Dean Holdsworth can’t have been too happy about what he saw on Sunday. The manager of tiny Aldershot, a League Two team in Hampshire, was surely keeping an eye on the Manchester derby. With every goal that City piled on United, his heart must have sunk ever lower.
The Shots, you see, will host United Tuesday as the Carling Cup’s fourth round gets underway, and they are likely to pay the price for the Red Devils’ profligacy. The match, televised live on FOX Soccer Plus (2:30 P.M. EDT) is one of eight midweek fixtures in the League Cup. Wednesday, Wolves host City at the same time. Every Carling Cup match is also tracked in real time on this website and via @FOXSoccerTrax on Twitter.
Holdsworth’s side, toiling mid-table in what is actually English football’s fourth division, were already rank outsiders. Until this weekend and a breakout win over Dagenham and Redbridge, the club had lost five straight and were flirting with relegation. They are the only team outside of the top two divisions left in the tournament, and this is the first time in 27 years they have even made it this far.
Filled with a set of largely anonymous players — the best known is Stoke manager Tony Pulis’ son, Anthony — the Shots are a typical lower-division team: passionately followed by a loyal, but shrinking fan base, and always just a check or two away from financial peril.
In a direct nod to that reality, the team wears the phoenix as its crest: its forerunner, Aldershot F.C., went bankrupt in the early 1990’s and had to be liquidated. In fact, the owners of the new club have already told fans that the gate from this game cannot be used to bulk up their squad — the monies must go to pay down past debts.
The teams do have a history of sort: in 1970, Aldershot met Manchester United in a League Cup match and ran out to an early 1-0 lead before Denis Law, George Best and Brian Kidd began a comeback to win 3-1 at an oversold Recreation Park. Tuesday’s match is sold-out to a capacity house of 7,300 and the club expects more members of the media to show up for this game than have attended for every other game combined.
They do not, however, expect a win.
In other games, Arsenal looks to build on their recent, encouraging run of form against a staggering Bolton side sweating in the drop zone.
Odd as it may seem, the two teams — who enjoy a rivalry dating back to 1899 — have never met in the League Cup. Bolton has been a bit of a bogey team in recent years for the Gunners, but even with Arsenal’s well-known recent troubles, they look to be the more confident and solid side coming into the match. On the weekend, Robin van Persie and Gervinho sparked Arsenal to a much-needed win over Stoke, while Bolton were trashed by an equally nondescript Sunderland side.
In the two games featuring Championship sides, Cardiff face off against a sagging Burnley, while Crystal Palace play host to Championship leaders Southampton.
The Welsh side is coming off an epic 5-3 win over Barnsley that was the consensus second division thriller of the weekend, but will be missing Kenny Miller for the match. Miller required 20 stitches after a clash of heads with his teammate Ben Turner. Burnley may also miss key man Jay Rodriguez; as Rodriguez was lucky not to break his nose in their 2-1 win over Coventry on Saturday. Despite the 8-place gap in the standings between the two teams, this should be a fairly even and high-scoring affair. Neither side is known for their defense, but is blessed with several players who can score the ball.
Crystal Palace are only four points off the Saints in the league, so this one could be of the best pure games in the tournament. Southampton have only lost two games this season, both on the road. Palace have only lost two Cup games in 29 attempts at Selhurst Park, an enviable record stretching over 16 years. Both teams are at full strength, but Southampton has the momentum and the league’s top striker in Rickie Lambert.
Wednesday, it is an all-Premiership day as Stoke host Liverpool, Blackburn welcomes Newcastle United, Everton entertain Chelsea, and high-flying Manchester City goes to Wolves.
