The 2013 Football League Cup Final was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

match between

Bradford City Bradford City Association Football Club is an English professional football club in Bradford, West Yorkshire. The team competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system and are currently managed by Mark Hughes. Th ...

and Swansea City, which took place on 24 February 2013 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

in London. It was the final match of the 2012–13 Football League Cup, the 53rd season of the

Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by the ...

, a football competition for the 92 teams in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

and the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

. Bradford City, of

League Two The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...

, were appearing in their first major cup final since they won the 1911 FA Cup Final, and were the first fourth-tier side to reach the League Cup final since

Rochdale Rochdale ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, at the foothills of the South Pennines in the dale on the River Roch, northwest of Oldham and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough ...

in 1962. 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 association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevil ...

, 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'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

. 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 Isl ...

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 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 participant o ...

Cardiff City won the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

in 1927.

Road to Wembley

Bradford City

Bradford City defeated

League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

team

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

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 system ...

side

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

, who went ahead after a 71st-minute goal from

Ikechi Anya Ikechi Anya (born 3 January 1988) is a Scottish former professional footballer. A versatile player, Anya was fielded in a number of positions, including winger, wing-back and full-back. He played for Wycombe Wanderers, Northampton Town, Wa ...

. Bradford scored, first through

Kyel Reid Kyel Romane Reid (born 26 November 1987) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger for Beaconsfield Town. Career West Ham Born in South London, Reid joined West Ham United in July 2004 and is a product of the West Ham United ...

's 84th-minute equaliser and Garry Thompson in injury-time.

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club moved its home groun ...

, 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 footballer who plays as a forward for club Bristol City and the Bermuda national team. Wells began his career in his native Bermuda, playing for Dandy Town Hornets and Berm ...

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 an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...

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 Alan John Connell (born 5 February 1983) is an English former professional footballer and current youth team coach at AFC Bournemouth. As a player, he was a striker who played between 2001 and 2016. Connell came through the youth academy at T ...

. 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 an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...

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, known as the University of Bradford Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is an all-seater football stadium in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Built in 1886, it was the home of Manningham Rugby Football Club until 1903, when they 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 is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, Nahki Wells gave Bradford the lead after 20 minutes and

Rory McArdle Rory Alexander McArdle (born 1 May 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Harrogate Town. He has previously played for Sheffield Wednesday, Rochdale, Aberdeen, Bradford City and Scunthorpe United, and r ...

scored in the 77th minute.

Andreas Weimann Andreas Weimann (; born 5 August 1991) is an Austrian professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for club Bristol City and the Austria national team. Weimann was signed by Aston Villa as a sixteen-year-old from Rapid Vienna and ...

scored for Aston Villa in the 82nd minute, but

Carl McHugh Carl Gerard McHugh (born 5 February 1993) is an Irish professional footballer who plays for Indian Super League club ATK Mohun Bagan. Primarily a central defender, McHugh can also play as a left-back, and even as a defensive midfielder. Club ca ...

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 Christian Benteke Liolo (born 3 December 1990) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club D.C. United and the Belgium national team. Benteke began his career at Standard Liège, playing a part in ...

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. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

at the

Liberty Stadium The Swansea.com Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Swansea.com; formerly Liberty Stadium) is an all-seated sports stadium and conferencing venue located in the Landore area of Swansea, Wales. The stadium opened in 2005 and was named the Liberty Stadium. It ...

. 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 Graham ( ...

and two second-half goals from

Luke Moore Luke Isaacc Moore (born 13 February 1986) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. Moore represented England at England U21 level and is the younger brother of former professional footballer Stefan Moore. Club ca ...

. 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 club was founded as Crawley Football Club in 1896, changed its name to Crawley Town Football Club in 1958. The team co ...

. Played at the

Broadfield Stadium The Broadfield Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Crawley, England. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home ground of Crawley Town F.C. The stadium has a capacity of 6,134 people, and is owned by Crawley Borough Cou ...

Michu Miguel Pérez Cuesta (born 21 March 1986), known as Michu (), is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a striker or attacking midfielder. He started playing for Real Oviedo, subsequently representing Celta and Rayo Vallecano, ...

put Swansea one goal ahead in the 27th minute. Josh Simpson and

Hope Akpan Hope Ini Ita Akpan (born 14 August 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Widnes. He came through the youth ranks at Everton, making his first-team debut in 2009. He later played for Hull City (on loan), Crawley Town ...

put Crawley 2–1 ahead after 62 minutes. Graham levelled the tie in the 74th minute with header from a

Dwight Tiendalli Dwight Marciano Tiendalli (; born 21 October 1985) is a Surinamese-born Dutch former professional footballer. He generally played as a full-back. Tiendalli is a former Dutch under-21 international, and was part of the FC Twente team that won ...

cross.

Garry Monk Garry Alan Monk (born 6 March 1979) is an English football manager and former professional player who played as a centre back, and was most recently the manager of Championship club Sheffield Wednesday. His managerial career includes spells at ...

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 city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Anfield Anfield is a football stadium in Anfield, Liverpool, Merseyside, England, which has a seating capacity of 53,394, making it the seventh largest football stadium in England. It has been the home of Liverpool F.C. since their formation in 1892. ...

in the fourth round draw.

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

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 footballer who plays as a striker for Uruguayan Primera División club Nacional and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed ''El Pistolero'' ('The Gunman'), he is ...

scored one goal for Liverpool, but a counterattack from Swansea led to a third goal for Swansea from

Jonathan de Guzmán Jonathan Alexander de Guzmán (born 13 September 1987) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Sparta Rotterdam. Born in Canada, he represented the Netherlands internationally. De Guzmán is Canadian-born, but made himself a ...

in the 90th minute. Swansea were drawn against Championship side

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

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 Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

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. 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, tennis ...

and Chelsea player

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Walter Hazard (born 7 January 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid. Known for his creativity, dribbling, passing and vision, Hazard is considered o ...

. 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

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