Ice in his veins! Fleetwood hero Conor Haughey reveals he DID NOT even practise penalties before dumping Arsenal out of Carabao Cup
· Yahoo Sports
Fleetwood Town defender Conor Haughey has sensationally revealed that he did not spend a single minute practising penalties before firing the decisive spot-kick to eliminate Arsenal from the Carabao Cup. The 19-year-old showed remarkable composure at Highbury to secure one of the greatest upsets in the competition's long history.
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Historic upset at Highbury
The League Two strugglers defied all expectations to eliminate last season's finalists in dramatic fashion. Sitting 18th in the fourth tier, Fleetwood sent the home crowd at Highbury into raptures when Fulham loanee Aaron Loupalo-Bi gave them a 21st-minute lead. Premier League champions Arsenal responded at the break by introducing captain Martin Odegaard, which shifted the momentum and allowed Viktor Gyokeres to find a swift equaliser.
Despite facing relentless pressure, the hosts stood firm. Their defensive resolve was aided by a late red card for Arsenal prospect Max Dowman, who was dismissed in the 85th minute for a petulant kick.
The 1-1 draw forced a penalty shootout, where Fleetwood goalkeeper Jay Lynch produced a crucial save to deny Bruno Guimaraes. That paved the way for Northern Ireland Under-21 international Haughey to rifle his spot-kick into the top left corner, sealing a 5-3 shootout triumph and sparking a mass pitch invasion.
Belfast boy takes it in his stride
Despite stepping up for the most significant moment of his fledgling career, Haughey displayed unwavering confidence. The teenager admitted he had not prepared for a shootout, trusting entirely in his natural technique.
"It's the way I've been brought up," Haughey said. "Obviously I'm a Belfast boy. Where I grew up, if you're not confident you get eaten up, so you just take it in your stride whatever you do. We all trust in each other's ability, we train with each other every day. You already know where you're putting it and just need to be technically good enough to put it where you want to."
Fleetwood manager Matt Lawlor was visibly moved by the monumental achievement. He acknowledged the staggering financial and structural gap between the two clubs.
"I'm going to be honest now, I hoped, dreamed and we prepared for a game like that," Lawlor admitted. "But if you would have told me that would happen, I wouldn't have probably believed you. That we'd be through to the Carabao quarter-final and beating the champions of our country, I think it's mental.
"When it went to penalties, obviously I hoped for a winner. I said to the lads it wouldn't change my thoughts and my feelings on the proudness that I felt in the performance and the way that we dug in and had to dig in. Let's have it right, the difference in not just quality, I mean infrastructure, quality, budget. I don't think there's a comparison as to how big of a jump that is, what we've just achieved tonight."
Arteta laments missed chances
The result marked the first time a Premier League champion has ever been eliminated from the League Cup by a fourth-tier opponent. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refused to criticise his squad's work rate but admitted their lack of clinical finishing proved costly.
"Congratulations to Fleetwood. I have nothing to fault the players [for] in terms of their attitude, application, the intensity they put in throughout the game," Arteta noted. "But when you are that superior, you give nothing to the opponent apart from the first action that we defended so poorly, and you generate so many situations, actions, volume of shots and chances, you have to score three, four, five, and capitalise on that.
"If you don't there are no margins, that's a reality and then you have to get through the round on penalties. We didn't do that, so the probability is always there."
The Spanish tactician also addressed Dowman's late dismissal, hinting at a lack of discipline. "When we prepared the context of the match, we were very clear on the things to respect, the things that emotionally we have to dominate, it was very clear," Arteta added.
Quarter-final dreams await
Fleetwood now advance to the last eight of the Carabao Cup, etching their names into the tournament's folklore. They join third-tier Bradford City, who also booked their quarter-final ticket by defeating Peterborough.
The remainder of the fourth-round fixtures will take place across Wednesday and Thursday. For Fleetwood, attention will briefly return to their League Two survival campaign, but the anticipation of a potential heavyweight draw in the next round will undoubtedly dominate the club's narrative in the coming weeks.