2008–09 Football League Cup
| Carling Cup, League Cup | |
 The logo of the League Cup from 2003–04 to 2008–09 | |
| Country |  England Wales |
|---|---|
| Teams | 92 |
| Defending champions | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Champions | Manchester United (3rd title) |
| Runners-up | Tottenham Hotspur |
| Matches played | 93 |
| Goals scored | 290 (3.12 per match) |
| Top goal scorer(s) | Nathan Ellington Roman Pavlyuchenko Carlos Tevez (6 goals) |
← 2007–08 2009–10 → | |
The 2008–09 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 49th season of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 football clubs played in English football league system. The winners qualified for the third qualifying round of the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League, if not already qualified for European competitions.
Manchester United won the competition by defeating holders Tottenham Hotspur on penalties in the final on 1 March 2009.
First round[]
The draw for the First Round took place on 13 June 2008, with matches being played two months later in the week beginning 11 August 2008.[1]
The 72 Football League clubs competed from the First Round, which was divided into North and South sections. Each section was divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 2007–08 season.
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Second round[]
Twelve Premier League teams – including the eleven that were not involved in European competitions – entered at this stage, along with the winners from the First Round. The draw for the Second Round took place on 13 August 2008, and the matches were played in the week beginning 25 August 2008,[2] with the exception of Manchester City's game against Brighton & Hove Albion, which was played on 24 September.[3]
| Tie no | Home team | Score1 | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ipswich Town | 2 – 1 | Colchester United | 17,084 |
| 2 | Coventry City | 2 – 2 | Newcastle United | 19,249 |
| Newcastle United won 3 – 2 after extra time | ||||
| 3 | Hartlepool United | 1 – 1 | West Bromwich Albion | 3,387 |
| Hartlepool United won 3 – 1 after extra time | ||||
| 4 | West Ham United | 1 – 1 | Macclesfield Town | 10,055 |
| West Ham United won 4 – 1 after extra time | ||||
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 1 – 2 | Sheffield United | 15,189 |
| 6 | Cardiff City | 2 – 1 | Milton Keynes Dons | 6,334 |
| 7 | Swansea City | 1 – 1 | Hull City | 8,622 |
| Swansea City won 2 – 1 after extra time | ||||
| 8 | Rotherham United | 0 – 0 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5,404 |
| 0 – 0 after extra time – Rotherham United won 4 – 3 on penalties | ||||
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 – 1 | Manchester City | 8,729 |
| 2 – 2 after extra time – Brighton & Hove Albion won 5 – 3 on penalties | ||||
| 10 | Reading | 5 – 1 | Luton Town | 7,498 |
| 11 | Blackburn Rovers | 4 – 1 | Grimsby Town | 8,379 |
| 12 | Wigan Athletic | 4 – 0 | Notts County | 4,100 |
| 13 | Leeds United | 4 – 0 | Crystal Palace | 10,765 |
| 14 | Crewe Alexandra | 2 – 1 | Bristol City | 3,227 |
| 15 | Middlesbrough | 5 – 1 | Yeovil Town | 15,651 |
| 16 | Fulham | 3 – 2 | Leicester City | 7,584 |
| 17 | Queens Park Rangers | 4 – 0 | Carlisle United | 8,021 |
| 18 | Nottingham Forest | 1 – 1 | Sunderland | 9,198 |
| Sunderland won 2 – 1 after extra time | ||||
| 19 | Burnley | 3 – 0 | Oldham Athletic | 5,528 |
| 20 | Southampton | 2 – 0 | Birmingham City | 11,331 |
| 21 | Bolton Wanderers | 1 – 2 | Northampton Town | 7,136 |
| 22 | Watford | 1 – 1 | Darlington | 5,236 |
| Watford won 2 – 1 after extra time | ||||
| 23 | Preston North End | 0 – 1 | Derby County | 8,037 |
| 24 | Cheltenham Town | 2 – 3 | Stoke City | 3,600 |
1 Score after 90 minutes
Third round[]
Eight teams involved in European competition entered at this stage along with the winners from the Second Round. Since nine English teams qualified for European competition in 2008, it was initially unclear precisely which eight teams would automatically enter the third round. Either Aston Villa, who had entered into European competition via the UEFA Intertoto Cup, or Manchester City, who qualified for the UEFA Cup via the UEFA Fair Play ranking would enter in the Third Round with the other entering in the Second Round instead. On 29 July 2008, it was announced that Aston Villa would enter the 2008–09 Carling Cup at the Third Round stage after reaching the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup.[4]
The draw for the Third Round was held on 30 August 2008,[5] and the matches were played on Tuesday, 23 September and Wednesday, 24 September 2008, with the exception of the match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Derby County, which was played on 4 November.
