2003–04 Football League Cup

The 2003–04 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 44th staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition name reflects a sponsorship deal with lager brand Carling.

2003–04 Football League Cup
Carling Cup, League Cup
Country England
 Wales
Teams92
Defending championsLiverpool
ChampionsMiddlesbrough (1st title)
Runners-upBolton Wanderers
Matches played93
Top goal scorer(s)Juan Pablo Ángel
(7 goals)

The competition began in August 2003 and ended with the final on 29 February 2004. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final match, as it had done since 2001 as the reconstruction was still taking place on Wembley Stadium in London.

The winners were Middlesbrough who beat Bolton Wanderers in the final 2-1 and collected their first major piece of silverware in their history and as a result of their victory qualified for European football for the first time. Joseph Desire-Job gave Middlesbrough the lead with just 2 minutes gone and a Bolo Zenden penalty five minutes later doubled their advantage. Kevin Davies pulled a goal back in the 21st minute but Middlesbrough held on. It was to be until 2008 when another English manager won a domestic tournament when Harry Redknapp (then at Portsmouth) lifted the FA Cup.

First round
1 Score after 90 minutes

Second round

The 36 winners from the First Round joined 12 of the 20 Premier League clubs not participating in the UEFA Champions League in Round Two.

  • The draw was made on 16 August 2003.
  • Matches occurred during the week commencing 22 August.
  • Extra time played when the scores were level after 90 minutes.
Tie no Home team Score1 Away team Attendance
1Blackpool1 – 0Birmingham City7,370
2Bristol City0 – 0Watford5,213
Bristol City win 1 – 0 after extra time
3Cardiff City2 – 3West Ham10,724
4Charlton Athletic3 – 3Luton Town10,905
4 – 4 after extra time - Charlton Athletic win 8 - 7 on penalties
5Crystal Palace2 – 1Doncaster Rovers4,904
6Hartlepool United1 – 2West Bromwich Albion5,265
7Leicester City1 – 0Crewe Alexandra27,675
8Notts County2 – 1Ipswich Town4,059
9Portsmouth5 – 2Northampton Town11,130
10Rotherham United1 – 0Colchester United2,474
11Scunthorpe United2 – 3Burnley2,915
12Sheffield United0 – 2QPR9,578
13Stoke City0 – 2Gillingham4,607
14Sunderland2 – 4Huddersfield Town13,516
15Tranmere Rovers0 – 0Nottingham Forest4,477
0 – 0 after extra time - Nottingham Forest win 4 - 1 on penalties
16Wigan Athletic1 – 0Fulham4,874
17Wolverhampton Wanderers2 – 0Darlington10,232
18Wycombe Wanderers0 – 5Aston Villa6,072
19Bolton Wanderers3 – 1Walsall5,229
20Coventry City0 – 3Tottenham Hotspur15,474
21Everton3 – 0Stockport County19,807
22Leeds United2 – 2Swindon Town29,211
2 – 2 after extra time - Leeds United win 4 - 3 on penalties
23Middlesbrough0 – 0Brighton & Hove Albion10,435
Middlesbrough win 1 – 0 after extra time
24Oxford United1 – 3Reading9,870

1 Score after 90 minutes

Third round

Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City joined the 24 winners from the Second Round. Matches were played on the week commencing 27 October 2003

Tie no Home team Score1 Away team Attendance
1Aston Villa1 – 0Leicester City26,729
2Blackburn Rovers3 – 4Liverpool16,918
3Chelsea4 – 2Notts County35,997
4Everton1 – 0Charlton Athletic24,863
5Newcastle United1 – 1West Bromwich Albion46,932
West Bromwich Albion win 2 – 1 after extra time
6Nottingham Forest2 – 4Portsmouth20,078
7Tottenham Hotspur0 – 0West Ham
Tottenham Hotspur win 1 – 0 after extra time
8Wigan Athletic1 – 2Middlesbrough8,046
9Arsenal1 – 1Rotherham United27,451
1 – 1 after extra time - Arsenal win 9 - 8 on penalties
10Blackpool1 – 3Crystal Palace6,010
11Bolton Wanderers2 – 1Gillingham5,258
12Bristol City1 – 3Southampton17,408
13Leeds United1 – 1Manchester United37,546
Manchester United win 3 – 2 after extra time
14QPR0 – 3Manchester City16,773
15Reading1 – 0Huddersfield Town11,892
16Wolverhampton Wanderers2 – 0Burnley18,548

