2008–09 Football League Cup

The 2008–09 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 49th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 football clubs played in English football league system. The winners qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, if not already qualified for European competitions.

2008–09 Football League Cup
Carling Cup, League Cup
The logo of the League Cup from 2003–04 to 2008–09
Tournament details
Country England
 Wales
Teams92
Defending championsTottenham Hotspur
Final positions
ChampionsManchester United (3rd title)
Runner-upTottenham Hotspur
Tournament statistics
Matches played93
Goals scored290 (3.12 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Nathan Ellington
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Carlos Tevez
(6 goals)

Manchester United won the competition by defeating holders Tottenham Hotspur on penalties in the final on 1 March 2009.

First round

The draw for the first round took place on 13 June 2008, with matches being played two months later in the week beginning 11 August 2008.[1]

The 72 Football League clubs competed from the first round, which was divided into North and South sections. Each section was divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 2007–08 season.

1 Score after 90 minutes

Second round

Twelve Premier League teams – including the eleven that were not involved in European competitions – entered at this stage, along with the winners from the first round. The draw for the second round took place on 13 August 2008, and the matches were played in the week beginning 25 August 2008,[2] with the exception of Manchester City's game against Brighton & Hove Albion, which was played on 24 September.[3]

Tie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance
1Ipswich Town2 – 1Colchester United17,084
2Coventry City2 – 2Newcastle United19,249
Newcastle United won 3 – 2 after extra time
3Hartlepool United1 – 1West Bromwich Albion3,387
Hartlepool United won 3 – 1 after extra time
4West Ham United1 – 1Macclesfield Town10,055
West Ham United won 4 – 1 after extra time
5Huddersfield Town1 – 2Sheffield United15,189
6Cardiff City2 – 1Milton Keynes Dons6,334
7Swansea City1 – 1Hull City8,622
Swansea City won 2 – 1 after extra time
8Rotherham United0 – 0Wolverhampton Wanderers5,404
0 – 0 after extra time – Rotherham United won 4 – 3 on penalties
9Brighton & Hove Albion1 – 1Manchester City8,729
2 – 2 after extra time – Brighton & Hove Albion won 5 – 3 on penalties
10Reading5 – 1Luton Town7,498
11Blackburn Rovers4 – 1Grimsby Town8,379
12Wigan Athletic4 – 0Notts County4,100
13Leeds United4 – 0Crystal Palace10,765
14Crewe Alexandra2 – 1Bristol City3,227
15Middlesbrough5 – 1Yeovil Town15,651
16Fulham3 – 2Leicester City7,584
17Queens Park Rangers4 – 0Carlisle United8,021
18Nottingham Forest1 – 1Sunderland9,198
Sunderland won 2 – 1 after extra time
19Burnley3 – 0Oldham Athletic5,528
20Southampton2 – 0Birmingham City11,331
21Bolton Wanderers1 – 2Northampton Town7,136
22Watford1 – 1Darlington5,236
Watford won 2 – 1 after extra time
23Preston North End0 – 1Derby County8,037
24Cheltenham Town2 – 3Stoke City3,600

1 Score after 90 minutes

Third round

Eight teams involved in European competition entered at this stage along with the winners from the second round. Since nine English teams qualified for European competition in 2008, it was initially unclear precisely which eight teams would automatically enter the third round. Either Aston Villa, who had entered into European competition via the UEFA Intertoto Cup, or Manchester City, who qualified for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Fair Play ranking would enter in the third round with the other entering in the second round instead. On 29 July 2008, it was announced that Aston Villa would enter the 2008–09 Carling Cup at the third round stage after reaching the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.[4]

The draw for the third round was held on 30 August 2008,[5] and the matches were played on Tuesday, 23 September and Wednesday, 24 September 2008, with the exception of the match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County, which was played on 4 November.

