2003–04 Football League Cup

{{infobox football tournament season

| title = Football League Cup

| year = 2003–04

| other_titles = Carling Cup, League Cup

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| country = England
Wales

| num_teams = 92

| defending champions = Liverpool

| champions = Middlesbrough

| count = 1

| runner-up = Bolton Wanderers

| matches = 93

| goals =

| top goal scorer = Juan Pablo Ángel
(7 goals)

| player =

| prevseason = 2002–03

| nextseason = 2004–05

}}

The 2003–04 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 44th 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 Carling.

The competition began in August 2003 and ended with the final on 29 February 2004. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final match, as it had done since 2001 as the reconstruction was still taking place on Wembley Stadium in London.

The winners were Middlesbrough who beat Bolton Wanderers in the final 2-1 and collected their first major piece of silverware in their history and as a result of their victory qualified for European football for the first time. Joseph Desire-Job gave Middlesbrough the lead with just 2 minutes gone and a Bolo Zenden penalty five minutes later doubled their advantage. Kevin Davies pulled a goal back in the 21st minute but Middlesbrough held on. It was to be until 2008 when another English manager won a domestic tournament when Harry Redknapp (then at Portsmouth) lifted the FA Cup.

First round

colspan="5"\|North
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no !Home team !Score¹ !Away team !Attendance
\|1	Barnsley (3)	1 – 2	Blackpool (3)	5,378
\|2	Bradford (2)	0 – 0	Darlington (4)	4,077
colspan="5"\|0 – 0 after extra time — Darlington win 5 – 3 on penalties
\|3	Chesterfield (3)	0 – 0	Burnley (2)	2,928
colspan="5"\|0 – 0 after extra time — Burnley win 3 – 2 on penalties
\|4	Crewe (2)	2 – 0	Wrexham (3)	3,152
\|5	Doncaster Rovers (4)	3 – 2	Grimsby Town (3)	6,057
\|6	Huddersfield Town (4)	2 – 1	Derby County (2)	6,672
\|7	Lincoln City (4)	0 – 1	Stockport County (3)	2,296
\|8	Macclesfield Town (4)	1 – 2	Sheffield United (2)	2,764
\|9	Port Vale (3)	0 – 0	Nottingham Forest (2)	4,950
colspan="5"\|0 – 0 after extra time — Nottingham Forest win 3 – 2 on penalties
\|10	Preston North End (2)	0 – 0	Notts County (3)	5,016
colspan="5"\|0 – 0 after extra time — Notts County win 7 – 6 on penalties
\|11	Rotherham United (2)	2 – 1	York City (4)	2,919
\|12	Scunthorpe United (4)	2 – 1	Oldham Athletic (3)	2,366
\|13	Tranmere Rovers (3)	1 – 0	Bury (4)	4,272
\|14	Walsall (2)	2 – 1	Carlisle United (4)	4,665
\|15	Wigan Athletic (2)	2 – 0	Hull City (4)	3,295
\|16	Mansfield Town (4)	1 – 2	Sunderland (2)
\|17	Sheffield Wednesday (3)	1 – 1	Hartlepool United (3)	13,410
colspan="5"\|2 - 2 after extra time, Hartlepool win 5 - 4 on penalties
\|18	Stoke City (2)	2 – 1	Rochdale (4)	4,678

