Liverpool made a shock Carling Cup exit in the third round as League Two’s Northampton won the penalty shoot-out.

With the sides locked at 2-2 after extra-time, Abdul Osman kept his cool to slot in the decisive spot-kick. Milan Jovanovic fired in Liverpool’s opener but Billy McKay equalised and Michael Jacobs tapped in to give the Cobblers a worthy lead in extra-time.

David Ngog’s late header set up the late drama and as the Reds struggled in the rain, Osman sealed a memorable win. It was another night of Carling Cup drama for Merseyside football following Everton’s surprise exit at Brentford 24 hours before Northampton’s visit to Liverpool.

Roy Hodgson opted to give run-outs for a number of fringe players on the back of their weekend defeat by Manchester United, but they started brightly enough as Jovanovic, a summer free transfer from Standard Liege, fired in his first goal for the club after nine minutes. The Reds were wasteful in front of goal though and would have been wary of their opponents going into the interval with such a slender lead.

And so it proved, as Kevin Thornton out-jumped Sotirios Kyrgiakos to nod over Liam Davis’ looping cross for McKay to crash in the equaliser from close range. With the Anfield faithful sounding increasingly agitated, their team rarely looked capable of grabbing a winner as the visitors held firm at the back to take the match into extra-time. Northampton, currently 17th in League Two, were the ones dreaming of a fourth-round spot in the Carling Cup as Jacobs poked in after Martin Kelly had blocked Kevin Thornton’s shot.

With Kyrgiakos and Kelly both wasteful in the closing stages, it was left for striker Ngog, with four minutes left on the clock, who at last provided the spark to reignite Liverpool’s battles. Substitute Jonjo Shelvey swung in his corner for Ngog to nod in and provide some relief to Hodgson and the home supporters as both teams had to prepare for the penalty shoot-out to settle the tie.

As the rain lashed down, Northampton’s Steve Guinan and Liverpool’s Ngog missed their spot-kicks as the players struggled with the tension and conditions. But when 19-year-old substitute Nathan Eccleston hit the crossbar with Liverpool’s fourth effort, it was left for Osman to slot home and grab the headlines.

League Two leaders Northampton Town came back from 2-0 down to defeat 10-man Stevenage.

Luke Wilkinson met two Dean Parrett corners to score his first two goals for Stevenage, putting them 2-0 up. A James Collins header and John-Joe O’Toole’s stabbed finish either side of half-time brought the Cobblers level.

Fraser Franks was sent off for pulling down Sam Hoskins before Ricky Holmes’ sensational 95th-minute strike from the edge of the box won it for Northampton. Northampton are 17 points clear of fourth-placed Plymouth with just nine games left to play, while Stevenage are just seven points clear of the drop zone in 22nd position.

Northampton Town booked their place in the FA Cup fourth round with a deserved victory over Burton Albion at Pirelli Stadium.

The Cobblers had raced into a 3-0 lead after goals from Nicky Adams, Ryan Watson and Charlie Goode. Burton reduced the deficit when Ryan Edwards gave them hope in the second minute of first-half injury time.

Sam Hoskins restored Northampton’s three-goal cushion before Scott Fraser’s late consolation. League Two Northampton went ahead against a side from the division above when the ball dropped to Adams from a long throw and he fired home from 12 yards.

Keith Curle’s side notched a second when Hoskins’ cross picked out Watson who nodded past Burton goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara before Goode headed in from Adams’ corner. Burton pulled a goal back almost straight from the restart when Edwards latched on to a loose ball and finished confidently from close range.

Hoskins effectively made the result certain when he arrowed a low shot into the corner with 20 minutes left, although Fraser reduced the arrears with a fine curling effort late on.

Zander Diamond conceded a penalty after a foul on Dean Bowditch, which allowed Ben Reeves to score from the spot. Moments before Reeves’ strike, the Cobblers had put the ball in the back of the net but the goal was disallowed for a foul on goalkeeper David Martin.

Josh Murphy doubled the lead, while Simon Church scored a late penalty. Murphy, who made a real impact after being introduced at half-time, had clipped a shot against the post before he scored after being put through by Samir Carruthers. With just a minute remaining of normal time, goalkeeper Adam Smith brought down Robert Hall and Wales international Church converted.