2001–02 Football League Cup Explained

Football League Cup
Year:2001–02
Other Titles:Worthington Cup, League Cup
Country:England
Wales
Num Teams:92
Defending Champions:Liverpool
Champions:Blackburn Rovers
Count:1
Runner-Up:Tottenham Hotspur
Top Goal Scorer:Matt Jansen
(6 goals)
Prevseason:2000–01
Nextseason:2002–03

The 2001–02 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 42nd staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

The competition began on 20 August 2001, and ended with the final on 26 February 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley Stadium had been closed for a rebuild.

The tournament was won by Blackburn Rovers, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the final, thanks to single strikes from Matt Jansen and Andy Cole, sandwiched by an equaliser from Christian Ziege.[1] Blackburn had only just returned to the Premier League at the beginning of the season after relegation several years earlier.

First round

The 70 First, Second and Third Division clubs compete from the First Round, except Manchester City and Coventry. 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 2000–01 season.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Birmingham City3–0Southend United22 August 2001
2Cambridge United1–1 West Bromwich Albion22 August 2001
West Bromwich Albion won 4–3 on penalties
3Stoke City0–0 Oldham Athletic22 August 2001
Oldham Athletic won 6–5 on penalties
4Wolverhampton Wanderers1–2Swindon Town22 August 2001
5Barnsley2–0Halifax Town21 August 2001
6Blackpool3–2Wigan Athletic21 August 2001
7Bournemouth0–2Torquay United21 August 2001
8Brentford1–0Norwich City21 August 2001
9Brighton & Hove Albion2–1Wimbledon21 August 2001
10Bristol City2–1Cheltenham Town21 August 2001
11Burnley2–3Rushden & Diamonds21 August 2001
12Bury1–3Sheffield Wednesday21 August 2001
13Exeter City0–1Walsall21 August 2001
14Grimsby Town2–1Lincoln City21 August 2001
15Huddersfield Town0–1Rochdale21 August 2001
16Kidderminster Harriers2–3 Preston North End21 August 2001
17Leyton Orient2–4Crystal Palace21 August 2001
18Macclesfield Town1–2 Bradford City21 August 2001
19Mansfield Town3–4Notts County21 August 2001
20Millwall2–1Cardiff City21 August 2001
21Northampton Town2–1 Queens Park Rangers21 August 2001
22Oxford United1–2 Gillingham21 August 2001
23Port Vale2–1Chesterfield21 August 2001
24Portsmouth1–2Colchester United21 August 2001
25Reading4–0Luton Town21 August 2001
26Stockport County3–0Carlisle United21 August 2001
27Swansea City0–2Peterborough United21 August 2001
28Tranmere Rovers3–1Shrewsbury Town21 August 2001
29Watford1–0Plymouth Argyle21 August 2001
30Wrexham2–3Hull City21 August 2001
31Wycombe Wanderers0–1Bristol Rovers21 August 2001
32York City2–2 Crewe Alexandra21 August 2001
Crewe Alexandra won 6–5 on penalties
33Darlington0–1Sheffield United20 August 2001
34Hartlepool United0–2Nottingham Forest20 August 2001
35Scunthorpe United0–2Rotherham United20 August 2001

Second round

The 35 winners from the First Round joined the 13 Premier League, clubs not participating in European competition in the Second Round, plus Manchester City and Coventry (who received byes for their league position the previous season). Matches were played on 10–13 September.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Tottenham Hotspur2–0Torquay United13 September 2001
2Blackburn Rovers2–0Oldham Athletic12 September 2001
3Bristol City2–3Watford12 September 2001
4Charlton Athletic2–0Port Vale12 September 2001
5Derby County3–0Hull City12 September 2001
6Everton1–1 Crystal Palace12 September 2001
Crystal Palace won 5–4 on penalties
7Newcastle United4–1 Brentford12 September 2001
8Nottingham Forest1–1 Stockport County12 September 2001
Nottingham Forest won 8–7 on penalties
9Sheffield Wednesday4–2 Sunderland12 September 2001
10Bolton Wanderers4–3 Walsall11 September 2001
11Brighton & Hove Albion0–3Southampton11 September 2001
12Bristol Rovers0–3Birmingham City11 September 2001
13Colchester United1–3Barnsley11 September 2001
14Crewe Alexandra2–0 Rushden & Diamonds11 September 2001
15Gillingham2–1Millwall11 September 2001
16Grimsby Town3–3 Sheffield United11 September 2001
Grimsby Town won 4–2 on penalties
17Middlesbrough3–1Northampton Town11 September 2001
18Notts County2–4 Manchester City11 September 2001
19Peterborough United2–2 Coventry City11 September 2001
Coventry City won 4–2 on penalties
20Reading0–0 West Ham11 September 2001
Reading won 6–5 on penalties
21Rochdale2–2 Fulham11 September 2001
Fulham won 6–5 on penalties
22Rotherham United0–4Bradford City11 September 2001
23Tranmere Rovers4–1Preston North End11 September 2001
24West Bromwich Albion2–0 Swindon Town11 September 2001
25Blackpool0–1Leicester City10 September 2001

Third round

The 25 winners from the Second Round joined the seven Premiership clubs participating in European competition in the Third Round. Matches were played on 8–10 October.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate
1Arsenal4–0Manchester United5 November 2001
2Aston Villa1–0Reading10 October 2001
3Blackburn Rovers2–1 Middlesbrough10 October 2001
4Fulham5–2Derby County10 October 2001
5Manchester City6–0Birmingham City10 October 2001
6Sheffield Wednesday2–2 Crystal Palace10 October 2001
Sheffield Wednesday won 3–1 on penalties
7Barnsley0–1Newcastle United9 October 2001
8Coventry City0–2Chelsea9 October 2001
9Crewe Alexandra2–3Ipswich Town9 October 2001
10Gillingham0–2Southampton9 October 2001
11Leicester City0–6Leeds United9 October 2001
12Liverpool1–2 Grimsby Town9 October 2001
13Tranmere Rovers0–4Tottenham Hotspur9 October 2001
14Watford4–1Bradford City9 October 2001
15West Bromwich Albion0–1Charlton Athletic9 October 2001
16Bolton Wanderers1–0Nottingham Forest8 October 2001

Fourth round

The matches were played on 27–29 November.

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Fifth round

The four matches were played on 11–12 and 19 December.

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Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made in December 2001 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 ties were played in the weeks beginning 7 and 21 January 2002.

First leg

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Second leg

Blackburn Rovers won 6–3 on aggregate.----Tottenham Hotspur won 6–3 on aggregate

Final

The 2002 Worthington Cup Final was played on 24 February 2002 and was contested between Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Blackburn Rovers won the game 2–1.

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Cole strike stuns Spurs. 24 February 2002. BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 8 May 2012.