 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2012–13 Football League Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 24 February 2013 (2013-02-24) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Nathan Dyer (Swansea City) | ||||||
| Referee | Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)[1] | ||||||
| Attendance | 82,597[2] | ||||||
| Weather | Intermittent snow 2 °C (36 °F)[3] | ||||||
←2012 2014 → | |||||||
The2013 Football League Cup final was afootball match betweenBradford City andSwansea City, which took place on 24 February 2013 atWembley Stadium in London. It was the final match of the2012–13 Football League Cup, the 53rd season of theFootball League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in thePremier League and theFootball League.
Bradford City, ofLeague Two, were appearing in their first major cup final since they won the1911 FA Cup final, and were the first fourth-tier side to reach the League Cup final sinceRochdale in1962.[4] Swansea City, of thePremier League, were appearing in their first major English cup final in their 101-year history.[2][5]
Swansea won the match 5–0, and qualified for the2013–14 UEFA Europa League, entering in thethird qualifying round.[6][7] Although based in Wales, their participation in theEnglish football league system means they took one of the English berths in the competition.[8] It was the first time the League Cup had been won by a non-English club and the first time a major English cup had been won by a non-English club since Swansea'srivalsCardiff City won theFA Cup in1927.[9]
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| Round | Opponents | Score | Report |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Notts County (a) | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Report |
| 2nd | Watford (a) | 1–2 | Report |
| 3rd | Burton Albion (h) | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Report |
| 4th | Wigan Athletic (a) | 0–0 (4–2pen) | Report |
| 5th | Arsenal (h) | 1–1 (3–2pen) | Report |
| SF | Aston Villa (h) | 3–1 | Report |
| Aston Villa (a) | 2–1 | Report |
Bradford City defeatedLeague One teamNotts County in the first round, winning in extra time through aJames Hanson goal.[10]
Bradford's second round tie was againstChampionship sideWatford, who went ahead after a 71st-minute goal fromIkechi Anya. Bradford scored, first throughKyel Reid's 84th-minute equaliser andGarry Thompson in injury-time.[11]
Burton Albion, also of League Two, played Bradford in the third round. Bradford were behind by two goals for the majority of the match, butNahki Wells scored twice in the last 10 minutes, resulting in extra time.Stephen Darby scored the winning goal in the 115th minute.[12]
Bradford were drawn againstWigan Athletic of thePremier League (who went on to winthat year's FA Cup) in the fourth round. The match was goalless after 90 minutes and also after extra time, resulting in apenalty shoot-out. Bradford won the shoot-out 4–2 with successful penalties fromNathan Doyle,Gary Jones, Stephen Darby andAlan Connell. It was the first time Bradford had knocked a Premiership club out of the competition since they defeatedNottingham Forest in September 1995.[13]
Bradford's quarter-final victory overArsenal of the Premier League atValley Parade was also decided on penalties, after the match finished 1–1 during regulation time. Nathan Doyle, Gary Jones and Alan Connell all successfully converted their penalties for Bradford, who won 3–2 on penalties.[14][15]
In the semi-final first leg against Premier LeagueAston Villa, Nahki Wells gave Bradford the lead after 20 minutes andRory McArdle scored in the 77th minute.Andreas Weimann scored for Aston Villa in the 82nd minute, butCarl McHugh restored Bradford's two-goal lead in the 87th after heading home Gary Jones' corner.[16] Aston Villa won the second leg 2–1, but Bradford won 4–3 on aggregate.Christian Benteke put Aston Villa ahead in the 24th minute, before Bradford's James Hanson levelled in the 55th minute. Andreas Weimann scored an 89th-minute goal for Aston Villa.[17]
| Round | Opponents | Score | Report |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Barnsley (h) | 3–1 | Report |
| 3rd | Crawley Town (a) | 2–3 | Report |
| 4th | Liverpool (a) | 1–3 | Report |
| 5th | Middlesbrough (h) | 1–0 | Report |
| SF | Chelsea (a) | 0–2 | Report |
| Chelsea (h) | 0–0 | Report |
Swansea City received a bye into the second round as one of the thirteenPremier League clubs not involved in European competition. They were drawn againstChampionship sideBarnsley at theLiberty Stadium. Swansea won 3–1 after a 24th-minute opener fromDanny Graham and two second-half goals fromLuke Moore.[18]
Swansea's third round opponents wereCrawley Town. Played at theBroadfield Stadium,Michu put Swansea one goal ahead in the 27th minute.Josh Simpson andHope Akpan put Crawley 2–1 ahead after 62 minutes. Graham levelled the tie in the 74th minute with header from aDwight Tiendalli cross.Garry Monk scored an injury-time winner from a corner kick for Swansea. The match finished 3–2 and Swansea progressed to the fourth round.[19]
Swansea were paired with cup holdersLiverpool atAnfield in the fourth round draw.Chico Flores put Swansea in the lead andNathan Dyer scored a second goal for Swansea from a cross across the six-yard line fromPablo Hernández.Luis Suárez scored one goal for Liverpool, but a counterattack from Swansea led to a third goal for Swansea fromJonathan de Guzmán in the 90th minute.[20]
Swansea were drawn against Championship sideMiddlesbrough in the quarter-final. The only goal of the game came in the 82nd minute, after Middlesbrough defenderSeb Hines headed the ball into his own net.[21][22]
Swansea playedChelsea in the semi-final, with the first leg atStamford Bridge. Michu scored in the 39th minute to give Swansea the lead, following a defensive error fromBranislav Ivanović. A second mistake from Ivanović allowed Danny Graham to double Swansea's lead in the 90th minute; the match ended 2–0.[23]
The second leg was played at Swansea'sLiberty Stadium. While Michu had the best opportunity to score in the 9th minute, the game finished 0–0 (2–0 onaggregate) and Swansea advanced to the final. In the 80th minute, there was an incident between aball boy and Chelsea playerEden Hazard. Replays showed that the ball boy was shielding the ball from Hazard in an attempt to waste time. Hazard then kicked the ball out from under the boy, prompting refereeChris Foy to show him a red card for violent conduct.[24]
Before the match, it was announced that the English national anthem "God Save the Queen" would not be played before the final, as was usually traditional for the cup final. This was due to a Football League policy not to play the anthem when English and Welsh clubs met in a final.[25]
Bradford City | 0–5 |  Swansea City |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Dyer 16',48'Michu 40'De Guzmán 59' (pen.),90+1' |
          Bradford City |      Swansea City |
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Man of the match
Match officials
| Match rules
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| Statistics[2] | Bradford City | Swansea City |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 3 | 15 |
| Shots on target | 3 | 10 |
| Ball possession | 40% | 60% |
| Corner kicks | 1 | 8 |
| Fouls committed | 3 | 4 |
| Offsides | 1 | 2 |
| Yellow cards | 0 | 1 |
| Red cards | 1 | 0 |
