2000–01 Football League Cup Explained

Football League Cup
Year:	2000–01
Other Titles:	Worthington Cup, League Cup
Country:
Num Teams:	92
Champions:	Liverpool
Defending Champions:	Leicester City
Count:	6
Runner-Up:	Birmingham City
Top Goal Scorer:	Robbie Fowler (6 goals)
Prevseason:	1999–2000
Nextseason:	2001–02

The 2000–01 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 41st staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

The competition began on 22 August 2000, and ended with the final on 25 February 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley Stadium had been closed for a rebuild.

The tournament was won by Liverpool, who beat Birmingham City 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra-time. Robbie Fowler put Liverpool in front after half an hour but a Darren Purse penalty salvaged the game for Birmingham in the final minute of normal time.

This edition was the last with two-legged ties in the first two rounds.

First round

The 70 First, Second and Third Division clubs compete from the first round. Each section is divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 1999–2000 season. Therefore, the 20th place from the Premier League in 2000, Watford was the top seed, and the club newly promoted to the Third Division, Kidderminster Harriers, were bottom seeds. The first legs took place on 22 and 23 August and the second legs on 5 and 6 September.

Tie no	Home team	(1st Leg) (2nd Leg) Aggregate	Away team
1	Crystal Palace	(2–1) (0–0) 2–1	Cardiff City
2	Colchester United	(0–1) (4–1) 4–2	Q.P.R.
3	Plymouth Argyle	(1–2) (1–1) 2–3	Bristol Rovers
4	Barnet	(2–1) (1–3) 3–4	Wycombe Wanderers
5	Bolton Wanderers	(1–0) (1–3) 2–3	Macclesfield Town
6	Brighton	(1–2) (1–1) 2–3	Millwall
7	Bristol City	(2–2) (1–2) 3–4	Brentford
8	Burnley	(4–1) (2–3) 6–4	Hartlepool United
9	Cambridge United	(0–0) (0–1) 0–1	Portsmouth
10	Crewe Alexandra	(2–2) (2–1) 4–3	Bury
11	Darlington	(2–2) (2–1) 4–3	Nottingham Forest
12	Gillingham	(2–0) (2–3) 4–3	Torquay United
13	Grimsby Town	(2–0) (1–1) 3–1	Carlisle United
14	Hull City	(1–0) (0–2) 1–2	Notts County
15	Leyton Orient	(1–1) (2–0) 3–1	Reading
16	Luton Town	(0–0) (2–2) 2–2	Peterborough United
Luton Town win on away goals
17	Mansfield Town	(0–1) (3–0) 3–1	Wrexham
18	Northampton Town	(1–0) (1–4) 2–4	Fulham
19	Norwich City	(0–0) (2–1) 2–1	A.F.C. Bournemouth
20	Oldham Athletic	(1–0) (2–0) 3–0	Huddersfield Town
21	Port Vale	(1–2) (2–2) 3–4	Chesterfield
22	Rochdale	(1–1) (1–6) 2–7	Blackburn Rovers
23	Rotherham United	(0–1) (2–3) 2–4	Barnsley
24	Sheffield United	(6–1) (0–1) 6–2	Lincoln City
25	Shrewsbury Town	(1–0) (1–4) 2–4	Preston North End
26	Southend United	(0–5) (0–0) 0–5	Birmingham City
27	Stockport County	(0–1) (2–3) 2–4	Blackpool
28	Swansea City	(0–0) (1–2) 1–2	West Bromwich Albion
29	Swindon Town	(1–1) (2–1) 3–2	Exeter City
30	Tranmere Rovers	(3–0) (2–1) 5–1	Halifax Town
31	Walsall	(1–1) (1–0) 2–1	Kidderminster Harriers
32	Watford	(0–0) (3–0) 3–0	Cheltenham Town
33	Wigan Athletic	(1–0) (4–1) 5–1	Scunthorpe United
34	Wolverhampton Wanderers	(0–1) (3–1) 3–2	Oxford United
35	York City	(1–5) (0–0) 1–5	Stoke City

Second round

The 35 winners from the first round joined the Premier League clubs not participating in European competition along with Wimbledon and Sheffield Wednesday, the top two relegated teams from Premier League the last season. The ties were played over two legs, with the first legs from 19 to 20 September and the second legs on 26 and 27 September. Two second leg matches were played on 2 October.