colspan="5"\|South
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
Tie no !Home team !Score¹ !Away team !Attendance
\|1	Bristol Rovers (4)	0 – 1	Brighton & Hove Albion (3)	5,518
\|2	Cambridge United (4)	1 – 2	Gillingham (2)	3,044
\|3	Cardiff (2)	4 – 1	Leyton Orient (4)	4,503
\|4	Cheltenham (4)	1 – 2	QPR (3)	3,697
\|5	Colchester (3)	2 – 1	Plymouth (3)	2,367
\|6	Luton Town (3)	4 – 1	Yeovil Town (4)	4,337
\|7	Millwall (2)	0 – 1	Oxford United (4)	4,781
\|8	Northampton Town (4)	1 – 0	Norwich City (2)	5,476
\|9	Southend United (4)	2 – 3	Swindon Town (3)	3,385
\|10	Torquay United (4)	1 – 1	Crystal Palace (2)	3,366
colspan="5"\|1 – 1 after extra time — Crystal Palace win 3 – 1 on penalties
\|11	Watford (2)	0 – 0	Bournemouth (3)	9,561
colspan="5"\|Watford win 1 – 0 after extra time
\|12	West Bromwich Albion (2)	4 – 0	Brentford (3)	10,440
\|13	Wycombe Wanderers (3)	2 – 0	Wimbledon (2)	1,986
\|14	Boston United (4)	1 – 3	Reading (2)	2,055
\|15	Bristol City (3)	1 – 1	Swansea City (4)	5,807
colspan="5"\|Bristol City win 4 – 1 after extra time
\|16	Coventry City (2)	2 – 0	Peterborough United (3)	8,280
\|17	Ipswich Town (2)	0 – 0	Kidderminster Harriers (4)	11,118
colspan="5"\|Ipswich win 1 – 0 after extra time
\|18	West Ham (2)	3 – 1	Rushden & Diamonds (3)	13,715

¹ Score after 90 minutes

Second round

The 36 winners from the First Round joined 12 of the 20 Premier League clubs not participating in the UEFA Champions League in Round Two.

The draw was made on 16 August 2003.
Matches occurred during the week commencing 22 August.
Extra time played when the scores were level after 90 minutes.

Tie no !Home team !Score¹ !Away team !Attendance
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
\|1	Blackpool	1 – 0	Birmingham City	7,370
\|2	Bristol City	0 – 0	Watford	5,213
colspan="5"\|Bristol City win 1 – 0 after extra time
\|3	Cardiff City	2 – 3	West Ham	10,724
\|4	Charlton Athletic	3 – 3	Luton Town	10,905
colspan="5"\|4 – 4 after extra time - Charlton Athletic win 8 - 7 on penalties
\|5	Crystal Palace	2 – 1	Doncaster Rovers	4,904
\|6	Hartlepool United	1 – 2	West Bromwich Albion	5,265
\|7	Leicester City	1 – 0	Crewe Alexandra	27,675
\|8	Notts County	2 – 1	Ipswich Town	4,059
\|9	Portsmouth	5 – 2	Northampton Town	11,130
\|10	Rotherham United	1 – 0	Colchester United	2,474
\|11	Scunthorpe United	2 – 3	Burnley	2,915
\|12	Sheffield United	0 – 2	QPR	9,578
\|13	Stoke City	0 – 2	Gillingham	4,607
\|14	Sunderland	2 – 4	Huddersfield Town	13,516
\|15	Tranmere Rovers	0 – 0	Nottingham Forest	4,477
colspan="5"\|0 – 0 after extra time - Nottingham Forest win 4 - 1 on penalties
\|16	Wigan Athletic	1 – 0	Fulham	4,874
\|17	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2 – 0	Darlington	10,232
\|18	Wycombe Wanderers	0 – 5	Aston Villa	6,072
\|19	Bolton Wanderers	3 – 1	Walsall	5,229
\|20	Coventry City	0 – 3	Tottenham Hotspur	15,474
\|21	Everton	3 – 0	Stockport County	19,807
\|22	Leeds United	2 – 2	Swindon Town	29,211
colspan="5"\|2 – 2 after extra time - Leeds United win 4 - 3 on penalties
\|23	Middlesbrough	0 – 0	Brighton & Hove Albion	10,435
colspan="5"\|Middlesbrough win 1 – 0 after extra time
\|24	Oxford United	1 – 3	Reading	9,870

¹ Score after 90 minutes

Third round

Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool, Southampton, Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City joined the 24 winners from the Second Round. Matches were played on the week commencing 27 October 2003

