GILLS DRAW READING IN CARABAO CUP

Gillingham will kick-off their Carabao Cup campaign with a trip to Reading in the first round.

The draw, which was made in Thailand earlier today, will see Ady Pennock’s men come up against a side who narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League at the end of May after being defeated by Huddersfield Town on penalties in the Championship play-off final.

The first round draw was seeded to reduce travelling time for visiting supporters, and will see the Gills take on the Royals for the first time in over 12 years.

The last time the two clubs met was on New Year’s Day in 2005 at MEMS Priestfield Stadium when both sides had to settle for a point each in a goalless draw, however in the reverse fixture it was Reading who prevailed 3-1.

Gillingham will be looking to record their first win over the Royals since April 1999 when Carl Asaba and Mark Saunders helped seal a 2-1 win in Kent.

Draw in full:

South section
Birmingham v Crawley
Exeter v Charlton
QPR v Northampton
Newport v Southend
Bristol City v Plymouth
Cardiff v Portsmouth
Millwall v Stevenage
Oxford United v Cheltenham
AFC Wimbledon v Brentford
Norwich v Swindon
Bristol Rovers v Cambridge
Peterborough v Barnet
Wycombe v Fulham
Colchester v Aston Villa
Wolves v Yeovil
Reading v Gillingham
Forest Green v MK Dons
Luton v Ipswich

North section
Coventry v Blackburn
Nottingham Forest v Shrewsbury
Bradford v Doncaster
Mansfield v Rochdale
Grimsby v Derby
Barnsley v Morecambe
Crewe v Bolton
Oldham v Burton
Wigan v Blackpool
Bury v Sunderland
Sheffield Wednesday v Chesterfield
Accrington v Preston
Fleetwood v Carlisle
Sheffield United v Walsall
Scunthorpe v Notts County
Rotherham v Lincoln
Leeds v Port Vale.

Ties are due to be played the week commencing August 7, with league fixtures released on Wednesday morning.