Preston 1-1 Fulham (16-15 on pens)

Marco Silva named a new starting Xl for Fulham's Tuesday night cup tie, making 11 changes to the side that drew with West Ham in the Premier League on Saturday.

Most notably, a full debut start for Reiss Nelson, having made his first appearance in a Fulham shirt at the weekend from the bench.

An uncharacteristic warm afternoon shone over Deepdale, slowly turning into a cool night under the lights in the Carabao Cup Third Round.

Showcasing our nostalgic red and black away strip for the first time this season, Fulham dominated possession for the majority of the 90 minutes. Against the run of play, Preston took the lead in the 35th minute, but this was cancelled out by Nelson's first goal for the Club in the 61st. But despite their best efforts, Fulham's Carabao Cup journey ended after a record breaking penalty shootout.

Noise from the travelling Fulham fans filled the stadium as Preston North End kicked off the third round of the tournament. 

A slow start for both teams, Fulham soon started to dominate possession in the middle of the pitch, with neither side breaking through on goal. 

But as the temperature air cooled, the heat rose on the pitch as Kaine Kesler-Hayden's headed shot from six-yards across goal was denied by a firm outstretched hand of Steven Benda. 

Moments later it was Fulham’s turn to make an impact as Harrison Reed fired the ball towards goal for his shot to be blocked by Preston’s defence. 

The near miss seemed to fuel the players as shot after shot started to pepper Preston’s box, each one stopped by the host's backline.

Nelson continued to impress on his full debut, trying to break down the defence. In a quick one-two, Tom Cairney's cheeky backheel found Nelson, running across the edge of the box and shooting low towards goal, but any chance of celebration was thwarted by Preston's goalkeeper, Freddie Woodman. 

Despite Fulham’s best efforts to break the deadlock, it was Preston who gained the advantage. A defensive clearance fell to Captain Ryan Ledson outside the box, he quickly drove the ball low into the bottom left corner of the goal in the 35th minute to give the hosts the lead. 

As the referee brought the first half to a close, Fulham left the pitch frustrated after dominating possession.

Fulham made the most of the reset, walking into the second half with vengeance.

The game soon turned into and end-to-end battle as both teams teased an early second half goal.

Our equaliser almost came after a magnificent free-kick saw Reed loop the ball over the defence, hitting the wrong side of the crossbar and rebounding back into play. Falling kindly to Rodrigo Muniz in the six-yard box, his headed effort from close range parried back into play and was soon cleared by the defence.

Fulham’s pace continued to pick up, working the ball down the left wing. Just as reminiscent as the shirt on his back, Ryan Sessegnon's movement down the flank was like he never left. Racing into the box and cutting the ball back across goal for Nelson to place into the back of the net from close range, solidfying his excellent full debut for the Club and keeping Fulham firmly in the game. 

The intense battle continued between the two teams, but after seven minutes of added time, a winning goal could not be found. The referee blows the whistle marking the end of the 90 minutes and readying the teams for penalties.

The game was decided with a historic penalty shootout.

With 34 penalties taken from the spot and 31 scored, the monumental shootout was the longest in League Cup history, ending with Preston scoring 16 and Fulham 15.

Raúl Jiménez started the shootout, firing the ball calmly into the bottom left corner. The goals continued to fly in from both teams until Jorge Cuenca's effort was saved by Woodman. 

It was Preston's to win if they scored but Steven Benda threw himself at the ball, saving the shot and keeping Fulham in the shootout.

The goals continued to hit the back of the net until it was time for the goalkeeper stand off. Benda was up first, staring down his opponenent before firing the ball past him. He then swapped with Woodman whose shot also went in. 

The penalties then restarted with Raúl once more and goal after goal continued to find a way past the goalkeepers until Timothy Castagne's second penalty went over. 

It was then up to Ledson to put the game to bed, succeeding in doing so and sending Preston through to the next round of the Carabao Cup and sadly ending our campaign.

A difficult way to leave the tournament but a real fight from Fulham until the end.