The 2013 Football League Cup Final was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

match between

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The club competes in , the third tier of English football, and is managed by Graham Alexander. The club was founded in 1903 and ...

and

Swansea City Swansea City Association Football Club ( ; ) is a Welsh professional football club based in Swansea, Wales. It competes in the EFL Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Swansea have played their home matches at ...

, which took place on 24 February 2013 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium, currently branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE Limited, EE for sponsorship reasons, is an association football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Sta ...

in London. It was the final match of the

2012–13 Football League Cup The 2012–13 Football League Cup (known as the Capital One Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 53rd season of the EFL Cup, Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 Association football, football clubs played in English footb ...

, the 53rd season of the

Football League Cup The English Football League Cup, often referred to as the League Cup and currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout competition in men's domestic football in England. Orga ...

, a football competition for the 92 teams in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

and the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

. Bradford City, of League Two, were appearing in their first major cup final since they won the

1911 FA Cup Final The 1911 FA Cup final was the 40th FA Cup final. It was contested by Bradford City and Newcastle United. The first game resulted in a goalless draw at Crystal Palace. A single goal scored by Jimmy Speirs for Bradford won the replay at Old Traf ...

, and were the first fourth-tier side to reach the League Cup final since

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England, and the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale. In the United Kingdom 2021 Census, 2021 Census, the town had a population of 111,261, compared to 223,773 for the wid ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

. Swansea City, of the

, were appearing in their first major English cup final in their 101-year history. Swansea won the match 5–0, and qualified for the

2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The final was played between Sevilla and Benfica at the Juventus Stadium in Tu ...

, entering in the

third qualifying round Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (dis ...

. Although based in Wales, their participation in the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the ...

means they took one of the English berths in the competition. It was the first time the League Cup had been won by a non-English club and the first time a major English cup had been won by a non-English club since Swansea's

rivals A rivalry is the state of two people or Social group, groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each ...

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the BBC, British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith, 1st Baron Reith, John Reith becomes the first ...

Road to Wembley

Bradford City

Bradford City defeated League One team

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

in the first round, winning in extra time through a James Hanson goal. Bradford's second round tie was against

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

side

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

, who went ahead after a 71st-minute goal from Ikechi Anya. Bradford scored, first through Kyel Reid's 84th-minute equaliser and Garry Thompson in injury-time. Burton Albion, also of League Two, played Bradford in the third round. Bradford were behind by two goals for the majority of the match, but

Nahki Wells Nahki Michael Wells (born 1 June 1990) is a Bermudian professional association football, footballer who plays as a Forward (association football), forward for club Bristol City F.C., Bristol City and the Bermuda national football team, Bermuda ...

scored twice in the last 10 minutes, resulting in extra time. Stephen Darby scored the winning goal in the 115th minute. Bradford were drawn against

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

of the

(who went on to win that year's FA Cup) in the fourth round. The match was goalless after 90 minutes and also after extra time, resulting in a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

. Bradford won the shoot-out 4–2 with successful penalties from Nathan Doyle, Gary Jones, Stephen Darby and Alan Connell. It was the first time Bradford had knocked a Premiership club out of the competition since they defeated

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in September 1995. Bradford's quarter-final victory over

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

of the Premier League at

Valley Parade Valley Parade, currently known as University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater association football, football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The stadium was built in 1886 as the home of Manningham F.C. ...

was also decided on penalties, after the match finished 1–1 during regulation time. Nathan Doyle, Gary Jones and Alan Connell all successfully converted their penalties for Bradford, who won 3–2 on penalties. In the semi-final first leg against Premier League

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

, Nahki Wells gave Bradford the lead after 20 minutes and Rory McArdle scored in the 77th minute.

Andreas Weimann Andreas Weimann (; born 5 August 1991) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a forward or attacking midfielder for club Blackburn Rovers and the Austria national team. He was signed by Aston Villa as a sixteen-year-old from ...

scored for Aston Villa in the 82nd minute, but Carl McHugh restored Bradford's two-goal lead in the 87th after heading home Gary Jones' corner. Aston Villa won the second leg 2–1, but Bradford won 4–3 on aggregate. Christian Benteke put Aston Villa ahead in the 24th minute, before Bradford's James Hanson levelled in the 55th minute. Andreas Weimann scored an 89th-minute goal for Aston Villa.

