LONDON --Tottenham's Romanian forward Ilie Dumitrescu was sent off as Notts County, last in Division One, achieved the upset of the English season by knocking the mighty Spurs out of the league cup on a 3-0 scoreline.
In another standout League Cup third-round game Wednesday, Newcastle, top of the Premier League standings, eliminated Manchester United, last season's league titlist, 2-0.
In Italy, AC Milan suffered another yet another loss, and was eliminated from the Italian Cup competition in the third round at the hands of Internazionale, 2-1.
Tony Agana fired Notts County ahead after 17 minutes and Gary McSwegan fired two more in the 20th and 72nd, as Spurs, whose season is sliding after a promising start, were torn apart by the modest central English club.
Dumitrescu, one of two Romanian World Cup stars hired by Ossie Ardiles to boost the Tottenham strikeforce, was ordered off in the 37th minute for a second yellow-card foul.
"It is probably the lowest point for us this season," Ardiles said.
"I feel pretty bad, very disappointed indeed. I'm not going to blame the players. The buck stops with me," he said.
Some Spurs fans at the game called for Ardiles to quit.
"Resigning would be the easy way out," the manager said. "We have got the players. We just need a little bit extra to sort it out."
"What happens next is not a question for me. I certainly feel that the players are behind me. They are hurt and I am very hurt."
To keep his big stars fresh and fit for European Champions League games, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson fielded six of his young players against Newcastle at St James's Park.
Belgian defender Philippe Albert and new signing Paul Kitson scored Newcastle's goals in the last eight minutes. Albert headed in a center from Swiss rightback Marc Hottiger and, three minutes from the end, Kitson took a pass from Peter Beardsley to shoot the second.
Holder Aston Villa, which downed Manchester United in last season's final, edged Division One Middlesbrough 1-0 thanks to a goal from Irish midfielder Andy Townsend in the 30th minute. It was his first of the season.
England striker Alan Shearer scored twice as Blackburn downed Coventry 2-0 and Stuart Pearce hit two for Nottingham Forest, second in the Premier League, in a 3-2 victory at Division One leader Wolves. Don Hutchison scored after two minutes as West Ham ousted Chelsea 1-0 while Arsenal gained a 0-0 tie at Division One Oldham. Sheffield Wednesday edged Southampton 1-0 through Chris Bart-Williams' goal.
In Scotland's League Cup, Glasgow Celtic edged Aberdeen 1-0 and now will meet Raith Rovers in the final. Defender Brian O'Neill fired Celtic's winner against Aberdeen at Ibrox Park after nine minutes of extra time following 90 scoreless minutes.
Italian Cup
AC Milan completed a "black Wednesday" when it lost 2-1 to local rival Internazionale in their Italian Cup third-round tie to go out of the competition on a 4-2 aggregate.
Milan, which earlier in the day lost its appeal to UEFA over two points docked in the Champions' League for a bottle-throwing incident, had defender Mauro Tassotti sent off for arguing in the dying seconds.
It was the European champion's sixth defeat in 15 matches in all competitions this season.
Trailing 2-1 from the first game at the San Siro, Milan -- nominally the away team -- leveled the aggregate scores a minute after halftime with a goal from Roberto Donadoni.
But Inter, without unsettled Dutchmen Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk, replied through Uruguayan Ruben Sosa in the 64th minute and won on the night thanks to a goal from midfielder Pierluigi Orlandini 12 minutes from time.
Some Milan fans in the 59,000 crowd had not learned from the punishment imposed after a bottle hit Salzburg goalkeeper Otto Konrad on the head during a Champions' League match last month.
A flare thrown from the same Curva Sud or South Terrace end at which Konrad was hit landed virtually at the feet of Inter goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca on Wednesday.
"It seems some fans think we haven't suffered enough," said Milan coach Fabio Capello.
In other Italian Cup games, holders Sampdoria went out of the competition, beaten by Fiorentina 3-2 on aggregate. Roma, boosted by goals in the 79th and 86th minutes by Uruguayan Daniel Fonseca, topped Genoa on 3-2 aggregate.
Lazio, which won its first leg 3-2, was 2-0 down at Piacenza, the only series B team left in the tournament. But Lazio produced one of its trademark second-half rallies to snatch a 3-2 victory.
Dutch First Division
Ajax Amsterdam extended its unbeaten run to eight games as it crushed mid-table Heerenveen 5-1 at home to stay top of the Dutch league.
Still celebrating its 4-1 defeat of PSV Eindhoven on Sunday, Ajax had a convincing win Wednesday and looked capable of pushing its tally even higher.
Frank Rijkaard got the first goal in the 15th minute when Heerenveen goalkeeper Carlo l'Ami misjudged his free kick. Ten minutes later Finnish international Jari Litmanen made it 2-0 and notched up another in the 32nd minute. Striker Patrick Kluivert, 18, also scored twice in the 71st and 89th minutes.
