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| Event | 2003–04 Football League Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 29 February 2004 | ||||||
| Venue | Millennium Stadium,Cardiff | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Boudewijn Zenden[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Mike Riley (West Yorkshire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 72,634 | ||||||
←2003 2005 → | |||||||
The2004 Football League Cup Final (known as theCarling Cup final for sponsorship reasons) was a football match that took place on 29 February 2004 at theMillennium Stadium,Cardiff. It was the final match of the2003–04 Football League Cup, the 44th edition of theFootball League Cup, a competition for the 92 teams in thePremier League andThe Football League.
It was contested between Premier League sidesBolton Wanderers andMiddlesbrough, both of whom had never won in their previous appearances in the final. Bolton's run to the final included a win away to holdersLiverpool in the fourth round, while requiring extra time againstSouthampton in the next round and losing the second leg of the semi-final againstAston Villa. Middlesbrough needed extra time againstBrighton & Hove Albion in their first game, and later advanced onpenalty shoot-outs against top-flightEverton andTottenham Hotspur; they then won home and away against league leadersArsenal in the semi-finals.
Middlesbrough scored two goals in the first seven minutes, fromJoseph-Désiré Job and aBoudewijn Zenden penalty.Kevin Davies got a goal back in the first half after an error by Boro goalkeeperMark Schwarzer, but Middlesbrough kept the score at 2–1 for their first major trophy. In doing so, they qualified for the2004–05 UEFA Cup, their first European competition.
Bolton were playing in their second League Cup Final, having lost the1995 edition 2–1 toLiverpool. Middlesbrough too had never previously won the competition: in1997 they lost the final after extra time in a replay againstLeicester City, and a year later they lost 2–0 toChelsea after extra time.[2] In 1997, they also lost theFA Cupfinal to Chelsea, andwere relegated from the Premier League.[3] Although Middlesbrough, founded in 1876, were without a major trophy, Bolton had 4 FA Cups from 7 finals between1894 and1958.[4]
Bolton and Middlesbrough had already met once in theleague season, at the former'sReebok Stadium on 13 September 2003. The hosts won 2–0 with goals byBruno Ngotty andKevin Davies in each half for a first victory of the campaign.[5]
| Round | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Walsall (h) | 3–1 |
| 3rd | Gillingham (h) | 2–0 |
| 4th | Liverpool (a) | 2–3 |
| 5th | Southampton (h) | 1–0 (aet) |
| SF | Aston Villa (h) | 5–2 |
| Aston Villa (a) | 0–2 |
As a Premier League team, Bolton began in the second round, hosting Walsall of theFirst Division at the Reebok Stadium. They won 3–1 with two goals – one a penalty kick – by Brazilian debutantMário Jardel.[6] In the next round on 28 October, they again hosted a second-tier team, this time Gillingham, and won 2–0 with goals byStelios Giannakopoulos andHenrik Pedersen, in front of a notably low crowd of 5,258.[7]
In the fourth round, Bolton had their first trip, and their first game against top-flight opposition, facingLiverpool atAnfield on 3 December. Jardel scored the first goal within five minutes, withDanny Murphy equalising with 20 minutes remaining.Youri Djorkaeff would have put Bolton back into the lead, but refereeMike Riley disallowed it for an earlier handball; they scored minutes later fromJay-Jay Okocha's free kick. Liverpool got a second equaliser from a 25-yardVladimír Šmicer strike, but with a minute remainingSalif Diao fouled Kevin Davies in the penalty area and Djorkaeff sent the resulting spot-kick past Liverpool goalkeeperJerzy Dudek to win the game.[8] Thirteen days later, in extra time at home to the Premier League'sSouthampton, Pedersen volleyed the only goal with five minutes remaining.[9]
On 21 January 2004, Bolton hostedAston Villa in the first leg of an all-Premier League semi-final. Okocha gave them the lead with a second-minute free kick, and further strikes fromKevin Nolan and Stelios gave them a 3–0 lead after 17 minutes, withJuan Pablo Ángel getting one back for the visitors soon after. Ángel got another goal in the second half, before Ngotty's header and a second Okocha free kick gave Bolton a 5–2 victory.[10] Six days later in the second leg atVilla Park, Bolton lost 2–0 to a Villa team who hadGavin McCann sent off in the first half, but advanced to the final 5–4 on aggregate.[11]
| Round | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 2nd | Brighton & Hove Albion (h) | 1–0 (aet) |
| 3rd | Wigan Athletic (a) | 1–2 |
| 4th | Everton (h) | 0–0 (aet) 5–4 (pen.) |
| 5th | Tottenham Hotspur (a) | 1–1 (aet) 5–4 (pen.) |
| SF | Arsenal (a) | 1–0 |
| Arsenal (h) | 2–1 |
Middlesbrough, also of the Premier League, began the competition in the second round by hostingBrighton Hove Albion at theRiverside Stadium, and defeated theSecond Division team 1–0 with a goal fromMalcolm Christie at the start of extra time.[12] In the next round, they travelled toWigan Athletic of the First Division and won 2–1 withMassimo Maccarone andGaizka Mendieta's first goals of the season, despite the hosts at theJJB Stadium scoring a late free kick throughJimmy Bullard.[13]
