| League Cup, Coca-Cola Cup | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  England  Wales | 
| Teams | 92 | 
| Defending champions | Aston Villa | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Leicester City (2nd title) | 
| Runner-up | Middlesbrough | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Fabrizio Ravanelli (9 goals) | 
The 1996–97 Football League Cup (known as the Coca-Cola Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 37th Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.
The tournament was won by Leicester City, who beat Middlesbrough 1–0 in the final replay at Hillsborough after finishing 1–1 at Wembley Stadium.[1][2]
First round
66 of the First, Second and Third Division clubs competed from the first round. Each section was divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depended upon their finishing position in the 1995–96 season.
First leg
Second leg
Second round
The 33 winners from the first round joined the 15 Premier League clubs not participating in European competition plus the 3 non-promoted play-off teams from the First Division and the 3 relegated clubs from the Premier League in the 1995–96 season in round two. First leg matches were played on the 17 and 18 September, second leg matches were played on 24 and 25 September.
First leg
Second leg
Third round
The 27 winners from the second round joined the five Premiership clubs participating in European competition in round three. Matches were played on 22 and 23 October.
Ties
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn Rovers | 0–1 | Stockport County | 22 October 1996 | 
| Bolton Wanderers | 2–1 | Chelsea | 22 October 1996 | 
| Gillingham | 2–2 | Coventry City | 22 October 1996 | 
| Ipswich Town | 4–1 | Crystal Palace | 22 October 1996 | 
| Wimbledon | 1–1 | Luton Town | 22 October 1996 | 
| Port Vale | 0–0 | Oxford United | 22 October 1996 | 
| York City | 0–2 | Leicester City | 22 October 1996 | 
| Charlton Athletic | 1–1 | Liverpool | 23 October 1996 | 
| Leeds United | 1–2 | Aston Villa | 23 October 1996 | 
| Manchester United | 2–1 | Swindon Town | 23 October 1996 | 
| Middlesbrough | 5–1 | Huddersfield Town | 23 October 1996 | 
| Newcastle United | 1–0 | Oldham Athletic | 23 October 1996 | 
| Southampton | 1–1 | Lincoln City | 23 October 1996 | 
| Stoke City | 1–1 | Arsenal | 23 October 1996 | 
| Tottenham Hotspur | 2–1 | Sunderland | 23 October 1996 | 
| West Ham United | 4–1 | Nottingham Forest | 23 October 1996 | 
Replays
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date | 
|---|---|---|---|
| Coventry City | 0–1 | Gillingham | 13 November 1996 | 
| Luton Town | 1–2[3] | Wimbledon | 12 November 1996 | 
| Oxford United | 2–0 | Port Vale | 5 November 1996 | 
| Liverpool | 4–1 | Charlton Athletic | 13 November 1996 | 
| Lincoln City | 1–3 | Southampton | 12 November 1996 | 
| Arsenal | 5–2 | Stoke City | 13 November 1996 | 
Fourth round
Most matches were played on 26 November 27 November with two replays being played on 18 December.
| Ipswich Town | 1–0 | Gillingham | 
|---|---|---|
| Naylor  73' | 
| Oxford United | 1–1 | Southampton | 
|---|---|---|
| Moody  90' | Dryden  26' | 
| Wimbledon | 1–0 | Aston Villa | 
|---|---|---|
| Gayle  44' | 
| Bolton Wanderers | 6–1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 
|---|---|---|
| McGinlay  9'  37'  74' (pen) Taggart  60' Blake  79' Taylor  86' | Sheringham  19' | 
| Leicester City | 2–0 | Manchester United | 
|---|---|---|
| Claridge  38' Heskey  77' | 
| Liverpool | 4–2 | Arsenal | 
|---|---|---|
| McManaman  26' Fowler  39' (pen)  52' Berger  72' | Wright  13' (pen)  68' (pen) | 
| Middlesbrough | 3–1 | Newcastle United | 
|---|---|---|
| Whyte  27' Beck  61' Ravanelli  89' | Shearer  45' | 
| West Ham United | 1–1 | Stockport County | 
|---|---|---|
| Răducioiu  12' | Cavaco  51' | 
Replays
| Southampton | 3–2 | Oxford United | 
|---|---|---|
| Berkovic  21' Dryden  52' Østenstad  58' | Jemson  42' Ford  59' | 
| Stockport County | 2–1 | West Ham United | 
|---|---|---|
| Dowie  23' (og) Angell  27' | Dicks  22' | 
Quarter-finals
The four matches were played between 8 and 29 January.
| Bolton Wanderers | 0–2 | Wimbledon | 
|---|---|---|
| Ekoku  3' Leonhardsen  22' | 
| Middlesbrough | 2–1 | Liverpool | 
|---|---|---|
| Hignett  14' Vickers  27' | McManaman  65' | 
| Ipswich Town | 0--1 | Leicester City | 
|---|---|---|
| Robins  42' | 
| Stockport County | 2–2 | Southampton | 
|---|---|---|
| Armstrong  25' Cavaco  26' | Østenstad  16'  85' | 
Replay
| Southampton | 1–2 | Stockport County | 
|---|---|---|
| Le Tissier  9' | Angell  63' Mutch  83' | 
Semi-finals
The semi-final draw was made in January 1997 after the conclusion of the quarter finals. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The first leg matches were played on 18 and 26 February 1997, the second leg matches were played on 11 and 12 March 1997. Leicester City went through on away goals to reach their first cup final in 28 years at the expense of Wimbledon, while Division Two underdogs Stockport gave Middlesbrough a run for their money, going out by a single goal.
First leg
| Leicester City | 0–0 | Wimbledon | 
|---|---|---|
| Stockport County | 0–2 | Middlesbrough | 
|---|---|---|
| Beck  73' Ravanelli  79' | 
Second leg
| Wimbledon | 1–1 | Leicester City | 
|---|---|---|
| Gayle  23' | Grayson  53' | 
Leicester City win on away goals
| Middlesbrough | 0–1 | Stockport County | 
|---|---|---|
| Connelly  6' | 
Middlesbrough win 2–1 on aggregate
Final
The 1997 Coca-Cola Cup Final was played on 6 April 1997 and was contested between Leicester City and Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium. Leicester won 1–0 in the replay at Hillsborough on 16 April 1997. This was the last year that the Football League Cup Final was decided by a replay.
| Leicester City | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Middlesbrough | 
|---|---|---|
| Heskey  118' | Report | Ravanelli  95' | 
Replay
| Leicester City | 1–0 (a.e.t.) | Middlesbrough | 
|---|---|---|
| Claridge  100' | Report | 
References
- ↑ Moore, Glenn (7 April 1997). "Heskey levels at the last to deflate Juninho". The Independent. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- ↑ Moore, Glenn (17 April 1997). "Claridge's five-star silver service". The Independent. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 After Extra Time
- ↑ Oldham Athletic F.C. won 5–4 on penalties
External links
- Official Carling Cup website
- Carling Cup at bbc.co.uk
- League Cup news, match reports and pictures on Reuters.co.uk
- Results on Soccerbase