Burton Albion became the first side to defeat Cardiff City this season as they booked their place in the Carabao Cup third round with an impressive 2-1 victory in south Wales.
The Brewers were the better side for long spells at the Cardiff City Stadium and seized control either side of half-time thanks to Tom Naylor's fine finish and a first senior goal for Ben Fox.
They then repeated the defensive quality of Friday night's victory over Birmingham City to take their place in Thursday morning's draw.
Nigel Clough was true to his word when he promised starts for several players in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
Ben Turner duly returned from his five-match suspension to captain Albion at the home of his former side, while Huddersfield Town winger Sean Scannell was handed a debut after signing a season-long loan deal on Friday.
In total, Clough made no fewer than seven changes from the team that defeated Birmingham City in the league four days previously.
Connor Ripley replaced Stephen Bywater in goal, with Tom Flanagan and Damien McCrory - at right-back and left-back respectively - also coming into a four-man defence, Naylor partnering Turner at centre-half.
Scannell's place on the right-wing of a midfield four saw Fox start on the left, with Matt Palmer and Jackson Irvine both retaining their spots from Birmingham, while Joe Sbarra was brought in just behind Lucas Akins up front.
It was a system that would begin to bear fruit as the first half wore on at the Cardiff City Stadium - but the Brewers were forced to withstand an early barrage from the hosts.
The stadium clock had barely ticked over to two minutes when Danny Ward almost gave Cardiff the lead from Lee Tomlin's low corner to the near post, his first-time effort on the run flying just over Ripley's crossbar.
The Middlesbrough loanee then had to be alert a couple of moments later to deny home debutant Omar Bogle. The striker - signed this summer from Wigan Athletic - diverted Matthew Kennedy's well-struck cross back across goal with his first touch, only to see Ripley react well to tip it off target.
Kennedy was the game's brightest player in the opening 20 minutes, with Turner and Naylor both clearing his deliveries under pressure.
Turner, though, almost made a mark at the other end with Burton's first chance, a tidy strike from Fox's cross forcing Brian Murphy into action between the Cardiff sticks.
Albion's central defensive duo were not to be denied, however.
With 26 minutes on the clock, a Fox corner dropped out into space in the home box.
Naylor had time to control and turn back towards goal, before directing a low finish inside the far post from an acute angle.
Given Naylor's heroics in front of goal towards the end of the 2015/16 campaign and at the start of last term, it was interesting to mark that down as the ex-Derby County man's first goal before the 85th minute of a game since the 1-1 home draw with Wigan Athletic in April 2016.
That goal seemed to give the Brewers a little more licence to stretch their hosts.
While Scannell was causing his marker problems down both wings with his tricky feet, it was the cute link-up play between Sbarra, Irvine, Fox and Palmer down the middle that most caught the eye, dragging a strong Cardiff defence out of position.
Akins, too, continued his impressive start to the campaign, regularly winning physical exchanges with the indomitable Bruno Ecuele Manga.
One such move by Akins, in which he rolled the Bluebirds skipper before racing into space, saw him unleash a fierce drive goalwards, with Murphy tipping it wide.
From the resulting corner, it took a superb point-blank stop from the same man to deny Naylor a second of the half.
And just as Murphy was to frustrate Burton right before the half-time whistle, he was to do the same again within 15 seconds of the game restarting after the break.
The lively Sbarra found a pocket of space to run into down the right channel before delivering a cross onto the boot of Akins, six yards out.
Again, though, Murphy made his presence felt, stretching himself to block Akins' goalbound effort.
Sbarra himself may have been the next one on the scoresheet for Clough's men had Scannell, after tearing past Cameron Coxe at left-back, been able to pick the academy graduate out bursting into the box.
As Burton had rode out Cardiff's pressure at the start of the first half, so Warnock's men managed to keep it a single-goal game past the hour, despite muted penalty shouts from Fox and Scannell.
It meant Ripley, a spectator for about 20 minutes, had to be alert to knock Danny Ward's header behind from a whipped cross, before he stood up strong to deny Coxe from 12 yards.
Those saves inspired Albion into greater things at the other end - and it was soon 2-0, courtesy of the Burton academy.
Sbarra, floating out wide from his central role, took possession down near the left corner flag and stood up a well-weighted cross in the direction of friend and academy graduate Fox.
His header was a clever one, looping it past the stranded Murphy and sending the small pocket of travelling Brewers fans into raptures.
At that stage, Albion appeared in total control, with Cardiff stretched and the visitors' quality on the counter showing.
But there was to be no coasting to victory against a side with four wins from four to their name in the league.
Substitute Anthony Pilkington had been on the field for only two minutes when he climbed highest to get a delicate flick on Tomlin's whipped free-kick, sending it past Ripley and inside the far post.
But Albion were not about to let a two-goal lead slip after such an impressive display, a few fouls on either side stopping the late stages from gaining any momentum.
And so it is that Clough's side take their place in the hat for the third-round draw in Beijing on Thursday morning. Set those alarm clocks.