They met their first top-flight opposition in the fourth round, hostingEverton. After 120 goalless minutes, the match went to apenalty shoot-out in which Mendieta scored the winner after Middlesbrough goalkeeperMark Schwarzer saved fromLeon Osman.[14] The quarter-final at another Premier League team,Tottenham Hotspur, also went to a shoot-out.Darren Anderton scored for the hosts within 63 seconds, the first goal Boro conceded for over 11 hours. With four minutes to play, Middlesbrough strikerMichael Ricketts equalised after a cross fromGeorge Boateng. The shoot-out, in which Schwarzer deniedMauricio Taricco andKasey Keller blocked from Mendieta, went to sudden death, in which Middlesbrough's goalkeeper saved fromGus Poyet andFranck Queudrue scored Boro's winner.[15]
In the semi-finals, Boro facedArsenal, the leaders andeventual unbeaten champions of the Premier League season. In the first leg atHighbury on 20 January 2004, Queudrue exploited a mistake by Arsenal defenderMartin Keown and passed to Mendieta, who then assistedJuninho for the only goal of the game.[16] On 3 February, Boro hosted Arsenal in the second leg; Keown was sent off at the end of the first half for aprofessional foul on Maccarone. In the second half,Boudewijn Zenden put Middlesbrough ahead andEdu equalised. With five minutes remaining, Arsenal'sJosé Antonio Reyes scored anown goal by deflectingStuart Parnaby's shot, making Middlesbrough advance to the final 3–1 on aggregate.[17]
Bolton managerSam Allardyce, who was building a reputation for signing unwanted foreign veterans such as Ngotty, Djorkaeff andIván Campo, predicted that a win would help him sign more players in the summer. However, he thought that success would also lead his 13 players who would be out of contract, to demand more money for a renewal.[18]
On-loan Middlesbrough right-backDanny Mills, a self-acknowledged "hate figure" from opposition fans due to his physical style of play, declared that he would ignore any abuse from Bolton fans.[19]
Middlesbrough managerSteve McClaren had not even sat down when his team took the lead.[20] Mendieta's pass let Zenden run down the left wing and cross for strikerJoseph-Désiré Job to put Middlesbrough ahead in the second minute.[20] It was the fastest goal scored in a final, a record brokenthe following year by Liverpool'sJohn Arne Riise.[21]
After Job's early goal, Bolton went on the attack, with Djorkaeff forcing Schwarzer to make a near-post save.[20] In the seventh minute however, Middlesbrough won a penalty when Job was tripped in the Bolton box byEmerson Thome.[20] Zenden stepped up to take the spot kick and beat Bolton goalkeeperJussi Jääskeläinen, despite slipping and the goalkeeper's foot touching the ball.[20] Replays showed that as Zenden kicked the ball twice as he slipped. Later, Thome nearly scored an own goal from Juninho's cross.[20]
Davies scored for Bolton on 21 minutes when an error by Middlesbrough goalkeeper Schwarzer allowed his shot to go inside his near post. Bolton continued to attack, and Schwarzer made a double save from wingerPer Frandsen and Djorkaeff. The latter had two more chances soon after, missing the target with the first. Boro pleaded for a second penalty whenNicky Hunt pulled Job, but referee Riley did not give it.[20]
The second half had fewer incidents.[20] Schwarzer saved a header from Nolan, while Juninho had two opportunities for Middlesbrough.[20] In the final few minutes, Thome made a crucial block against Mendieta, and at the other side of the pitchUgo Ehiogu did the same to thwart Stelios.[20]
| Bolton Wanderers | 1–2 | Middlesbrough |
|---|---|---|
Davies 21' | Report | Job 2' Zenden 7' (pen.) |
     Bolton Wanderers | Middlesbrough |
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Man of the match
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Winning manager McClaren called the victory a "great reward" for Middlesbrough's players, managers and chairmanSteve Gibson.[22] CaptainGareth Southgate also dedicated the win to the fans and Gibson, calling the chairman "the biggest fan we've got".[22] Gibson himself called the win "128 years in the making" and predicted the team would "kick on" from it.[22]
McClaren praised his goalkeeper Schwarzer for recovering from his error that allowed Bolton's goal, in order to make saves that won the match.[22] He also said that the team should not become carried away by their qualification for Europe, and instead concentrate on the upcoming game againstBirmingham City.[22]
By winning the final, Middlesbrough qualified forthe following season's UEFA Cup, their first European competition.[23] They beatBaník Ostrava inthe first round andcame first in their group featuringVillarreal,Partizan,Lazio andEgaleo.[24] They then defeatedGrazer AK in the third round before being eliminated bySporting.[25]
Columnist Henry WinterThe Daily Telegraph wrote that it was the best League Cup Final sinceLuton Town beat Arsenal in1988.[26] He praised all four of Middlesbrough's back line for their "alert defending", and noted the hard work in midfield by Boateng that allowed Zenden, Juninho and Mendieta to create chances.[26] He also lauded Bolton's fans and the efforts of Okocha, Djorkaeff and Davies, while noting how Bolton's Campo was effective despite "the odd pantomimedive".[26] Alan Smith of the same newspaper opined that 33-year-old Southgate was the most deserving winner, as reward for his consistency since arriving in an "average" Boro side in 2001. Southgate's only other medal had come in the same competition for Aston Villaeight years prior.[27]
In June 2013, Juninho said that winning the League Cup with Middlesbrough was better than when he won theFIFA World Cup withBrazil in2002.[28]