Tie no !Home team !Score¹ !Away team !Attendance
class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
\|1	Aston Villa	1 – 0	Leicester City	26,729
\|2	Blackburn Rovers	3 – 4	Liverpool	16,918
\|3	Chelsea	4 – 2	Notts County	35,997
\|4	Everton	1 – 0	Charlton Athletic	24,863
\|5	Newcastle United	1 – 1	West Bromwich Albion	46,932
colspan="5"\|West Bromwich Albion win 2 – 1 after extra time
\|6	Nottingham Forest	2 – 4	Portsmouth	20,078
\|7	Tottenham Hotspur	0 – 0	West Ham
colspan="5"\|Tottenham Hotspur win 1 – 0 after extra time
\|8	Wigan Athletic	1 – 2	Middlesbrough	8,046
\|9	Arsenal	1 – 1	Rotherham United	27,451
colspan="5"\|1 – 1 after extra time - Arsenal win 9 - 8 on penalties
\|10	Blackpool	1 – 3	Crystal Palace	6,010
\|11	Bolton Wanderers	2 – 1	Gillingham	5,258
\|12	Bristol City	1 – 3	Southampton	17,408
\|13	Leeds United	1 – 1	Manchester United	37,546
colspan="5"\|Manchester United win 3 – 2 after extra time
\|14	QPR	0 – 3	Manchester City	16,773
\|15	Reading	1 – 0	Huddersfield Town	11,892
\|16	Wolverhampton Wanderers	2 – 0	Burnley	18,548

¹ Score after 90 minutes

Fourth round

The draw was made on 30 November 2003.
Matches were played in the week commencing 1 December.
Extra time played when scores level at 90 minutes.

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-03

|team1=Aston Villa

|score=3–0

|report=

|team2=Crystal Palace

|goals1=Symons {{goal|22|o.g.}}
McCann {{goal|70}}
Ángel {{goal|79}}

|goals2=

|stadium=Villa Park, Birmingham

|attendance=24,258

|referee=Mike Dean }}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-03

|team1=Liverpool

|score=2–3

|report=

|team2=Bolton Wanderers

|goals1=Murphy {{goal|66}}
Šmicer {{goal|88}}

|goals2=Jardel {{goal|4}}
Okacha {{goal|79}}
Djorkaeff {{goal|90|pen.}}

|stadium=Anfield, Liverpool

|attendance=33,185

|referee=Mike Riley }}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-03

|team1=Middlesbrough

|score=0–0

|aet=yes

|report=

|team2=Everton

|goals1=

|goals2=

|stadium=Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

|attendance=18,568

|referee=Mark Halsey

|penaltyscore=5–4}}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-03

|team1=Reading

|score=0–1

|report=

|team2=Chelsea

|goals1=

|goals2=Hasselbaink {{goal|57}}

|stadium=Madejski Stadium, Reading

|attendance=24,107

|referee=Steve Bennett }}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-03

|team1=Tottenham Hotspur

|score=3–1

|report=

|team2=Manchester City

|goals1=Anderton {{goal|9}}
Postiga {{goal|30}}
Kanouté {{goal|90}}

|goals2=Fowler {{goal|80}}

|stadium=White Hart Lane, London

|attendance=31,727

|referee=Paul Durkin }}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-03

|team1=West Bromwich Albion

|score=2–0

|report=

|team2=Manchester United

|goals1=Haas {{goal|6}}
Dobie {{goal|56}}

|goals2=

|stadium=The Hawthorns, West Bromwich

|attendance=25,282

|referee=Jeff Winter }}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-02

|team1=Arsenal

|score=5–1

|report=

|team2=Wolverhampton Wanderers

|goals1=Aliadière {{goal|24||71}}
Kanu {{goal|68}}
Wiltord {{goal|79}}
Fàbregas {{goal|88}}

|goals2=Rae {{goal|81}}

|stadium=Highbury, London

|attendance=28,161

|referee=Dermot Gallagher}}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-02

|team1=Southampton

|score=2–0

|report=

|team2=Portsmouth

|goals1=Beattie {{goal|33||90}}

|goals2=

|stadium=St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton

|attendance=29,201

|referee=Graham Poll }}

Quarter-finals

The draw for the quarter-finals was made on 6 December 2003. Matches were played in the week beginning 15 December 2003. The only team from outside the Premier League competing in this round was West Bromwich Albion, who lost 2–0 to Arsenal.

