Penalty shoot-outs have been used for many years to settle drawn games in the earlier rounds of the Football League Cup, the earliest example being August 1976 when Doncaster Rovers beat Lincoln City 3–2 on penalties after three drawn games in a row (1–1, 1–1, 2–2) in a first round match. Shoot-outs tend to be quite rare in the semi-finals due to the away goal rule applying after extra time. However, a shoot-out was used in the 2013–14 semi-final between Sunderland and Manchester United after both teams finished level over two legs; Sunderland won the shoot-out 2–1.