2002–03 Football League Cup

The 2002–03 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 43rd staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

2002–03 Football League Cup
Worthington Cup, League Cup
Country England
 Wales
Teams92
Defending championsBlackburn Rovers
ChampionsLiverpool (7th title)
Runners-upManchester United
Top goal scorer(s)Nathan Ellington
(5 goals)

The competition began on 10 August 2002, and ended with the final on 2 March 2003. The holders were Blackburn Rovers, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Manchester United.

The tournament was won by Liverpool, who beat Manchester United 2–0 in the final, thanks to goals from Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard.[1]

Preliminary round

A preliminary round was necessary to reduce the number of teams by one, because of the extra UEFA Cup place awarded to newly relegated Ipswich Town through the Fair Play league.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1Bristol Rovers0–2Boston United20 August 2002

First round
Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1Boston United1–5Cardiff City11 September 2002
2Brighton & Hove Albion1–1Exeter City11 September 2002
Brighton win 2–1 after extra time
3Coventry City3–0Colchester United11 September 2002
4Macclesfield Town1–1Barnsley11 September 2002
Macclesfield Town win 4–1 after extra time
5Nottingham Forest4–0Kidderminster Harriers11 September 2002
6Preston North End1–1Scunthorpe United11 September 2002
Preston win 2–1 after extra time
7Sheffield Wednesday1–0Rochdale11 September 2002
8Swansea City2–3Wolverhampton Wanderers11 September 2002
9Swindon Town0–0Wycombe Wanderers11 September 2002
Wycombe Wanderers win 2–1 after extra time
10AFC Bournemouth3–3Brentford10 September 2002
3–3 after extra time — Brentford win 4–2 on penalties
11Bristol City0–1Oxford United10 September 2002
12Burnley3–0Blackpool10 September 2002
13Bury1–0Stoke City10 September 2002
14Crystal Palace1–1Plymouth Argyle10 September 2002
Crystal Palace win 2–1 after extra time
15Cambridge United3–1Reading10 September 2002
16Grimsby Town0–1Chesterfield10 September 2002
17Hartlepool United1–2Tranmere Rovers10 September 2002
18Huddersfield Town2–0Darlington10 September 2002
19Hull City1–1Leicester City10 September 2002
Leicester City win 4–2 after extra time
20Leyton Orient3–2Queens Park Rangers10 September 2002
21Lincoln City1–3Stockport County10 September 2002
22Mansfield Town1–3Derby County10 September 2002
23Northampton Town0–1Wigan Athletic10 September 2002
24Norwich City0–3Cheltenham Town10 September 2002
25Oldham Athletic3–2Notts County10 September 2002
26Port Vale0–2Crewe Alexandra10 September 2002
27Portsmouth2–0Peterborough United10 September 2002
28Rotherham United3–1Carlisle United10 September 2002
29Rushden & Diamonds0–0Millwall10 September 2002
0–0 after extra time — Rushden & Diamonds win 5–3 on penalties
30Sheffield United1–0York City10 September 2002
31Southend United1–4Wimbledon10 September 2002
32Torquay United0–1Gillingham10 September 2002
33Walsall1–0Shrewsbury Town10 September 2002
34Watford1–2Luton Town10 September 2002
35Wrexham2–1Bradford City10 September 2002

Second round
Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1Aston Villa3–0Luton Town2 October 2002
2Bolton Wanderers0–1Bury2 October 2002
3Crystal Palace7–0Cheltenham Town2 October 2002
4Coventry City8–0Rushden & Diamonds2 October 2002
5Derby County1–1Oldham Athletic2 October 2002
Oldham Athletic win 2–1 after extra time
6Leyton Orient2–3Birmingham City2 October 2002
7Nottingham Forest1–2Walsall2 October 2002
8Sheffield Wednesday1–1Leicester City2 October 2002
Leicester City win 2–1 after extra time
9Southampton6–1Tranmere Rovers2 October 2002
10Wigan Athletic3–1West Bromwich Albion2 October 2002
11Brentford1–4Middlesbrough1 October 2002
12Cambridge United0–7Sunderland1 October 2002
13Charlton Athletic0–0Oxford United1 October 2002
0–0 after extra time — Oxford United win 6–5 on penalties
14Chesterfield1–1West Ham1 October 2002
1–1 after extra time — West Ham win 5–4 on penalties
15Huddersfield Town0–1Burnley1 October 2002
16Macclesfield Town1–2Preston North End1 October 2002
17Manchester City3–2Crewe Alexandra1 October 2002
18Portsmouth1–3Wimbledon1 October 2002
19Rotherham United3–3Wolverhampton Wanderers1 October 2002
4–4 after extra time — Rotherham United win 4–2 on penalties
20Sheffield United4–1Wycombe Wanderers1 October 2002
21Stockport County1–1Gillingham1 October 2002
Gillingham win 2–1 after extra time
22Tottenham Hotspur1–0Cardiff City1 October 2002
23Wrexham0–3Everton1 October 2002
24Ipswich Town3–1Brighton & Hove Albion24 September 2002

