Football League Cup 2000-01

The Football League Cup 2000–01 (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 41st staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition name reflects a sponsorship deal with lager brand Worthington.

The competition began on 22 August 2000, and ended with the final on 25 February 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley Stadium was in the process of being rebuilt.

The tournament was won by Blackburn Rovers, who beat Birmingham City 5–4 on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra-time. Robbie Fowler put Liverpool in front after half an hour but a Darren Purse penalty salvaged the game for Birmingham in the final minute of normal time. This was the first of three trophies Liverpool would win during the season, the others being the UEFA Cup and the FA Cup.

First Round

The 70 First, Second and Third Division clubs compete from the First Round. Each section is divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 1999–2000 season. Therefore, the clubs relegated from the Premier League in 2000, Wimbledon, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday, were the top seeds, and the club newly-promoted to the Third Division, Kidderminster Harriers, were bottom seeds. The first legs took place on 22 and 23 August and the second legs on 5 and 6 September.

econd Round

The 35 winners from the First Round joined the Premier League clubs not participating in European competition. The ties were played over two legs, with the first legs from 19 to 20 September and the second legs on 26 and 27 September. Two second leg matches were played on 2 October.

Third Round

The 26 winners from the Second Round joined the Premiership clubs participating in European competition in Round Three. Matches were played on 31 October and 1 November.

Fourth Round

The eight matches were played on 28 and 29. All the teams involved in this round were current or former Premier League sides.

Quarter-finals

The four matches were played on 12, 13 and 19 December.

emi-finals

The semi-final draw was made in December 2000 after the conclusion of the quarter finals. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The ties were played on 9 - 10 January and 24 or 31 January 2001.

First leg

econd leg

Final

The 2001 Worthington Cup Final was played on 25 February 2001 and was contested between First Division side Birmingham City and Premier League team Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Liverpool won the game 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw after extra time. Birmingham would go on to win promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season while Liverpool added the FA Cup and UEFA Cup to their trophy collection.

footballbox
date=2001-02-25
15:00
team1=Birmingham City
score=1 – 1
team2=Liverpool
report=
goals1=Darren Purse goal|90|pen
goals2=Fowler goal|30
stadium=Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
attendance=73,500
referee=David Elleray

Liverpool win 5–4 penalties

References

External links

* [http://www.carlingcup.co.uk Official Carling Cup website]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/default.stm Carling Cup] at bbc.co.uk
* [http://football.uk.reuters.com/leaguecup/ League Cup news, match reports and pictures] on Reuters.co.uk
* [http://www.soccerbase.com/cup2.sd?competitionid=60 Results on Soccerbase]