The1977 Football League Cup Final was played betweenAston Villa andEverton over three games. It was the first League Cup Final to go to a replay,[1] and the only one that required a second replay to decide the winner.[2] The first match took place atWembley Stadium on 12 March and the game ended in a goalless draw.[2] The replay on 16 March was only marginally better as the teams again played out a draw, this time atHillsborough the home ofSheffield Wednesday. The game ended 1–1 with both goals scored by Everton players withBob Latchford's last-minute equaliser[2] nullifyingRoger Kenyon's earlier own-goal.
The second replay took place atOld Trafford on 13 April. The game is probably best remembered for a 40-yard goal from Villa centre-halfChris Nicholl, and in a 2010 poll this was voted in the Top 25 of all-time League Cup moments.[3]Brian Little scored his second of the match in dramatic fashion during the dying seconds of the game to give Villa a 3–2 victory, making them the first team to win the competition three times.Mick Lyons and Bob Latchford scored for Everton.
Villa defeated top-level teamsManchester City andNorwich City in their first two games, before a 4th round victory overWrexham moved them into the last eight. Here they defeated second levelMillwall 2–0. In the first leg of the semi-final they drew 0–0 atQueens Park Rangers, with the second leg also drawn (2–2), thus setting up a replay. Villa won this game 3–0 on 22 February (atHighbury) courtesy of a Brian Little hat-trick.
For the first replay Villa replaced Cropley withGordon Cowans, whilst Everton replaced Jones withMike Bernard and Dobson withRoger Kenyon. AdditionallyJim Pearson came on as a substitute for Hamilton.[4]|}
For the second replay the line-ups were as the original game except for VillaRay Graydon and Gordon Cowans played instead of Gray and Carrodus, andGordon Smith came on as a substitute for Gidman. Everton were as the original match exceptNeil Robinson replaced Jones and Jim Pearson replaced McKenzie, whilstSteve Seargeant came on as a sub for Pearson.[4]
