 2012 final.
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