Tie no	Home team	(1st Leg) (2nd Leg) Aggregate	Away team
1	Grimsby Town	(3–2) (0–2) 3–4	Wolverhampton Wanderers
2	Everton	(1–1) (1–1) 2–2	Bristol Rovers
After extra time – Bristol Rovers win 4 – 2 on penalties
3	Manchester City	(1–1) (4–2) 5–3	Gillingham
4	Newcastle United	(2–0) (1–1) 3–1	Leyton Orient
5	Southampton	(2–1) (3–1) 5–2	Mansfield Town
6	Stoke City	(2–1) (3–4) 5–5	Charlton Athletic
Stoke City win on away goals
7	Barnsley	(4–0) (3–0) 7–0	Crewe Alexandra
8	Blackburn Rovers	(4–0) (1–1) 5–1	Portsmouth
9	Brentford	(0–0) (0–2) 0–2	Tottenham Hotspur
10	Burnley	(2–2) (1–1) 3–3	Crystal Palace
Crystal Palace win on away goals
11	Chesterfield	(1–0) (0–4) 1–4	Fulham
12	Darlington	(0–1) (2–7) 2–8	Bradford City
13	Derby County	(1–2) (4–2) 5–4	West Bromwich Albion
14	Wimbledon	(0–0) (2–1) 2–1	Wigan Athletic
15	Middlesbrough	(2–1) (3–1) 5–2	Macclesfield Town
16	Millwall	(2–0) (0–5) 2–5	Ipswich Town
17	Norwich City	(3–3) (5–0) 8–3	Blackpool
18	Notts County	(1–3) (2–0) 3–3	Watford
Watford win on away goals
19	Oldham Athletic	(1–3) (1–5) 2–8	Sheffield Wednesday
20	Preston North End	(1–3) (1–4) 2–7	Coventry City
21	Sheffield United	(3–0) (1–0) 4–0	Colchester United
22	Sunderland	(3–0) (2–1) 5–1	Luton Town
23	Tranmere Rovers	(1–1) (1–0) 2–1	Swindon Town
24	Walsall	(0–1) (1–1) 1–2	West Ham United
25	Wycombe Wanderers	(3–4) (0–1) 3–5	Birmingham City

Third round

The 25 winners from the second round joined the Premier League clubs participating in European competition in round three. Matches were played on 31 October and 1 November.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
1	Arsenal	1–2	Ipswich Town	1 November 2000
2	Aston Villa	0–1	Manchester City	1 November 2000
3	Derby County	3–0	Norwich City	1 November 2000
4	Fulham	3–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1 November 2000
5	Leicester City	0–3	Crystal Palace	1 November 2000
6	Liverpool	1–1	Chelsea	1 November 2000
Liverpool win 2–1 after extra time
7	Newcastle United	4–3	Bradford City	1 November 2000
8	Sheffield Wednesday	1–1	Sheffield United	1 November 2000
Sheffield Wednesday win 2–1 after extra time
9	Southampton	0–1	Coventry City	1 November 2000
10	Stoke City	3–2	Barnsley	1 November 2000
11	Bristol Rovers	1–2	Sunderland	31 October 2000
12	Wimbledon	1–0	Middlesbrough	31 October 2000
13	Tottenham Hotspur	1–3	Birmingham City	31 October 2000
14	Tranmere Rovers	3–2	Leeds United	31 October 2000
15	Watford	0–3	Manchester United	31 October 2000
16	West Ham United	2–0	Blackburn Rovers	31 October 2000

Fourth round

The eight matches were played on 28 and 29 November.

Fifth round

The four matches were played on 12, 13 and 19 December.

Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made in December 2000 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 legs were played on 9 and 10 January and the second legs on 24 and 31 January 2001.

Second leg

Liverpool win 6–2 on aggregate.Birmingham City win 4–2 on aggregate

Final

The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was played on 25 February 2001 and was contested between First Division side Birmingham City and Premier League team Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Liverpool won the game 5–4 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time.

Liverpool win 5–4 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