EFL Cup: Gillingham’s Bradley Dack sends Premier League Watford crashing out in the second round

Sub Dack scored a  controversial goal for the League One side in the 12th minute of extra time.

It came after Odion Ighalo grabbed a second-half opener for Watford  a minute after coming off the bench.

 Gills replied with  Mark Byrne’s 82nd minute goal.

The visitors  survived seeing sub  Dack blast his 71st-minute penalty nearly over the stand roof before redeeming himself with the winner.

Hornets boss Walter Mazzarri made nine changes from the team that lost to Chelsea on Saturday, with skipper Troy Deeney and midfielder Adlene Guedioura the survivors.

 Gillingham were pressed back from the start and keeper Stuart Nelson did well to stop Deeney’s  rising right-foot shot  after  five minutes.

The visitors took 17 minutes to  make their first attempt  when striker Cody McDonald headed over  from Byrne’s corner.

The pressure stayed on Gills and just after the half-hour  Nelson made two fine saves inside a minute from Ikechi Anya and Matej Vydra.

Watford would probably have preferred to  rest Ighalo. But he bagged his first goal of the season in the 57th minute.

Deeney wrong footed the Gills defence with a chip which Ighalo scrambled in from close range.

Dack’s miss after Allan Nyom brought down Elliot List would have broken a lesser side. But Watford’s defence gave  Byrne yards of space to equalise.

Then Emmanuel Osadebe crossed from the right, Dack shot  and  keeper Costel Pantilimon fumbled the ball against the post.

Ref James Linington ruled the ball had crossed the line  despite protests from  the Watford player.