Swansea City

Swansea City received a bye into the second round as one of the thirteen

clubs not involved in European competition. They were drawn against

side

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. It is the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. The town's population was 71,422 in 2021, while the wider boroug ...

at the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium (; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated multi-use sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales, hosting both rugby union and football. The stadium opened in 2005 and was name ...

. Swansea won 3–1 after a 24th-minute opener from

Danny Graham Daniel Graham (born 1978) is an American football player. Daniel Graham may also refer to: * Bob Graham (born 1936), Daniel Robert Graham, American politician * Daniel O. Graham (1926–1995), American general and political activist * Danny Graha ...

and two second-half goals from Luke Moore. Swansea's third round opponents were

Crawley Town Crawley Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crawley, West Sussex, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Founded in 1896 as Crawley Foo ...

. Played at the Broadfield Stadium,

Michu Miguel Pérez Cuesta (born 21 March 1986), known as Michu (), is a Spanish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Forward, forward or Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfie ...

put Swansea one goal ahead in the 27th minute. Josh Simpson and Hope Akpan put Crawley 2–1 ahead after 62 minutes. Graham levelled the tie in the 74th minute with header from a Dwight Tiendalli cross.

Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who was most recently the head coach of club Cambridge United. Monk, a centre back, began his playing career with Torquay United before joining ...

scored an injury-time winner from a corner kick for Swansea. The match finished 3–2 and Swansea progressed to the fourth round. Swansea were paired with cup holders

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Anfield Anfield is a Association football, football stadium in the area of Anfield (suburb), Anfield, Liverpool, England, which has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since its formation in 1892. The stadium has a seating capacity of 61,276, making it the ...

in the fourth round draw.

Chico Flores José Manuel Flores Moreno (born 6 March 1987), commonly known as Chico Flores, is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a central defender. Club career Early years and Almería Born in Cádiz, Andalusia, Chico started playin ...

put Swansea in the lead and Nathan Dyer scored a second goal for Swansea from a cross across the six-yard line from Pablo Hernández.

Luis Suárez Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz (; born 24 January 1987) is a Uruguayan professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Striker (association football), striker for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF, Inter Miami. Known for his go ...

scored one goal for Liverpool, but a counterattack from Swansea led to a third goal for Swansea from Jonathan de Guzmán in the 90th minute. Swansea were drawn against Championship side

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ), colloquially known as Boro, is a port town in the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England. Lying to the south of the River Tees, Middlesbrough forms part of the Teesside Built up area, built-up area and the Tees Va ...

in the quarter-final. The only goal of the game came in the 82nd minute, after Middlesbrough defender Seb Hines headed the ball into his own net. Swansea played Chelsea in the semi-final, with the first leg at Stamford Bridge. Michu scored in the 39th minute to give Swansea the lead, following a defensive error from

Branislav Ivanović Branislav Ivanović ( sr-Cyrl, Бранислав Ивановић, ; born 22 February 1984) is a Serbian former professional Association football, footballer. A versatile defender, Ivanović played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back ...

. A second mistake from Ivanović allowed Danny Graham to double Swansea's lead in the 90th minute; the match ended 2–0. The second leg was played at Swansea's

. While Michu had the best opportunity to score in the 9th minute, the game finished 0–0 (2–0 on aggregate) and Swansea advanced to the final. In the 80th minute, there was an incident between a

ball boy Ball boys and ball girls, also known as ball kids, are individuals, usually human youths, but sometimes dogs, who retrieve and supply balls for players or officials in sports such as association football, American football, bandy, cricket, tenn ...

and Chelsea player

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (association football), winger or attacking midfielder for Lille OSC, Lille, Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Real ...

. Replays showed that the ball boy was shielding the ball from Hazard in an attempt to waste time. Hazard then kicked the ball out from under the boy, prompting referee Chris Foy to show him a red card for violent conduct.

Match

Details

Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Football League Cup Final 2013

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2013 in sport in London League Cup Final 2013 League Cup Final 2013

February 2013 sports events in the United Kingdom de:League Cup 2012/13#Finale fr:Coupe de la Ligue anglaise de football 2012-2013#Finale