Lynden Gooch and Huddersfield Town will face Sunderland in the second round of the Carabao Cup
The Terriers sprang something of an upset on Tuesday evening when they knocked Championship promotion contenders Leicester City out of the competition on penalties following a 2-2 draw in regular time. Gooch started the contest at right-back, before being substituted in the 79th minute. Town goalkeeper Lee Nicholls was the hero of the hour for the League One outfit, saving two spot kicks to secure a place in the next round, and a trip to the Stadium of Light as a reward.
What did Lynden Gooch say about his upcoming return to Sunderland?
The 29-year-old is a product of Sunderland’s youth academy, and racked up 247 appearances for the Black Cats in total, scoring 25 goals and assisting 37 more. Gooch also represented the club in League One, the Championship, and the Premier League before departing to sign for Stoke City in 2023. After recording 53 outings for the Potters, he left to sign for Huddersfield earlier this summer.
Despite having been away from the Stadium of Light for a couple of years at this point, Gooch still retains a deep affection for his boyhood club, and was present at Wembley for Sunderland’s Championship play-off final triumph over Sheffield United back in May.
Reflecting on that afternoon in the capital, he told The Echo: “It was a great day, it was great to get there because I didn’t think I was going to be able to be there. I managed to get a couple of tickets from Mick Ganley at the Fans Museum so got there with my son. We still live in the area, we still live in the North East so my kids are massive Sunderland fans, they actually went to more Sunderland games than Stoke games when I was there. It was a brilliant day, it’s something I will cherish, it’s something we will cherish for the rest of our lives.”
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When will the second round of the Carabao Cup take place?
The Carabao Cup second round ties will take place on the week commencing August 25th, and will feature the 11 Premier League sides who are not taking part in European competition this season.
All ties will go straight to penalties if level after 90 minutes for the first five rounds of the competition, and every game is set to be televised on Sky Sports as part of a new broadcasting deal. The draw has been regionalised for the first two rounds, but that will not be the case from round three onwards as the remaining Premier League sides join.
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