2003–04 Football League Cup

Football tournament season

2003–04 Football League CupCarling Cup, League Cup

Country|  England
Wales
Teams| 92
Defending champions| Liverpool
Champions| Middlesbrough (1st title)
Runners-up| Bolton Wanderers
Matches played| 93
Top goal scorer(s)| Juan Pablo Ángel
(7 goals)

← 2002–03

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[edit]

| North

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
0 – 0 after extra time — Darlington win 5 – 3 on penalties
3 | Chesterfield (3) | 0 – 0 | Burnley (2) | 2,928
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
0 – 0 after extra time — Nottingham Forest win 3 – 2 on penalties
10 | Preston North End (2) | 0 – 0 | Notts County (3) | 5,016
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
2 - 2 after extra time, Hartlepool win 5 - 4 on penalties
18 | Stoke City (2) | 2 – 1 | Rochdale (4) | 4,678

| South

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
1 – 1 after extra time — Crystal Palace win 3 – 1 on penalties
11 | Watford (2) | 0 – 0 | Bournemouth (3) | 9,561
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
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
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[edit]

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

|
|
|
|

1 | Blackpool | 1 – 0 | Birmingham City | 7,370
2 | Bristol City | 0 – 0 | Watford | 5,213
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
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
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
2 – 2 after extra time - Leeds United win 4 - 3 on penalties
23 | Middlesbrough | 0 – 0 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 10,435
Middlesbrough win 1 – 0 after extra time
24 | Oxford United | 1 – 3 | Reading | 9,870

1 Score after 90 minutes

## Third round[edit]

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

|
|
|
|

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
West Bromwich Albion win 2 – 1 after extra time
6 | Nottingham Forest | 2 – 4 | Portsmouth | 20,078
7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 – 0 | West Ham |
Tottenham Hotspur win 1 – 0 after extra time
8 | Wigan Athletic | 1 – 2 | Middlesbrough | 8,046
9 | Arsenal | 1 – 1 | Rotherham United | 27,451
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
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[edit]

* 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.

2003-12-03

Aston Villa| 3–0| Crystal Palace

|
|

Symons 22' (o.g.)
McCann 70'
Ángel 79' |  |

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 24,258

Referee: Mike Dean

* * *

2003-12-03

Liverpool| 2–3| Bolton Wanderers

|
|

Murphy 66'
Šmicer 88' |  | Jardel 4'
Okacha 79'
Djorkaeff 90' (pen.)

Anfield, Liverpool

Attendance: 33,185

Referee: Mike Riley

* * *

2003-12-03

Middlesbrough| 0–0 (a.e.t.)| Everton

|
|

|  |
Penalties
| 5–4 |

Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 18,568

Referee: Mark Halsey

* * *

2003-12-03

Reading| 0–1| Chelsea

|
|

|  | Hasselbaink 57'

Madejski Stadium, Reading

Attendance: 24,107

Referee: Steve Bennett

* * *

2003-12-03

Tottenham Hotspur| 3–1| Manchester City

|
|

Anderton 9'
Postiga 30'
Kanouté 90' |  | Fowler 80'

White Hart Lane, London

Attendance: 31,727

Referee: Paul Durkin

* * *

2003-12-03

West Bromwich Albion| 2–0| Manchester United

|
|

Haas 6'
Dobie 56' |  |

The Hawthorns, West Bromwich

Attendance: 25,282

Referee: Jeff Winter

* * *

2003-12-02

Arsenal| 5–1| Wolverhampton Wanderers

|
|

Aliadière 24', 71'
Kanu 68'
Wiltord 79'
Fàbregas 88' |  | Rae 81'

Highbury, London

Attendance: 28,161

Referee: Dermot Gallagher

* * *

2003-12-02

Southampton| 2–0| Portsmouth

|
|

Beattie 33', 90' |  |

St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton

Attendance: 29,201

Referee: Graham Poll

## Quarter-finals[edit]

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.

2003-12-16

20:00

West Bromwich Albion| 0–2| Arsenal

|
|

|  | Kanu 25'
Aliadière 57'

The Hawthorns, West Bromwich

Attendance: 20,369

Referee: Matt Messias

* * *

2003-12-16

20:00

Bolton Wanderers| 1–0 (a.e.t.)| Southampton

|
|

Pedersen 115' |  |

Reebok Stadium, Bolton

Attendance: 13,957

Referee: Phil Dowd

* * *

2003-12-17

19:45

Tottenham Hotspur| 1–1 (a.e.t.)| Middlesbrough

|
|

Anderton 2' |  | M. Ricketts 86'
Penalties
| 4–5 |

White Hart Lane, London

Attendance: 25,307

Referee: Mike Dean

* * *

2003-12-17

19:45

Aston Villa| 2–1| Chelsea

|
|

Ángel 16'
McCann 78' |  | J. Cole 69'

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 30,414

Referee: Neale Barry

## Semi-finals[edit]

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[edit]

2004-01-20

Arsenal| 0–1| Middlesbrough

|
|

|  | Juninho 53'

Highbury, London

Attendance: 31,070

Referee: Steve Dunn

* * *

2004-01-21

Bolton Wanderers| 5–2| Aston Villa

|
|

Okocha 2', 80'
Nolan 9'
Giannakopoulos 17'
Ngotty 74' |  | Ángel 20', 56'

Reebok Stadium, Bolton

Attendance: 16,302

Referee: Paul Durkin

### Second leg[edit]

2004-01-27

Aston Villa| 2–0| Bolton Wanderers

|
|

Hitzlsperger 10'
Samuel 88' |  |

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 36,883

Referee: Steve Bennett

Bolton Wanderers won 5–4 on aggregate.

* * *

2004-02-03

Middlesbrough| 2–1| Arsenal

|
|

Zenden 69'
Reyes 85' (o.g.) |  | Edu 77'

Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 28,781

Referee: Dermot Gallagher

Middlesbrough won 3–1 on aggregate.

## Final[edit]

Further information on this match: 2004 Football League Cup 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.

2004-02-29

14:00

Bolton Wanderers| 1–2| Middlesbrough

|
|

Davies 21' | Report | Job 2'
Zenden 7' (pen.)

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 72,634

Referee: Mike Riley (West Yorkshire)

## See also[edit]

* Football League Cup

## External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Football League Cup 2003-2004.

* Official Carling Cup website
* Carling Cup at bbc.co.uk
* Results service at soccerbase.com

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League competitions|

| Level 1|

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|

Levels 2–4|

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Level 5|

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Levels 6–7|

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| FA cups|

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|

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Premier League|

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Second Division|

* Barnsley
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Third Division|

* Boston United
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2003–04 in European football (UEFA)

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League cups|

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* Champions League (Qualifying rounds, Group stage, Knockout stage, Final)
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