Third round
Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1Arsenal2–3Sunderland6 November 2002
2Blackburn Rovers1–1Walsall6 November 2002
2–2 after extra time — Blackburn Rovers win 5–4 on penalties
3Burnley2–1Tottenham Hotspur6 November 2002
4Crystal Palace3–0Coventry City6 November 2002
5Chelsea2–1Gillingham6 November 2002
6Fulham3–1Bury6 November 2002
7Ipswich Town3–1Middlesbrough6 November 2002
8Liverpool3–1Southampton6 November 2002
9Newcastle United2–2Everton6 November 2002
3–3 after extra time — Everton win 3–2 on penalties
10Oxford United0–3Aston Villa6 November 2002
11Sheffield United2–1Leeds United6 November 2002
12West Ham0–1Oldham Athletic6 November 2002
13Birmingham City0–2Preston North End5 November 2002
14Wimbledon1–3Rotherham United5 November 2002
15Manchester United2–0Leicester City5 November 2002
16Wigan Athletic1–0Manchester City5 November 2002

Fourth round
Aston Villa5–0Preston North End
Vassell  44', 55'
Dublin  80'
Ángel  84'
Hitzlsperger  87'		 Report
Attendance: 23,042
Referee: Clive Wilkes
Blackburn Rovers4–0Rotherham United
Yorke  12', 39'
Cole  16'
Duff  43'		 Report
Attendance: 11,220
Referee: Matt Messias
Chelsea4–1Everton
Hasselbaink  26', 71'
Petit  44'
Stanić  69'		 Report Naysmith  80'
Attendance: 32,322
Referee: Paul Durkin
Liverpool1–1 (a.e.t.)
5–4p		Ipswich Town
Diouf  54' (pen.) Report Miller  14'
Attendance: 26,305
Wigan Athletic2–1Fulham
Ellington  20', 28' Report Boa Morte  86'
Attendance: 7,615
Referee: Mark Halsey
Burnley0–2Manchester United
Report Forlán  35'
Solskjær  65'
Attendance: 22,034
Referee: Neale Barry
Crystal Palace2–0Oldham Athletic
Black  11', 74' Report
Attendance: 7,431
Referee: Chris Foy
Sheffield United2–0Sunderland
Murphy  54'
Allison  56'		 Report
Attendance: 27,068
Referee: Alan Wiley

Quarter-finals
Aston Villa3–4Liverpool
Vassell  23'
Hitzlsperger  72'
Henchoz  88' (o.g.)		 Report Murphy  27', 90'
Baroš  54'
Gerrard  67'
Attendance: 38,530
Referee: Graham Barber
Manchester United1–0Chelsea
Forlán  80' Report
Attendance: 57,985
Referee: Steve Bennett
Sheffield United3–1Crystal Palace
Asaba  35'
Peschisolido  86', 88'		 Report Page  82' (o.g.)
Attendance: 22,211
Wigan Athletic0–2Blackburn Rovers
Report Cole  16', 80'
Attendance: 16,922
Referee: Andy D'Urso

Semi-finals

First leg
Sheffield United2–1Liverpool
Tonge  76', 82' Report Mellor  35'
Attendance: 30,095
Referee: Mike Dean
Manchester United1–1Blackburn Rovers
Scholes  58' Report Thompson  61'
Attendance: 62,740
Referee: Uriah Rennie

Second leg
Liverpool2–0 (a.e.t.)Sheffield United
Diouf  9'
Owen  107'		 Report
Attendance: 43,837
Referee: Alan Wiley

Liverpool win 3-2 on aggregate.

Blackburn Rovers1–3Manchester United
Cole  12' Report Scholes  30', 42'
Van Nistelrooy  77' (pen.)
Attendance: 29,048
Referee: Jeff Winter

Manchester United win 4–2 on aggregate

Final
Further information: 2003 Football League Cup Final

The 2003 Football League Cup Final was played on 2 March 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The game was contested between Manchester United and Liverpool. Liverpool won the game 2–0.

Manchester United0–2Liverpool
Report Gerrard  39'
Owen  86'
Attendance: 74,500
Referee: Paul Durkin (Portland)

See also

References
  1. "Liverpool lift Worthington Cup". BBC Sport. 2 March 2003. Retrieved 26 September 2010.
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