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| Event | 1971–72 Football League Cup | ||||||
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| Date | 4 March 1972 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Referee | Norman Burtenshaw (Great Yarmouth) | ||||||
| Attendance | 97,852 | ||||||
←1971 1973 → | |||||||
The1972 Football League Cup final took place on 4 March 1972 atWembley Stadium and was contested byChelsea andStoke City.
Chelsea went into the match as strong favourites having won theFA Cup and theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the previous two seasons, whereas Stoke were attempting to win their firstmajor trophy.Terry Conroy put Stoke into the lead early on, but Chelsea hit back throughPeter Osgood just before half time. Stoke got the decisive final goal from veteranGeorge Eastham to end their 109-year wait for a major honour.[1] It remains the club's only major trophy victory; the closest they have come since then to beating this achievement was in 2011 when they lost toManchester City in the2011 FA Cup final.
Both sides reached the final after semi-final ties with Chelsea beatingTottenham Hotspur and Stoke,West Ham United.[1] The match took place on 4 March 1972 atWembley Stadium in front of 97,852 with around 35,000 travelling down fromStoke-on-Trent.[1]
Despite it being Stoke's first major final they showed no signs of nerves as they took the game to the "Blues" and after only five minutes, a long throw-in fromPeter Dobing was headed on byDenis Smith.[1] Chelsea's defence panicked andTerry Conroy was quickest to react to put Stoke into the lead.[1] Chelsea improved their game, but it was Stoke who should have scored again with both Dobing andJimmy Greenhoff being denied by the agilePeter Bonetti.[1] A rare mistake fromAlan Bloor inside his own goal-area brought Chelsea an equaliser just before half-time withPeter Osgood taking full advantage.[1]
After the break Stoke again forced Chelsea back into their own half and although the play became rather scrappy both sides should have scored.[1] But then on 73 minutesGeorge Eastham scored a second goal for Stoke after Greenhoff's shot was only blocked by Bonetti.[1]Gordon Banks made a number of saves to keep Stoke's one goal advantage intact and Stoke held out to secure their first major trophy.[1] The club marked the achievement by parading the trophy in an open top bus aroundStoke-on-Trent.[1] Stoke's victory meant that 12 different teams had won the competition in its first 12 seasons.[2]
| Stoke City | 2–1 | Chelsea |
|---|---|---|
Osgood 45' |
        Stoke City |  Chelsea |
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Home teams listed first.
Stoke City[edit]Round 2:Southport 1–2 Stoke City Round 3:Oxford United 1–1 Stoke City
Round 4:Manchester United 1–1 Stoke City
Quarter final:Bristol Rovers 2–4 Stoke City Semifinal, 1st leg: Stoke City 1–2West Ham United Semifinal, 2nd leg: West Ham United 0–1 Stoke City
| Chelsea[edit]Round 2:Plymouth Argyle 0–2 Chelsea Round 3:Nottingham Forest 1–1 Chelsea
Round 4: Chelsea 1–1Bolton Wanderers
Quarter final:Norwich City 0–1 Chelsea Semifinal, 1st leg: Chelsea 3–2Tottenham Hotspur Semifinal, 2nd leg: Tottenham Hotspur 2–2 Chelsea
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