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Accrington Stanley score late extra-time winner to send rivals Burnley out of EFL Cup
ACCRINGTON STANLEY wrote a piece of club history thanks to a dramatic victory over close Premier League neighbours Burnley.
Sean Dyche's side suffered a defeat in extra-time to rivals Accrington Stanley
The two clubs – separated by just nine miles along the M65 – had never previously met in a competitive fixture.
But this was certainly a hard-fought affair as League Two Stanley triumphed thanks to a goal from Matty Pearson in the 120th minute deep in extra time.
With the prospect of a dreaded shoot-out looming, the lively 23-year-old former Blackburn midfielder popped up in the box to ram home the winner past debutant keeper Nicky Pope.
The goal gave the Reds their first victory over top-flight opponents since the club’s reformation in the Sixties.
Burnley had not won in the competition since 2013 and even the late introduction from the bench of Andre Gray – facing a possible ban following an FA charge for posting homophobic tweets in 2012 – could not break the deadlock as they went into extratime.
Sam Vokes, a scorer in Saturday’s 2-0 win over Liverpool, came close on a couple of occasions and he was booked for catching Pearson as derby passions flared but Burnley were unable to break Accrington.