Tie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance
1Arsenal6 – 0Sheffield United56,632
2Brighton & Hove Albion1 – 4Derby County6,625
3Burnley1 – 0Fulham7,119
4Portsmouth0 – 4Chelsea15,339
5Blackburn Rovers1 – 0Everton14,366
6Rotherham United3 – 1Southampton5,147
7Swansea City1 – 0Cardiff City17,411
8Ipswich Town1 – 4Wigan Athletic13,803
9Stoke City2 – 2Reading9,141
2 – 2 after extra time – Stoke City won 4 – 3 on penalties
10Leeds United3 – 2Hartlepool United14,599
11Watford1 – 0West Ham United12,914
12Manchester United3 – 1Middlesbrough53,729
13Liverpool2 – 1Crewe Alexandra28,591
14Aston Villa0 – 1Queens Park Rangers21,541
15Sunderland2 – 2Northampton Town21,082
2 – 2 after extra time – Sunderland won 4 – 3 on penalties
16Newcastle United1 – 2Tottenham Hotspur20,577

1 Score after 90 minutes

Fourth round

The fourth round draw took place on Saturday, 27 September,[6] and the matches were played in the week commencing 10 November 2008.

Tie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance
1Sunderland1 – 2Blackburn Rovers18,555
2Arsenal3 – 0Wigan Athletic59,665
3Chelsea1 – 1Burnley41,369
1 – 1 after extra time – Burnley won 5 – 4 on penalties
4Swansea City0 – 1Watford9,549
5Manchester United1 – 0Queens Park Rangers62,539
6Stoke City2 – 0Rotherham United15,458
7Derby County2 – 1Leeds United18,540
8Tottenham Hotspur4 – 2Liverpool33,242

1 Score after 90 minutes

Fifth round

The fifth round draw took place on Saturday, 15 November[7] and the matches were played week in the commencing 1 December 2008.

Burnley2–0Arsenal
McDonald 6', 57'Report
Turf Moor, Burnley
Attendance: 19,405
Stoke City0–1Derby County
ReportEllington 90+4' (pen.)
Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
Attendance: 22,034
Watford1–2Tottenham Hotspur
Priskin 13'ReportPavlyuchenko 45+2' (pen.)
Bent 76'
Vicarage Road, Watford
Attendance: 16,501
Manchester United5–3Blackburn Rovers
Tevez 35', 50' (pen.), 54', 90+4'
Nani 40'
ReportMcCarthy 48', 90+2'
Derbyshire 84'
Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 53,997

Semi-finals

The semi-final draw took place on Saturday, 6 December 2008.[8] The first leg matches were played on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 and Wednesday, 7 January 2009, while the second legs were played on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 and Wednesday, 21 January 2009.

First leg

Tottenham Hotspur4–1Burnley
Dawson 46'
O'Hara 52'
Pavlyuchenko 65'
Duff 68' (o.g.)
ReportPaterson 15'
Attendance: 31,377
Derby County1–0Manchester United
Commons 30'Report
Pride Park, Derby
Attendance: 30,194

Second leg

Manchester United4–2Derby County
Nani 16'
O'Shea 22'
Tevez 34'
Ronaldo 87' (pen.)
ReportBarnes 79' (pen.), 90+1'
Old Trafford, Manchester
Attendance: 73,374
Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire)

Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate.

Burnley3–2 (a.e.t.)Tottenham Hotspur
Blake 33'
McCann 73'
Rodriguez 88'
ReportPavlyuchenko 118'
Defoe 120'
Turf Moor, Burnley
Attendance: 19,533

Tottenham Hotspur won 6–4 on aggregate.

Final

The final was played at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday, 1 March 2009.

Top scorers

The top scorers in the 2008–09 Football League Cup are as follows:[10]

RankScorerClubGoals
1Nathan EllingtonDerby County6
Roman PavlyuchenkoTottenham Hotspur6
Carlos TevezManchester United6
4Martin PatersonBurnley5
5Jermaine BeckfordLeeds United4
James HenryReading4
Carlos VelaArsenal4
Emmanuel VillaDerby County4
9Henri CamaraWigan Athletic3
Matt DerbyshireBlackburn Rovers3
Robert EarnshawNottingham Forest3
Emmanuel LedesmaQueens Park Rangers3
NaniManchester United3
Joel PorterHartlepool United3

References

External links