1 Score after 90 minutes

Fourth round
  • The draw was made on 30 November 2003.
  • Matches were played in the week commencing 1 December.
  • Extra time played when scores level at 90 minutes.
Aston Villa3–0Crystal Palace
Symons 22' (o.g.)
McCann 70'
Ángel 79'
Attendance: 24,258
Referee: Mike Dean
Liverpool2–3Bolton Wanderers
Murphy 66'
Šmicer 88'		 Jardel 4'
Okacha 79'
Djorkaeff 90' (pen.)
Attendance: 33,185
Referee: Mike Riley
Middlesbrough0–0 (a.e.t.)Everton
Penalties
5–4
Attendance: 18,568
Referee: Mark Halsey
Reading0–1Chelsea
Hasselbaink 57'
Attendance: 24,107
Referee: Steve Bennett
Tottenham Hotspur3–1Manchester City
Anderton 9'
Postiga 30'
Kanouté 90'		 Fowler 80'
Attendance: 31,727
Referee: Paul Durkin
West Bromwich Albion2–0Manchester United
Haas 6'
Dobie 56'
Attendance: 25,282
Referee: Jeff Winter
Arsenal5–1Wolverhampton Wanderers
Aliadière 24', 71'
Kanu 68'
Wiltord 79'
Fàbregas 88'		 Rae 81'
Highbury, London
Attendance: 28,161
Southampton2–0Portsmouth
Beattie 33', 90'
Attendance: 29,201
Referee: Graham Poll

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 6 December 2003. Matches were played in the week beginning 15 December 2003. The only team from outside the Premier League competing in this round was West Bromwich Albion, who lost 2–0 to Arsenal.

West Bromwich Albion0–2Arsenal
Kanu 25'
Aliadière 57'
Attendance: 20,369
Referee: Matt Messias
Bolton Wanderers1–0 (a.e.t.)Southampton
Pedersen 115'
Attendance: 13,957
Referee: Phil Dowd
Tottenham Hotspur1–1 (a.e.t.)Middlesbrough
Anderton 2' M. Ricketts 86'
Penalties
4–5
Attendance: 25,307
Referee: Mike Dean
Aston Villa2–1Chelsea
Ángel 16'
McCann 78'		 J. Cole 69'
Attendance: 30,414
Referee: Neale Barry

Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made on 20 December 2003 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 19 January and 26 January 2004, however the second leg of Middlesbrough v Arsenal was not played until 3 February 2004.

First leg
Arsenal0–1Middlesbrough
Juninho 53'
Highbury, London
Attendance: 31,070
Referee: Steve Dunn
Bolton Wanderers5–2Aston Villa
Okocha 2', 80'
Nolan 9'
Giannakopoulos 17'
Ngotty 74'		 Ángel 20', 56'
Attendance: 16,302
Referee: Paul Durkin

Second leg
Aston Villa2–0Bolton Wanderers
Hitzlsperger 10'
Samuel 88'
Attendance: 36,883
Referee: Steve Bennett

Bolton Wanderers won 5–4 on aggregate.

Middlesbrough2–1Arsenal
Zenden 69'
Reyes 85' (o.g.)		 Edu 77'
Attendance: 28,781

Middlesbrough won 3–1 on aggregate.

Final
Further information on this match: 2004 Football League Cup Final

The 2004 Carling Cup Final was played on 29 February 2004 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was contested by Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough won the match 2-1 and in doing so collected their first major piece of silverware in their history and qualified for the European football in the UEFA Cup for the first time.

Bolton Wanderers1–2Middlesbrough
Davies 21' Report Job 2'
Zenden 7' (pen.)
Attendance: 72,634

See also
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