 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2010–11 Football League Cup | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 27 February 2011 (2011-02-27) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Ben Foster (Birmingham City)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Mike Dean (Cheshire)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 88,851 | ||||||
| Weather | Mostly cloudy 6 °C (43 °F)[3] | ||||||
←2010 2012 → | |||||||
The2011 Football League Cup final was the final match of the2010–11 Football League Cup, the 51st season of theFootball League Cup, afootball competition for the 92 teams in thePremier League andthe Football League. The match was contested byArsenal andBirmingham City, atWembley Stadium inLondon, on 27 February 2011.[4] Birmingham City won the game 2–1 and were guaranteed a spot in the third qualifying round of the2011–12 UEFA Europa League.[5]Mike Dean was the referee.[2]
Arsenal held the advantage over Birmingham in the league matches between the two sides in2010–11, having beaten them 2–1 at theEmirates Stadium in October and again 3–0 atSt Andrew's onNew Year's Day.[6][7]
Arsenal had played in six Football League Cup finals, but had only won two, most recently in1993 when they beatSheffield Wednesday 2–1. Birmingham's only League Cup title came in1963, when they beatlocal rivalsAston Villa 3–1 on aggregate after a two-legged final. They also reached the2001 final, which was played at theMillennium Stadium inCardiff againstLiverpool, but the 2011 final was Birmingham's first appearance in the final of a major competition at Wembley for nearly 55 years, their last being the1956 FA Cup final.
| Arsenal | Round | Birmingham City | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bye | Round 2[A] | Birmingham City | 3–2 | Rochdale | ||
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–4 | Arsenal (a.e.t.) | Round 3[B] | Birmingham City | 3–1 | Milton Keynes Dons |
| Newcastle United | 0–4 | Arsenal | Round 4 | Birmingham City | 1–1 (4–3pen.) | Brentford (a.e.t.) |
| Arsenal | 2–0 | Wigan Athletic | Round 5 | Birmingham City | 2–1 | Aston Villa |
| Ipswich Town | 1–0 | Arsenal | Semifinal | West Ham United | 2–1 | Birmingham City |
| Arsenal | 3–0 | Ipswich Town | Birmingham City | 3–1 | West Ham United (a.e.t.) | |
| Arsenal won 3–1 on aggregate | Birmingham City won 4–3 on aggregate | |||||
In the build-up to the game,Arsène Wenger criticised the FA and UEFA for overpricing tickets for their finals.[citation needed]
A number of Arsenal players missed out on the final.Thomas Vermaelen was not fit, while goalkeeperŁukasz Fabiański had been ruled out for the rest of the season.Theo Walcott picked up a sprained ankle in a match against Stoke City a few days prior, and captainCesc Fàbregas was also injured in that game; both missed the final.Abou Diaby was also injured.[8]
For Birmingham,Scott Dann was ruled out for the rest of the season following an injury in the League Cup semi-final, whileJames McFadden was still not recovered from an injury received in September. Former Arsenal playerAlexander Hleb was injured in an FA Cup match the week before, and failed to recover in time to play.David Bentley, who had replaced Hleb in that match, wascup-tied, having played for Tottenham Hotspur in their defeat to Arsenal in the third round.
There was a moment of contention just two minutes into the match as an early Birmingham chance was created throughLee Bowyer, who appeared to be fouled by Arsenal goalkeeperWojciech Szczęsny in what would probably have been apenalty kick and red card for the keeper. However, Bowyer had already been flagged offside (a decision that replays proved was incorrect).
After ten minutes, Birmingham'sBarry Ferguson was involved in a collision, and played the rest of the game with what proved to be two broken ribs.[9]
Arsenal threatened regularly throughout the course of the match, with an eventual 20 attempts on goal to Birmingham's 11 (both teams were denied by the woodwork once), however the fine work of Birmingham goalkeeperBen Foster kept the north London team at bay. Foster would go on to win theman of the match award, and with it, theAlan Hardaker Trophy (also making Foster the first-ever player to win the trophy on two occasions).[1]
Birmingham took the lead in the 28th minute when a corner kick was sent into the box,Roger Johnson won the initial header towards goal which was then flicked in off the head ofNikola Žigić pastWojciech Szczęsny into the net. Arsenal levelled 11 minutes later when, moments afterJack Wilshere struck the crossbar with a shot,Robin van Persie volleyed anAndrei Arshavin cross in with his right foot. However, Van Persie injured himself upon landing, and while he was initially able to continue, he struggled as the match went on and was eventually substituted byNicklas Bendtner partway through the second half. Going into half-time the scoreline stayed at 1–1, with both teams failing to capitalise on good opportunities to score a second, including Arsenal'sSamir Nasri who had a long-range effort saved, and then in the second half Birmingham'sKeith Fahey was denied by the post.
On 83 minutes, Birmingham brought onObafemi Martins in place of Fahey. Six minutes later, and in the final minute of normal time, Martins scored to put Birmingham 2–1 up after a mix-up between Szczęsny and defenderLaurent Koscielny. A long ball from Blues keeper Foster, flicked on by Žigić, appeared to be heading safely into the hands of the Arsenal keeper. But Koscielny attempted to play the ball, distracting Szczęsny and causing him to bobble the ball into the path of Martins, who tapped it into an empty net.
Too little time was left for Arsenal to recover, and after four-and-a-half minutes of injury time was seen out, Birmingham City secured their second Football League Cup trophy.[10]
| Arsenal | 1–2 | Birmingham City |
|---|---|---|
Van Persie 39' | Report | Žigić 28' Martins 89' |
         Arsenal |    Birmingham City |
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Man of the match
Match officials
| Match rules
|
| Arsenal | Birmingham | |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 20 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 12 | 7 |
| Ball possession | 56% | 44% |
| Corner kicks | 6 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 11 | 9 |
| Offsides | 2 | 4 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Source: BBC Sport[10]
