1998–99 Football League Cup

The 1998–99 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 39th staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

1998–99 Football League Cup
League Cup
Worthington Cup
Tournament details
CountryEngland
Wales
Teams92
Defending championsChelsea
Final positions
ChampionsTottenham Hotspur (3rd title)
Runner-upLeicester City
Tournament statistics
Top goal scorer(s)Gianluca Vialli
(6 goals)

The competition began on 11 August 1998, and ended with the final on 21 March 1999, held at Wembley Stadium.

The tournament was won by Tottenham Hotspur, who beat Leicester City 1–0 in the final, thanks to an Allan Nielsen goal in the last minute of normal time.[1]

First round

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The 72 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 1997–98 season.

Tie no Home team1 (1st Leg)
(2nd Leg)
Aggregate
Away team
1 Barnet (2–1)
(0–5)
2–6
Wolverhampton Wanderers
2 Birmingham City (2–0)
(1–1)
3–1
Millwall
3 Blackpool (1–0)
(1–1)
2–1
Scunthorpe United
4 Bolton Wanderers (1–0)
(3–0)
4–0
Hartlepool United
5 Bradford City (1–1)
(1–0)
2–1
Lincoln City
6 Bristol City (4–0)
(3–4)
7–4
Shrewsbury Town
7 Bury (1–1)
(4–1)
5–2
Burnley
8 Cambridge United (1–0)
(1–1)
2–1
Watford
9 Exeter City (1–1)
(1–5)
2–6
Ipswich Town
10 Fulham (2–1)
(2–1)
4–2
Cardiff City
11 Grimsby Town (0–0)
(0–0)
0–0
Preston North End
After extra time — Grimsby Town win on penalties
12 Huddersfield Town (3–2)
(1–1)
4–3
Mansfield Town
13 Leyton Orient (1–1)
(2–1)
3–2
Bristol Rovers
14 Luton Town (2–3)
(3–1)
5–4
Oxford United
15 Macclesfield Town (3–1)
(0–1)
3–2
Stoke City
16 Northampton Town (2–1)
(1–1)
3–2
Brighton & Hove Albion
17 Notts County (0–2)
(1–7)
1–9
Manchester City
18 Oldham Athletic (3–2)
(0–2)
3–4
Crewe Alexandra
19 Peterborough United (1–1)
(0–2)
1–3
Reading
20 Plymouth Argyle (1–3)
(2–3)
3–6
Portsmouth
21 Port Vale (1–2)
(2–2)
3–4
Chester City
22 Rotherham United (0–1)
(0–2)
0–3
Chesterfield
23 Scarborough (0–1)
(0–3)
0–4
Barnsley
24 Sheffield United (3–1)
(2–2)
5–3
Darlington
25 Southend United (1–0)
(1–0)
2–0
Gillingham
26 Stockport County (2–2)
(0–0)
2–2
Hull City
After extra time — Hull City win on away goals
27 Swansea City (1–1)
(0–1)
1–2
Norwich City
28 Swindon Town (2–1)
(0–2)
2–3
Wycombe Wanderers
29 Torquay United (1–1)
(1–2)
2–3
Crystal Palace
30 Tranmere Rovers (3–0)
(1–0)
4–0
Carlisle United
31 Walsall (0–0)
(1–3)
1–3
QPR
32 West Bromwich Albion (2–1)
(0–3)
2–4
Brentford
33 Wigan Athletic (1–0)
(1–0)
2–0
Rochdale
34 Wrexham (0–2)
(2–0)
2–2
Halifax Town
After extra time — Halifax Town win on penalties
35 York City (0–2)
(1–2)
1–4
Sunderland
36 Bournemouth (2–0)
(2–3)
4–3
Colchester United

1 Team at home in the 1st leg is denoted as the home team

Second round

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The 36 winners from the First Round joined the 12 Premier League clubs not participating in European competition in Round Two. First leg matches were played on 15 and 16 September, second leg matches were played on 22 and 23 September.

Tie no Home team1 (1st Leg)
(2nd Leg)
Aggregate
Away team
1 Bristol City (1–1)
(0–2)
1–3
Crewe Alexandra
2 Coventry City (1–0)
(4–0)
5–0
Southend United
3 Derby County (1–1)
(1–0)
2–1
Manchester City
4 Leicester City (3–0)
(3–1)
6–1
Chesterfield
5 Middlesbrough (2–0)
(1–1)
3–1
Wycombe Wanderers
6 Norwich City (1–0)
(3–2)
4–2
Wigan Athletic
7 Q.P.R. (0–2)
(0–1)
0–3
Charlton Athletic
8 Sheffield Wednesday (0–1)
(1–1)
1–2
Cambridge United
9 Barnsley (3–0)
(1–1)
4–1
Reading
10 Blackpool (2–1)
(1–3)
3–4
Tranmere Rovers
11 Bolton Wanderers (3–1)
(3–2)
6–3
Hull City
12 Bournemouth (1–1)
(2–1)
3–2
Wolverhampton Wanderers
13 Brentford (2–3)
(2–3)
4–6
Tottenham Hotspur
14 Bury (3–0)
(1–2)
4–2
Crystal Palace
15 Fulham (1–1)
(1–0)
2–1
Southampton
16 Halifax Town (1–2)
(1–3)
2–5
Bradford City
17 Huddersfield Town (1–1)
(1–2)
2–3
Everton
18 Ipswich Town (2–1)
(2–4)
4–5
Luton Town
19 Leyton Orient (1–5)
(0–0)
1–5
Nottingham Forest
20 Macclesfield Town (0–3)
(0–6)
0–9
Birmingham City
21 Northampton Town (2–0)
(0–1)
2–1
West Ham
22 Portsmouth (2–1)
(1–4)
3–5
Wimbledon
23 Sheffield United (2–1)
(0–2)
2–3
Grimsby Town
24 Sunderland (3–0)
(1–0)
4–0
Chester City

