The 1989–90 Football League Cup (known as the

Littlewoods Littlewoods was a retail and football betting company founded in Liverpool, England, by John Moores in 1923. By the 1980s, it had grown to become the largest private company in Europe but subsequently declined in the face of increased compe ...

Challenge Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 30th 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 knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition began on 21 August 1989, and ended with the final on 29 April 1990 at the

Old Wembley Stadium Wembley Greyhounds, Wembley Stadium (; originally known as the Empire Stadium) was a Association football, football stadium in Wembley, London, best known for hosting important football matches. It stood on the same site now occupied by its We ...

. The cup was won by

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 ...

who beat

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

in the

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 ...

, who regained the trophy after winning it the previous season. This was the second time that

had won the trophy in successive seasons, having won previously in 1978 and 1979.

First round

A total of 56 teams took part in the first round. All of the Third Division and Fourth Division sides entered, with eight of the Second Division clubs also starting in this round. The eight clubs consisted of the three teams promoted from the Third Division and the five teams finishing 17th to 21st in the Second Division from the 1988–89 season. Each tie was played across two legs.

First leg

Second leg

Second round

A total of 64 teams took part in the second round, including the 28 winners from round one. The remaining Second Division clubs entered in this round, as well as the 20 sides from the First Division. Each tie was again played across two legs.

First leg

Second leg

Third round

A total of 32 teams took part in the third round, all 32 winners from round two. Unlike the previous two rounds, this round was played over one leg. Frank Bunn scores a new League Cup record six goals in Oldham's 7–0 victory over

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

Ties

Replays

2nd Replay

3rd Replay

Fourth round

A total of 16 teams took part in the fourth round, all 16 winners from round three. Once again this round was played over one leg.

Ties

Replays

Fifth round

The eight winners from the fourth round took part in the fifth round. Once again this round was played over one leg.

Ties

Replays

2nd Replay

Semi-finals

As with the first two rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs. Holders Nottingham Forest narrowly defeated Coventry City, while West Ham United bowed out in the semi-finals for the second year running, this time at the hands of Oldham Athletic 6–3 on aggregate. Oldham's 6-0 first leg victory all but sealed their first ever appearance in a major final and at Wembley, was a record for a league cup semi-final until Manchester City defeated Burton Albion 9–0 in the first-leg of the semi-final tie in 2019. Five years earlier, in 2014, City had equaled Oldham's record, again at the expense of West Ham, with a 6-0 first-leg semi-final victory, and on that occasion City's 3–0 win in the second leg at Upton Park had set a record for an aggregate victory (9-0) which City themselves surpassed in 2019 with a 1-0 second-leg win at Burton for a 10-0 aggregate semi-final win.

First leg

Second leg

''Nottingham Forest won 2–1 on aggregate.'' ''Oldham Athletic won 6–3 on aggregate.''

Final

References

General

* * *

Specific

External links

Official Carling Cup website
{{DEFAULTSORT:1989-90 Football League Cup EFL Cup seasons League Cup

Cup A cup is an open-top vessel (container) used to hold liquids for drinking, typically with a flattened hemispherical shape, and often with a capacity of about . Cups may be made of pottery (including porcelain), glass, metal, wood, stone, pol ...