Capital One Cup: Arsenal win 12-goal thriller with amazing comeback against Reading

Published on 31/10/2012 01:15

Arsenal completed an extraordinary comeback to beat Reading 7-5 in a barely believable Capital One Cup fourth-round tie at the Madjeski Stadium.

A youthful Gunners line-up recovered from 4-0 down to win when Theo Walcott scored the decider in the 31st minute of extra-time.

Remarkably there was still more to come as Marouane Chamakh put the seal on a breathless encounter moments later when he lobbed beleaguered Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici for his second.

Jason Roberts, a Laurent Koscielny own goal, Mikele Leigertwood and Noel Hunt had given Reading a four-goal lead in 37 minutesw, but Arsenal hit back through Walcott (2), Olivier Giroud and Koscielny to take the game into extra time.

Chamakh put Arsenal ahead for the first time, before Pavel Pogrebnyak levelled, only for the Gunners to snatch the tie with two further strikes.

Southampton manager Nigel Adkins made 11 changes to his struggling Premier League side for the visit to Championship Leeds and paid the price in a 3-0 defeat.

Goals by Michael Tonge and El-Hadji Diouf, as well as 
Luciano Becchio’s penalty, saw the home side comfortably through.

Scott McDonald earned Middlesbrough a quarter-final place in a hard-fought Wear-Tees derby at the Stadium of Light. The striker scrambled the ball home from six yards at the near post late in the first half.

He ghosted in front of the Sunderland defence to score his third goal in two games after he got on to the end of Miller’s cross.

After the break, Sunderland visibly stepped it up and tried to take a grip on the game.

Sessegnon went close with a powerful strike from just outside of the box on the hour mark which just veered right of Steele’s goal, before Johnson tested the Boro defence with a series of crosses from the right wing.

The home side looked increasingly desperate as the clock ticked down, but despite the four minutes of added time, they were unable to score and take the match into extra time.

Aston Villa got through to the quarter-finals for the third time in four seasons after Christian Benteke scored a late winner against Swindon at the County Ground.

Villa looked to be cruising to victory as goals by Benteke – a £7million summer signing from Belgian club Genk – and Gabriel Agbonlahor earned them a 2-0 half-time lead.

But the League One side, who had already overcome Stoke in this season’s competition, fought back through two goals from substitute Miles Storey before Benteke had the final say. It was his third goal in two games and Villa boss Paul Lambert will hope his side can build on this success after their worst start to a league campaign in 43 years.

Swindon needed to make inroads into Villa’s advantage at the start of the second period but it took until 79 minutes for the fightback to begin.

And, when it did, the Robins turned the tie on its head with two goals in two minutes.

Storey converted a centre and then drew the home side level when he back-heeled a low ball into the box from Andy Williams past Shay Given.

But Benteke broke Swindon’s hearts with seconds remaining when he hammered home a cross from Eric Lichaj.