Northampton Town 2-1 Cardiff City

Northampton Town caused possibly the shock of the Capital One Cup first round with a 2-1 victory over Cardiff City at the Sixfields Stadium tonight.

It seemed like the Bluebirds would cruise to a routine victory after debutant Heidar Helguson converted a fourth-minute penalty to give them an early lead.

However, Aidy Boothroyd's League Two outfit battled back, scoring a goal either side of half-time to upset last season's losing finalists.

David Artell headed the Cobblers level on 37 minutes, before Alex Nicholl smartly nodded in Chris Hackett's corner at the back post to complete the turnaround.

Manager Malky Mackay turned to Jordan Mutch and Nathaniel Jarvis in a bid to find an equaliser, but in the absence of new signing Craig Bellamy, Cardiff lacked potency in attack and could not find a way past a stubborn Town defence.