DEJECTED Roy Hodgson issued an apology to Liverpool supporters after they witnessed a Carling Cup humiliation last night.

The Anfield outfit suffered one of the most embarrassing defeats in their history when they were defeated in a penalty shoot-out at home by npower League Two strugglers Northampton Town.

David Ngog and Nathan Eccleston both missed from the spot to give Abdul Osman the chance to fire home in front of the Kop and give the visitors a famous third-round triumph.

A much-changed Liverpool had only forced penalties with an Ngog equaliser four minutes from the end of extra time after goals by Northampton duo Billy McKay and 18-year-old Michael Jacobs wiped out Milan Jovanovic’s early opener.

And a hugely disappointed Hodgson could only say sorry to the home fans who turned up on a dismal, dreary night that will go down in the annals of Anfield infamy.

“It’s a major setback for the club as a whole,” said the Liverpool manager. “The Carling Cup is a competition we are capable of doing well in.

“It’s one of many setbacks we are facing at the moment. It’s a tough period to work and live through, but we will work and live through it and survive and get better. I’ll learn an awful lot tonight about this defeat about an awful lot of people.

“I can only congratulate Northampton and apologise to the fans who came here tonight. They expected us to win and so did we.”