Crewe manager Lee Bell praised his players for their ability to take penalties as they knocked the Sunderland Championship out of the Carabao Cup.
Crewe suffered a notable disappointment, scoring all five penalties to secure a 5-3 shootout win at the Stadium of Light.
Elliott Nevitt, Chris Long, Rio Adebisi and Joel Tabiner scored from the penalty spot before Ryan Cooney converted Crewe’s fifth and final penalty to secure a place in the second round.
Previously, Luke Offord had put the League Two side ahead in the first half, with Chris Rigg equalizing halfway through the second half as the game ended 1–1 after 90 minutes had elapsed.
Bell said: “This is the most exciting way to get through. Yesterday we practiced penalties, but I think it was a really good performance, everyone made the changes, as you should when you come to a place like Sunderland, regardless of which team they started with.
“We were really well organized and showed real courage when we had football.
“I am very happy for the players in the dressing room who are enjoying themselves there now and for the fans who came here tonight, and rightly so.
“We’ve been talking about how important standard games are in our division and we need to keep working on them and keep working on how to deliver new ones to players.”
Sunderland were eliminated from the League Cup on the first round stage, but it was still a record night for Rigg, who became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the competition.
Rigg also became Sunderland’s youngest goalscorer when he shot from the edge of the box in the second half to cancel Offord’s first half header.
Earlier this summer, the 16-year-old committed his long-term future to the Black Cats despite reports of interest from Newcastle United and Manchester United. out of the next nine months.
Sunderland head coach Tony Mowbray said: “Chris Rigg is a bit of a contradiction for his age. I can be quite harsh with him, and then sometimes I have to restrain myself and remember that he is just a 16-year-old boy.
“Sometimes I expect more from him, but then I remember how young he is.
“Today he played with real discipline. I asked to play deeper in the first half and he did. Then I asked him to start breaking into the penalty area in the second half, which he did and scored.
“There was a disappointment at the end because in the first half it felt like we were just going in circles.
“We played against a second league team with good organization and dedication, but we needed more to win the game.”