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-16

|time=20:00

|team1=West Bromwich Albion

|score=0–2

|report=

|team2=Arsenal

|goals1=

|goals2=Kanu {{goal|25}}
Aliadière {{goal|57}}

|stadium=The Hawthorns, West Bromwich

|attendance=20,369

|referee=Matt Messias}}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-16

|time=20:00

|team1=Bolton Wanderers

|score=1–0

|aet=yes

|report=

|team2=Southampton

|goals1=Pedersen {{goal|115}}

|goals2=

|stadium=Reebok Stadium, Bolton

|attendance=13,957

|referee=Phil Dowd}}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-17

|time=19:45

|team1=Tottenham Hotspur

|score=1–1

|aet=yes

|report=

|team2=Middlesbrough

|goals1=Anderton {{goal|2}}

|goals2=M. Ricketts {{goal|86}}

|stadium=White Hart Lane, London

|attendance=25,307

|referee=Mike Dean

|penaltyscore=4–5}}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2003-12-17

|time=19:45

|team1=Aston Villa

|score=2–1

|report=

|team2=Chelsea

|goals1=Ángel {{goal|16}}
McCann {{goal|78}}

|goals2=J. Cole {{goal|69}}

|stadium=Villa Park, Birmingham

|attendance=30,414

|referee=Neale Barry}}

Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made on 20 December 2003 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 in the weeks beginning 19 January and 26 January 2004, however the second leg of Middlesbrough v Arsenal was not played until 3 February 2004.

= First leg =

{{footballbox

|date=2004-01-20

|team1=Arsenal

|score=0–1

|report=

|team2=Middlesbrough

|goals1=

|goals2=Juninho {{goal|53}}

|stadium=Highbury, London

|attendance=31,070

|referee=Steve Dunn }}

----

{{footballbox

|date=2004-01-21

|team1=Bolton Wanderers

|score=5–2

|report=

|team2=Aston Villa

|goals1=Okocha {{goal|2||80}}
Nolan {{goal|9}}
Giannakopoulos {{goal|17}}
Ngotty {{goal|74}}

|goals2=Ángel {{goal|20||56}}

|stadium=Reebok Stadium, Bolton

|attendance=16,302

|referee=Paul Durkin }}

= Second leg =

{{footballbox

|date=2004-01-27

|team1=Aston Villa

|score=2–0

|report=

|team2=Bolton Wanderers

|goals1=Hitzlsperger {{goal|10}}
Samuel {{goal|88}}

|goals2=

|stadium=Villa Park, Birmingham

|attendance=36,883

|referee=Steve Bennett }}

Bolton Wanderers won 5–4 on aggregate.

----

{{footballbox

|date=2004-02-03

|team1=Middlesbrough

|score=2–1

|report=

|team2=Arsenal

|goals1=Zenden {{goal|69}}
Reyes {{goal|85|o.g.}}

|goals2=Edu {{goal|77}}

|stadium=Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

|attendance=28,781

|referee=Dermot Gallagher }}

Middlesbrough won 3–1 on aggregate.

Final

The 2004 Carling Cup Final was played on 29 February 2004 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was contested by Bolton Wanderers and Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough won the match 2-1 and in doing so collected their first major piece of silverware in their history and qualified for the European football in the UEFA Cup for the first time.

{{footballbox

|date=2004-02-29

|time=14:00

|team1=Bolton Wanderers

|score=1–2

|report=[http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/league_cup/3507795.stm Report]

|team2=Middlesbrough

|goals1=Davies {{goal|21}}

|goals2=Job {{goal|2}}
Zenden {{goal|7|pen.}}

|stadium=Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

|attendance=72,634

|referee=Mike Riley (West Yorkshire) }}

External links

[https://web.archive.org/web/20080703165157/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
[https://web.archive.org/web/20100313032425/http://www.soccerbase.com/cup2.sd?competitionid=60 Results service] at soccerbase.com

Category:EFL Cup seasons

League Cup

Cup

2003–04 Football League Cup

First round

Second round

Third round

Fourth round

Quarter-finals

Semi-finals

= First leg =

= Second leg =

Final

See also

External links