Aston Villa have endured tough nights in the Capital One Cup over the past few years, but they overcame another banana skin thanks to a Scott Sinclair hat-trick after going behind three times to a spirited Notts County side.
Leyton Orient and Bradford City have both knocked Villa out of this competition in the previous three years and it looked like County were going to add their name to the list at one stage.
After needing extra time to defeat their Sky Bet League Two opponents, Villa have now set up a third-round tie with Birmingham City, their closest rivals, in a match that will bring plenty of interest to England’s second city.
“It was only pulled out two minutes ago but I already know how important it is,” Tim Sherwood, the Villa manager, said immediately after the draw. “We showed so much character and I thought the writing was on the wall.”
Genaro Snijders opened the scoring as he beat Mark Bunn on 16 minutes with a long-range shot. Adama Traoré levelled eight minutes later after good work by Jack Grealish, who was man of the match against his former club.
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County were ahead on half-time as Jon Stead scored a penalty after Bunn had fouled Izale McLeod. Sinclair equalised a minute after the break with a close-range finish from Grealish’s cross but Graham Burke’s fine 30-yard strike put County back into the lead.
Tim Sherwood’s side gained a lifeline 12 minutes from time after Sinclair scored from the spot to take the game to extra time. Another tap-in for Sinclair completed his hat-trick from Joe Cole’s cross on 99 minutes before Joe Bennett ensured victory for Villa.