PSV Eindhoven went down again, losing 2-1 to Willem II Tilburg, and slipped back to fifth place behind Feyenoord. (AP, Reuters)
In another standout League Cup third-round game Wednesday, Newcastle, top of the Premier League standings, eliminated Manchester United, last season's league titlist, 2-0.
In Italy, AC Milan suffered another yet another loss, and was eliminated from the Italian Cup competition in the third round at the hands of Internazionale, 2-1.
Tony Agana fired Notts County ahead after 17 minutes and Gary McSwegan fired two more in the 20th and 72nd, as Spurs, whose season is sliding after a promising start, were torn apart by the modest central English club.
Dumitrescu, one of two Romanian World Cup stars hired by Ossie Ardiles to boost the Tottenham strikeforce, was ordered off in the 37th minute for a second yellow-card foul.
"It is probably the lowest point for us this season," Ardiles said.
"I feel pretty bad, very disappointed indeed. I'm not going to blame the players. The buck stops with me," he said.
Some Spurs fans at the game called for Ardiles to quit.
"Resigning would be the easy way out," the manager said. "We have got the players. We just need a little bit extra to sort it out."
"What happens next is not a question for me. I certainly feel that the players are behind me. They are hurt and I am very hurt."
To keep his big stars fresh and fit for European Champions League games, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson fielded six of his young players against Newcastle at St James's Park.
Belgian defender Philippe Albert and new signing Paul Kitson scored Newcastle's goals in the last eight minutes. Albert headed in a center from Swiss rightback Marc Hottiger and, three minutes from the end, Kitson took a pass from Peter Beardsley to shoot the second.
Holder Aston Villa, which downed Manchester United in last season's final, edged Division One Middlesbrough 1-0 thanks to a goal from Irish midfielder Andy Townsend in the 30th minute. It was his first of the season.
England striker Alan Shearer scored twice as Blackburn downed Coventry 2-0 and Stuart Pearce hit two for Nottingham Forest, second in the Premier League, in a 3-2 victory at Division One leader Wolves. Don Hutchison scored after two minutes as West Ham ousted Chelsea 1-0 while Arsenal gained a 0-0 tie at Division One Oldham. Sheffield Wednesday edged Southampton 1-0 through Chris Bart-Williams' goal.
In Scotland's League Cup, Glasgow Celtic edged Aberdeen 1-0 and now will meet Raith Rovers in the final. Defender Brian O'Neill fired Celtic's winner against Aberdeen at Ibrox Park after nine minutes of extra time following 90 scoreless minutes.
Italian Cup
AC Milan completed a "black Wednesday" when it lost 2-1 to local rival Internazionale in their Italian Cup third-round tie to go out of the competition on a 4-2 aggregate.
Milan, which earlier in the day lost its appeal to UEFA over two points docked in the Champions' League for a bottle-throwing incident, had defender Mauro Tassotti sent off for arguing in the dying seconds.
It was the European champion's sixth defeat in 15 matches in all competitions this season.
Trailing 2-1 from the first game at the San Siro, Milan -- nominally the away team -- leveled the aggregate scores a minute after halftime with a goal from Roberto Donadoni.
But Inter, without unsettled Dutchmen Dennis Bergkamp and Wim Jonk, replied through Uruguayan Ruben Sosa in the 64th minute and won on the night thanks to a goal from midfielder Pierluigi Orlandini 12 minutes from time.
Some Milan fans in the 59,000 crowd had not learned from the punishment imposed after a bottle hit Salzburg goalkeeper Otto Konrad on the head during a Champions' League match last month.
A flare thrown from the same Curva Sud or South Terrace end at which Konrad was hit landed virtually at the feet of Inter goalkeeper Gianluca Pagliuca on Wednesday.
"It seems some fans think we haven't suffered enough," said Milan coach Fabio Capello.
In other Italian Cup games, holders Sampdoria went out of the competition, beaten by Fiorentina 3-2 on aggregate. Roma, boosted by goals in the 79th and 86th minutes by Uruguayan Daniel Fonseca, topped Genoa on 3-2 aggregate.
Lazio, which won its first leg 3-2, was 2-0 down at Piacenza, the only series B team left in the tournament. But Lazio produced one of its trademark second-half rallies to snatch a 3-2 victory.
Dutch First Division
Ajax Amsterdam extended its unbeaten run to eight games as it crushed mid-table Heerenveen 5-1 at home to stay top of the Dutch league.
Still celebrating its 4-1 defeat of PSV Eindhoven on Sunday, Ajax had a convincing win Wednesday and looked capable of pushing its tally even higher.
Frank Rijkaard got the first goal in the 15th minute when Heerenveen goalkeeper Carlo l'Ami misjudged his free kick. Ten minutes later Finnish international Jari Litmanen made it 2-0 and notched up another in the 32nd minute. Striker Patrick Kluivert, 18, also scored twice in the 71st and 89th minutes.
PSV Eindhoven went down again, losing 2-1 to Willem II Tilburg, and slipped back to fifth place behind Feyenoord. (AP, Reuters)
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