| Tie no | Home team | Score1 | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 6 – 0 | Sheffield United | 56,632 |
| 2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1 – 4 | Derby County | 6,625 |
| 3 | Burnley | 1 – 0 | Fulham | 7,119 |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 0 – 4 | Chelsea | 15,339 |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 1 – 0 | Everton | 14,366 |
| 6 | Rotherham United | 3 – 1 | Southampton | 5,147 |
| 7 | Swansea City | 1 – 0 | Cardiff City | 17,411 |
| 8 | Ipswich Town | 1 – 4 | Wigan Athletic | 13,803 |
| 9 | Stoke City | 2 – 2 | Reading | 9,141 |
| 2 – 2 after extra time – Stoke City won 4 – 3 on penalties | ||||
| 10 | Leeds United | 3 – 2 | Hartlepool United | 14,599 |
| 11 | Watford | 1 – 0 | West Ham United | 12,914 |
| 12 | Manchester United | 3 – 1 | Middlesbrough | 53,729 |
| 13 | Liverpool | 2 – 1 | Crewe Alexandra | 28,591 |
| 14 | Aston Villa | 0 – 1 | Queens Park Rangers | 21,541 |
| 15 | Sunderland | 2 – 2 | Northampton Town | 21,082 |
| 2 – 2 after extra time – Sunderland won 4 – 3 on penalties | ||||
| 16 | Newcastle United | 1 – 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20,577 |
1 Score after 90 minutes
Fourth round[]
The Fourth Round draw took place on Saturday, 27 September,[6] and the matches were played in the week commencing 10 November 2008.
| Tie no | Home team | Score1 | Away team | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sunderland | 1 – 2 | Blackburn Rovers | 18,555 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 3 – 0 | Wigan Athletic | 59,665 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 1 – 1 | Burnley | 41,369 |
| 1 – 1 after extra time – Burnley won 5 – 4 on penalties | ||||
| 4 | Swansea City | 0 – 1 | Watford | 9,549 |
| 5 | Manchester United | 1 – 0 | Queens Park Rangers | 62,539 |
| 6 | Stoke City | 2 – 0 | Rotherham United | 15,458 |
| 7 | Derby County | 2 – 1 | Leeds United | 18,540 |
| 8 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 – 2 | Liverpool | 33,242 |
1 Score after 90 minutes
Fifth round[]
The Fifth Round draw took place on Saturday, 15 November[7] and the matches were played week in the commencing 1 December 2008.
| Stoke City | 0–1 | Derby County |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Ellington  90+4' (pen.) |
| Manchester United | 5–3 | Blackburn Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Tevez 35', 50' (pen.), 54', 90+4' Nani 40' |
Report | McCarthy 48', 90+2' Derbyshire 84' |
Semi-finals[]
The semi-final draw took place on Saturday, 6 December 2008.[8] The first leg matches were played on Tuesday, 6 January 2009 and Wednesday, 7 January 2009, while the second legs were played on Tuesday, 20 January 2009 and Wednesday, 21 January 2009.
First leg[]
| Derby County | 1–0 | Manchester United |
|---|---|---|
| Commons 30' |
Report |
Second leg[]
| Manchester United | 4–2 | Derby County |
|---|---|---|
| Nani 16' O'Shea 22'Tevez 34'Ronaldo 87' (pen.) |
Report | Barnes 79' (pen.), 90+1' |
Manchester United won 4–3 on aggregate.
| Burnley | 3–2 (a.e.t.) | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Blake 33' McCann 73'Rodriguez 88' |
Report | Pavlyuchenko 118' Defoe 120' |
Tottenham Hotspur won 6–4 on aggregate.
Final[]
The final was played at Wembley Stadium, London, on Sunday, 1 March 2009.
| Manchester United | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Tottenham Hotspur |
|---|---|---|
| Report | ||
| Penalties | ||
Giggs  Tevez Ronaldo Anderson |
4–1 |  O'Hara Ćorluka Bentley |
Top scorers[]
The top scorers in the 2008–09 Football League Cup are as follows:[10]
| Rank | Scorer | Club | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nathan Ellington | Derby County | 6 |
| Roman Pavlyuchenko | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 | |
| Carlos Tevez | Manchester United | 6 | |
| 4 | Martin Paterson | Burnley | 5 |
| 5 | Jermaine Beckford | Leeds United | 4 |
| James Henry | Reading | 4 | |
| Carlos Vela | Arsenal | 4 | |
| Emmanuel Villa | Derby County | 4 | |
| 9 | Henri Camara | Wigan Athletic | 3 |
| Matt Derbyshire | Blackburn Rovers | 3 | |
| Robert Earnshaw | Nottingham Forest | 3 | |
| Emmanuel Ledesma | Queens Park Rangers | 3 | |
| Nani | Manchester United | 3 | |
| Joel Porter | Hartlepool United | 3 |
References[]
- ^ "2008/09 CARLING CUP ROUND ONE DRAW". The Football League. 13 June 2008. Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. Retrieved 13 June 2008.
- ^ "Draw for Carling Cup second round". BBC Sport. 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
- ^ "Man City ease fixture congestion". BBC Sport. 7 August 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
- ^ "Carling Cup Draw". AVFC. 29 July 2008. Archived from the original on 4 September 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2008.
- ^ "Carling Cup 3rd Round Draw". ntfc.co.uk. 26 August 2008. Archived from the original on 1 September 2008. Retrieved 26 August 2008.
- ^ "Tottenham face Liverpool in cup". BBC Sport. 27 September 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
- ^ "Burnley will face Arsenal in cup". BBC Sport. 15 November 2008. Retrieved 15 November 2008.
- ^ "Burnley face holders Spurs in cup". BBC Sport. 6 December 2008. Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 6 December 2008.
- ^ "Officials named for Carling Cup Final". football-league.co.uk. The Football League. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 30 January 2009.
- ^ "English Carling Cup – Top Scorers – 2008". ESPN. Retrieved 1 March 2009.
External links[]
- Official Carling Cup website
- Carling Cup News at football-league.co.uk
- Carling Cup at bbc.co.uk
- 2008–09 Football League Cup
- EFL Cup seasons
- 2008–09 Football League
- 2008–09 in English football
- 2008–09 domestic association football cups