1 Team at home in the 1st leg is denoted as the home team

Third round

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The 24 winners from the Second Round joined the 8 Premiership clubs participating in European competition in Round Three. Matches were played on 27 and 28 October.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1 Barnsley 2–1 Bournemouth 27 October 1998
2 Charlton Athletic 1–2 Leicester City 27 October 1998
3 Liverpool 3–1 Fulham 27 October 1998
4 Luton Town 2–0 Coventry City 27 October 1998
5 Northampton Town 1–3 Tottenham Hotspur 27 October 1998
6 Norwich City 1–1 Bolton Wanderers 27 October 1998
After extra time — Bolton Wanderers win 3–1 on penalties
7 Nottingham Forest 3–3 Cambridge United 27 October 1998
After extra time — Nottingham Forest win 4–3 on penalties
8 Sunderland 2–1 Grimsby Town 27 October 1998
9 Tranmere Rovers 0–1 Newcastle United 27 October 1998
10 Birmingham City 1–2 Wimbledon 28 October 1998
11 Chelsea 4–1 Aston Villa 28 October 1998
12 Crewe Alexandra 0–1 Blackburn Rovers 28 October 1998
13 Derby County 1–2 Arsenal 28 October 1998
14 Leeds United 1–0 Bradford City 28 October 1998
15 Manchester United 2–0 Bury 28 October 1998
16 Middlesbrough 2–3 Everton 28 October 1998

Fourth round

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Matches were played on 10 and 11 November.

Bolton Wanderers1–2Wimbledon
Jensen   52' Gayle   16'
Kennedy   63'
Attendance: 7,868
Referee: Andy D'Urso

Liverpool1–3Tottenham Hotspur
Owen   81' Iversen   2'
Scales   20'
Nielsen   62'
Attendance: 20,772
Referee: Gary Willard

Luton Town1–0Barnsley
Gray   81'
Attendance: 8,435
Referee: Steve Bennett

Arsenal0–5Chelsea
Leboeuf   34' (pen.)
Vialli   49', 73'
Poyet   65', 80'
Attendance: 37,562
Referee: David Elleray

Everton1–1 (a.e.t.)
4–5p
Sunderland
Collins   74' Bridges   29'
Attendance: 28,132
Referee: Mike Reed

Leicester City2–1Leeds United
Izzet   88'
Parker   90' (pen.)
Kewell   17'
Attendance: 20,161
Referee: Paul Durkin

Manchester United2–1Nottingham Forest
Solskjær   57', 60' Stone   68'
Attendance: 37,237
Referee: Rob Harris

Newcastle United1–1 (a.e.t.)
2–4p
Blackburn Rovers
Shearer   9' Sherwood   30'
Attendance: 34,702
Referee: Neale Barry

Quarter-finals

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The four matches were played on 1, and 2 December.

Sunderland3–0Luton Town
Johnson   40' (o.g.)
Bridges   89'
McCann   90'
Attendance: 35,742
Referee: Eddie Lomas

Wimbledon2–1Chelsea
Earle   20'
Hughes   75' (pen.)
Vialli   85'
Attendance: 19,286
Referee: Graham Poll

Leicester City1–0Blackburn Rovers
Lennon   67'
Attendance: 19,442
Referee: Alan Wilkie

Tottenham Hotspur3–1Manchester United
Armstrong   48', 55'
Ginola   86'
Sheringham   71'
Attendance: 35,702
Referee: Peter Jones

Semi-finals

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The semi-final draw was made in December 1998 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 first leg matches were played on 26 and 27 January 1999, the second leg matches were played on 16 and 17 February 1999. It was a narrow victory for Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at the expense of Wimbledon and Sunderland, respectively, giving Tottenham the first chance of their major trophy–and place in Europe–for eight years, while Leicester had reached their second final in three seasons.

First leg

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Sunderland1–2Leicester City
McCann   75' Cottee   30', 62'
Attendance: 38,332
Referee: Graham Barber

Tottenham Hotspur0–0Wimbledon
Attendance: 35,997
Referee: Steve Dunn

Second leg

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Wimbledon0–1Tottenham Hotspur
Iversen   39'
Attendance: 25,204
Referee: Gary Willard

Tottenham Hotspur win 1-0 on aggregate


Leicester City1–1Sunderland
Cottee   54' Quinn   34'
Attendance: 21,231
Referee: David Elleray

Leicester City win 3-2 on aggregate

Final

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The 1999 Worthington Cup Final was played on 21 March 1999 and was contested between Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City at Wembley Stadium. Tottenham won the match 1–0 thanks to a last minute Allan Nielsen header.

Leicester City0–1Tottenham Hotspur
Report Nielsen   90'
Attendance: 77,892
Referee: Terry Heilbron

References

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  1. ^ "Nielsen nicks it for Spurs". BBC Sport. 22 March 1999. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
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