Lankshear's Debut Goal Sparks Middlesbrough Victory
Will Lankshear’s debut goal lit up Middlesbrough’s night and launched their season with a sharp, unforgiving edge as they squeezed past Wrexham 1-0 in the Carabao Cup first round.
Lankshear lands with a bang
A £10m signing comes with a certain weight. At the Riverside, Lankshear looked ready to carry it.
On 61 minutes, with the tie drifting into that uneasy, goalless middle ground, he snapped it to life. Jeremy Sarmiento swung in a cross from the right, Leo Castledine rose to glance it on, and the new striker did the rest. One swivel, one clean, first-time volley, hooked into the far corner. No fuss, no second touch, just a ruthless finish from a 21-year-old who looked like he’d been here for years.
It was the second warning Wrexham had received. Moments after the restart, Lankshear had already curled one effort just over the bar, a sign he had found the angles and the rhythm of the game.
Before that, the tie had belonged to the goalkeepers.
Middlesbrough almost struck in the seventh minute when Sebastian Berhalter whipped in a low cross and Adilson Malanda stabbed it goalwards from close range. Danny Ward exploded into action, producing a superb point-blank save that set the tone for Wrexham’s defiance.
At the other end, the visitors had their moments. Danny Imray failed to connect properly with a teasing Callum Doyle cross, a let-off for Sol Brynn. Then, six minutes before half-time, Wrexham carved out their best opening: Nathan Broadhead rolled Sam Smith into space and the forward drilled low, only to see Brynn block with his legs.
Once Lankshear broke through, Middlesbrough looked to kill it off. They almost did with three minutes left when Morgan Whittaker drove low across goal, the ball cannoning back off the post with Ward beaten.
It didn’t matter. The new No 9 had already done enough to write his name into the opening chapter of Boro’s season.
Wolves cruise as Jimenez comes home
At Molineux, Wolves did their work early and then settled into something more emotional.
A 3-0 win over Port Vale never truly felt in doubt once the Premier League side hit their stride in the first half. Adam Armstrong struck, Andre added another, and Fer Lopez joined in to put the tie out of reach before the break, giving Cesar Peixoto a smooth, assured victory in his first game in charge.
Port Vale still carved out chances. Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel produced the miss of the night when he hooked an extraordinary opportunity away from the Wolves goal rather than into it. Later, Mo Faal stepped up from the spot, only to see his low penalty kicked away by Dan Bentley, who denied the away fans even a consolation.
The scoreboard told one story. The stands told another.
The 21,360 inside Molineux had eyes for one man: Raul Jimenez. The club’s Premier League era top scorer returned this summer after three years at Fulham, and his late introduction drew the loudest noise of the evening.
He let fly with one fierce effort, a reminder of the old instincts, but the net refused to cooperate. A goal would have been harsh on a Port Vale side that kept competing despite the gulf. Wolves, though, are the ones moving on, their returning hero back in gold and black with bigger nights surely ahead.
Magennis delivers late drama for Stevenage
Wycombe and Stevenage went the distance, then pushed beyond it. In the dying seconds, Josh Magennis made sure Stevenage’s 50th anniversary season in the competition began with a flourish.
Deep into stoppage time, with penalties looming, Phoenix Patterson swung in a corner from the left. Magennis, a summer signing from Exeter and thrown on from the bench, rose above the crowd and powered his header home. A 2-1 win, snatched at the last, and a place in the second round secured in the most satisfying way possible.
It hadn’t always looked like Stevenage’s night.
Wycombe started on the front foot, pinning the visitors back, but it was Stevenage who struck first on 27 minutes. Dan Kemp pounced on hesitation in the home defence, burst through the gap and drilled a low finish past the keeper. Against the run of play, but not against the run of Kemp’s intent.
The goal jolted Wycombe. They hit back in the 38th minute when Silko Thomas, lively down the left, picked out Ewan Henderson. The Scot slipped through the visiting back line and finished right-footed from just outside the six-yard box.
Stevenage almost stunned them again on the stroke of half-time. Kemp, brimming with confidence, rattled the crossbar from the edge of the area, inches away from a spectacular second.
After the interval, Wycombe took control. They pushed Stevenage deeper, asked constant questions, but lacked the final touch. The best of their late chances fell to Emre Tezgel, introduced for Cauley Woodrow. Thomas delivered another dangerous cross from the left, Tezgel attacked it, but Boro captain Carl Piergianni threw himself in the way and smothered the attempt in the 77th minute.
That block kept Stevenage alive. Magennis did the rest, turning survival into triumph with one brutal, decisive header.
The Carabao Cup’s first round has only just begun, yet already it has a debut goal to announce a £10m signing, a returning icon back under familiar lights, and a stoppage-time winner to ignite an anniversary season. The next round will have a hard act to follow.
