Rooney gets first win as Plymouth boss
Wayne Rooney claimed his first win in charge of Plymouth Argyle with a 3-0 victory over fourth-tier Cheltenham Town in the first round of the Carwabao Cup.
Manchester United and England great Rooney was appointed as Plymouth boss ahead of the 2024-2025 season, returning to the Championship after an unsuccessful stint at Birmingham City last season.
But the former striker's league bow saw Plymouth thrashed 4-0 at Sheffield Wednesday, with Rooney criticising his players after the first match of the campaign.
This cup meeting with Cheltenham eased the pressure on Rooney and Plymouth a little, however, even if it had to wait until past the hour mark for Ben Waine's breakthrough goal.
Ryan Hardie and Mustapha Bundu then added to the scoring in the final 10 minutes to send Rooney's side safely into the second round.
Argyle is joined there by league foe Wednesday, which continued its strong start to the season by beating Hull City 2-1 courtesy of an early Charlie McNiell brace.
Meanwhile, in the third and final tie on Wednesday, Middlesbrough dumped out fellow Championship promotion candidate Leeds United, winning 3-0 at Elland Road.
Leeds, beaten play-off finalist last season, had been held at home by Portsmouth on the opening day of the league campaign and were frustrated again in front of their own fans, who booed the team off at full-time.
Anfernee Dijksteel's fine individual strike was followed by goals from Delano Burgzorg and Josh Coburn to ensure Boro boss Michael Carrick joins former team-mate Rooney in the draw for the next stage.
