Diego Gomez scored four goals as Barnsley’s EFL Cup run ended in a 6-0 home loss to Premier League Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday.

The visitors raced into a 3-0 lead before half-time, with Paraguay international Gomez scoring a hat-trick. He added another after the break then the visitors scored two more.

The Reds battled hard, and hit the woodwork three times, but were undone by Brighton’s Premier League class.

Conor Hourihane made six changes to the league team. In came Mael de Gevigney, debutant Jake Rooney – who was not cup-tied despite playing in previous rounds for Derby – Vimal Yoganathan, Neil Farrugia, Reyes Cleary and Jon Russell. Dropping out were Tennai Watson, Josh Earl, Jono Bland, Caylan Vickers – who could not play against his parent club – Adam Phillips and David McGoldrick.

Brighton should have taken the lead in the fourth minute when Diego Gomez put Stefanos Tzimas clean through but de Gevigney and Murphy Cooper combined to deny him.

The opener arrived for the visitors on nine minutes when, after Diego Coppola’s shot from outside the box took a couple of deflections, it fell kindly for Tom Watson to cross from the left and Gomez tapped in.

Barnsley responded well and won a series of free-kicks, with one taken by Luca Connell being headed over by de Gevigney.

But it was soon 2-0 as, after a long ball was brought down by Tzimas to Watson, he again found Gomez who smashed a superb strike from outside the box into the top left corner.

The hat-trick was completed by an even better goal as Gomez thumped a sensational 30-yard strike over Cooper and in.

Carlos Baleba nearly made it four in the second half after swapping passes with Tzimas and going clean through but Cooper made a fine one-on-one save. Jack Shepherd then headed off the line from a Tzimas shot after Cooper had denied Watson in the box following a mistake by Farrugia.

Davis Keillor-Dunn almost pulled one back with a spectacular 40-yard lob but it clipped the top of the crossbar. Substitute Jono Bland then curled a superb 25-yard effort onto the top of the left post.

But it was 4-0 when passes by Yasin Ayari and Danny Welbeck opened up the Reds and Gomez beat Cooper one-on-one.

Cooper pushed away a 35-yard strike by Ayari.

Teenage substitute Harry Howell curled in a fine strike from the edge of the box then Ayari burst into the box on the right and smashed in from a tight angle.

Cleary then hit the post from a cross on the left.

Barnsley (4-2-3-1): Cooper; de Gevigney, Rooney (Watson 82mins), Shepherd (Earl 57), Ogbeta (Barratt 57); Connell (Bland 57), Yoganathan; Farrugia, Russell, Cleary; Keillor-Dunn (Phillips 67).

Unused: Flavell, Watson, Graham, Woodock, Farrell.

Brighton (4-3-3): Steele; Kadioglu (Tasker HT), Boscagli, Coppola, Veltman (van Hecke 65); Milner, Baleba (Ayari 55), Gomez (Howell 75); Watson, Tzimas (Kostoulas 65), Welbeck.

Unused: McGill, Dunk, Rutter, Mitoma,.

Yellow cards: Kadioglu, Baleba, Tzimas.

Goals: Gomez 9, 20, 32, 69, Howell 86, Ayari 88.