Southend United 0, Newport County 2

Shawn McCoulsky took his goals tally to three in two fixtures thanks to a Carabao Cup double in Essex.

He led Newport County to victory in their first round tie against League One Southend United at Roots Hall.

McCoulsky, 20, grabbed a late equaliser for County at Stevenage on Saturday and netted both goals at Southend.

He score twice in seven minutes soon after half-time and ensured Newport will be in Thursday’s second round League Cup draw for the first time since 2013.

Newport made four changes to their starting line-up with Ben White, David Pipe, Tom Owen-Evans and McCoulsky called in with Mark O’Brien, Joss Labadie, Sean Rigg and Frank Nouble among the substitutes.

They set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation and looked solid against League One opposition.

After an evenly contested first half the tie was goalless, although Southend’s Stephen Hendrie hit the woodwork and Simon Cox forced a save from goalkeeper Joe Day.

McCoulsky headed over from a yard out after 29 minutes, mistiming his effort from Robbie Willmott’s cross.

The young striker, signed on loan from Bristol City, put that missed out of his mind and scored twice in seven minutes after half-time.

Both were easy finishes, but McCoulsky found the right positions and timed his runs beautifully.

Lamar Reynolds set up his Newport’s first goal when he slipped the ball past goalkeeper Ted Smith and McCoulsky ran through, outpacing a defender before slotting into an empty net.

Tom Owen-Evans set up the second from a free-kick with almost an hour gone, picking out McCoulsky with a cross and it was a simple tap-in for the goals ace.

Southend United: Smith, Demetriou, White, Kiernan, Hendrie, McGlashan (Ba 66), Leonard, Yearwood, McLaughlin, Cox (Fortune 65), Robinson (Timlin 81). Subs not used: Oxley, Kightly, Bridge, Kyprianou.

Newport County: Day, White, Bennett, Demetriou, Pipe, Willmott, Dolan, Owen-Evans, Butler, McCoulsky (Foulston 93), Reynolds (Nouble 66). Subs not used: Labadie, Nouble, O’Brien, Rigg, Bittner (gk), Jahraldo-Martin.

Referee: Antony Coggins.