Huddersfield Town were knocked out of the Carabao Cup in a 2-0 defeat to Championship Stoke City.
The Terriers went behind early in the second half as Saido Berahino ended his 913-day hunt for a strike, and the tie was settled in the last minute by a calamitous Juninho Bacuna own goal.
Town will have to refocus for their clash with Everton at the weekend in order to end their four-game stretch without a win at the start of the 2018/19 campaign.
Head coach David Wagner handed first Town starts to summer acquisitions Erik Durm, Bacuna and Isaac Mbenza at the bet365 Stadium, while Danny Williams and Elias Kachunga both returned from injury against the Potters.
Both had been ruled out since March but were passed fit to start against Gary Rowett’s side, who were relegated from the top flight last season.
Jonas Lossl also made a first start of the season, while Ramadan Sobhi and Ben Hamer were both sidelined with knee injuries.
Town’s top scorer Jon Gorenc Stankovic started at the back alongside Christopher Schindler and captain Tommy Smith with forward Abdelhamid Sabiri and lone striker Laurent Depoitre completing the line up.
The changes may have thrown Town off their rhythm as they were nearly behind within a minute after Berahino looked to capitalise on Bacuna’s misplaced pass.
The striker’s effort missed the target, but it seemed to jolt Town into life after falling asleep in the opening seconds.
Stoke continued to enjoy more possession on their home turf, but Town’s defence held up to the pressure, with Stankovic producing an excellent interception to deny Berahino at the back post following a cross from the left.
The hosts were almost allowed on the half hour mark, however, when Bacuna’s weak tackle allowed Berahino the chance to play in one of his teammates.
The pass was deflected back into the former West Bromwich Albion forwards’ path, but a combination of Lossl and Schindler did enough to deny the former England Under 21 international.
Town were under the cosh once again moments later, when a Stoke counter handed James McClean the opportunity to put the Potters in front.
The Republic of Ireland international fired at Town’s near post in a one-on-one situation with Lossl, but the Danish keeper denied the winger with a firm boot.
And Town’s defensive rebuild nearly fell apart again late in the half when they overplayed in the middle of the park, allowing Berahino to break the offside trap and close in on goal, with only Schindler for company. Much to Wagner’s relief, the forward, who hadn’t scored since 2016, drilled over the bar.
A fizzing effort by skipper Smith brought the half to a close, but it was Championship Stoke who had the best of the first period.
And it was the second-tier side who took the lead in the second half through the bright Berahino.
Town were caught out down the left after Schindler was laid out on the turf with injury, allowing McClean to find acres of room in the box after the cut back.
The forward had time to turn and shoot, rifling his effort against the bar. The ball dropped on to the head of Berahino, who diverted it on target and over Lossl, with Durm unable to clear off the line.
No reaction seemed to come from the Terriers, who could find no spaces in the Stoke ranks in order to create chances.
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With 10 minutes left on the clock, Stankovic fired over from a Town corner, but the anticipated onslaught from the Premier League side never really came.
Mbenza managed to break the Stoke defence and convert in the 90th minute, but the Montpellier loan man was flagged offside in the build up, while Lossl went close in the dying minutes with a header from a corner.
But Stoke held on comfortably to win the tie, booking their spot in the third round after Bacuna shanked an attempted clearance over Lossl and into his own net from 40 yards.
Town will have to be more creative and show more urgency in order to gain anything at Everton this weekend.
