Rhys Norrington-Davies in a bright green Sheffield United away kit is down on his haunches after scoring an own goalImage source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Rhys Norrington-Davies' own goal sent Fleetwood into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup

ByGlenn Speller
BBC Sport journalist

An own goal by Sheffield United's Rhys Norrington-Davies helped League Two side Fleetwood Town reach the fourth round of the Carabao Cup for the first time and earn a home tie against Premier League champions Arsenal in the last 16.

The visitors were fortunate not to trail at the break, with goalkeeper Michael Cooper called into action on three occasions as the Cod Army sensed an opportunity to make it into the last 16.

Cooper was powerless to prevent what proved to be the winning goal as Norrington-Davies diverted a Danny Andrew cross into his own net.

The home side also had a goal disallowed and struck the woodwork twice but needed to survive a late onslaught from their Championship opponents to confirm their place in the fourth round.

With Matt Lawlor's team unbeaten from their opening eight games in all competitions, the fourth-tier side were always likely to pose a threat as Chris Wilder made seven changes to the side that was beaten by Wolves in the Championship on Sunday.

Cooper was in the action inside the opening 10 minutes to keep out Mark Helm's well-struck effort from 20 yards before getting down to deny Lewis McCann at his near post and then saving Crispin McLean's header.

Sheffield United struggled to make the most of their domination of possession, with Tyrese Campbell coming the closest in the first period but shooting wide of Jay Lynch's goal.

The visitors failed to heed the warnings from the first half, with former Blades striker Ched Evans bringing a save out of Cooper at full stretch before what proved to be the pivotal moment arrived on 57 minutes.

Andrew's cross bounced up in front of Norrington-Davies and the defender's header ended up in the back of the net.

Andrew almost turned from provider to scorer 12 minutes later, but his effort was ruled out, with on-loan Fulham forward Aaron Loupalo-Bi standing in an offside position and preventing Cooper from attempting a save.

The chances kept coming for Fleetwood as McCann's blocked tackle bounced off a post and Andrew hit the opposite upright with the follow-up but the visitors finally came to life in the closing stages.

Tom Cannon had already had an effort cancelled out for offside before Lynch superbly denied Sydie Peck and Ben Brereton Diaz, and former Sheffield United academy graduate Finley Potter produced a brave block from Cannon with the goal gaping.

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Listen: Chris Wilder on Sheffield United's defeat

Player of the match

Number: 17 C. Evans
Average rating 8.22
Number: 17 C. Evans
Average Rating: 8.22
Number: 1 J. Lynch
Average Rating: 8.16
Number: 4 H. Neal
Average Rating: 8.09
Number: 14 L. McCann
Average Rating: 8.06
Number: 26 S. Rooney
Average Rating: 8.00
Number: 10 M. Helm
Average Rating: 7.97
Number: 27 C. McLean
Average Rating: 7.86
Number: 3 D. Andrew
Average Rating: 7.80
Number: 5 F. Potter
Average Rating: 7.79
Number: 6 R. Bennett
Average Rating: 7.79
Number: 9 W. Davies
Average Rating: 7.79
Number: 19 R. Coughlan
Average Rating: 7.77
Number: 20 A. Loupalo-Bi
Average Rating: 7.77
Number: 16 C. Haughey
Average Rating: 7.68
Number: 15 A. Murphy
Average Rating: 7.52

After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.

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