Within hours of being confirmed as Graham Alexander’s successor at Bradford, former Huddersfield and Wycombe boss Duff had a watching brief at Rotherham, with interim manager Mark Trueman taking charge of the Bantams.
Early goals from Will Swan and Stephen Humphrys put them in charge before Swan’s second and Nick Powell’s penalty sent them into the knockout phase, leaving the Millers needing to beat Newcastle Under-21s in their final group game.
Huddersfield also cemented their place in the next stage with a comfortable 5-0 win over Rochdale, with Lynden Gooch, Jay Smith-Sway and Cameron Ashia all on target. Samson Tovide scored his first goal for the Terriers in just his second appearance and Jamie Spencer added a fifth.
Sunderland Under-21s included Luke O’Nien in their side at Sheffield Wednesday. The defender won the competition with the Black Cats’ senior side in 2021 but was powerless to prevent a 2-0 defeat at Hillsborough, which moved the Owls into the last 32.
Accrington Stanley are favourites to join Wednesday in qualifying from Northern Group A, with David Tutonda’s 98th-minute equaliser against Salford taking their tie to penalties and the home side claiming the bonus point with a 5-4 win in the shootout.
Dylan Hartley, 15, became the youngest player to make a senior appearance for Doncaster Rovers, coming on as a late substitute in their 1-0 win over Liverpool Under-21s.
Last season’s runners-up Stockport County are in pole position to qualify from their group with a second successive victory – winning 2-0 at Shrewsbury with Che Gardner’s first senior goal for the Hatters adding to Jason Adigun’s effort.
Noah Sawkins marked his senior debut for Fleetwood with the fourth goal as the Cod Army thrashed Barnsley 4-1 to go top of their group.
Blackpool took a bonus point by beating Crewe 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw to keep alive their chances of going through, while at the same time Wigan are guaranteed to qualify from that group despite not playing on Tuesday.
Burton beat Grimsby 4-2 on penalties to go second in their group with both sides still in the hunt for a last-32 spot, while Port Vale’s 2-0 win over Mansfield ended the Stags’ hopes.