Carling Cup wrap: Southampton ease through

Southampton progressed to the third round of the Carling Cup with a 3-1 win over Swindon Town at County Ground on Tuesday.

Southampton have made a flying start to life in the Championship since their promotion from League One, with four wins from their first five matches propelling them to second on the table.

And they continued that form at Swindon, with the win set-up in the first 30 minutes thanks to goals from Guilherme and Jonathan Forte.

Mehdi Kerrouche pulled a goal back for Swindon with six minutes to play but substitute Rickie Lambert made sure of the win with his stoppage time strike.

But the attention was taken off the win after a scuffle between Swindon boss Paulo Di Canio and striker Leon Clarke, who tussled with each other on the edge of the pitch before a fight allegedly broke out in the tunnel.

Southampton’s reward for winning the match is a home tie against Preston in the third round.

In Tuesday’s other matches, Leyton Orient booked a trip to English Premier League strugglers Blackburn in the next stage of the competition after they beat Bristol Rovers 3-2, with Irish midfielder Stephen Dawson netting the winner four minutes into stoppage time.

Aldershot will also feature in the third round after a 2-0 home win over Carlisle United, thanks to a Michael Rankine strike and a Danny Livesey own goal.