The 2002–03 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 43rd staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.
The competition began on 20 August 2002, and ended with the final on 2 March 2003. The holders were Blackburn Rovers, but they were eliminated in the semi-finals by Manchester United.
The tournament was won by Liverpool, who beat Manchester United 2–0 in the final, thanks to goals from Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard.
Preliminary round A preliminary round was necessary to reduce the number of teams by one, because of the extra UEFA Cup place awarded to newly relegated Ipswich Town through the Fair Play league. Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1 Bristol Rovers0–2Boston United 20 August 2002
First round
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Boston United1–5Cardiff City11 September 20022Brighton & Hove Albion1–1Exeter City11 September 2002Brighton win 2–1 after extra time 3Coventry City3–0Colchester United11 September 20024Macclesfield Town1–1Barnsley11 September 2002Macclesfield Town win 4–1 after extra time 5Nottingham Forest4–0Kidderminster Harriers11 September 20026Preston North End1–1Scunthorpe United11 September 2002Preston win 2–1 after extra time 7Sheffield Wednesday1–0Rochdale11 September 20028Swansea City2–3Wolverhampton Wanderers11 September 20029Swindon Town0–0Wycombe Wanderers11 September 2002Wycombe Wanderers win 2–1 after extra time 10AFC Bournemouth3–3Brentford10 September 20023–3 after extra time — Brentford win 4–2 on penalties11Bristol City0–1Oxford United10 September 200212Burnley3–0Blackpool10 September 200213Bury1–0Stoke City10 September 200214Crystal Palace1–1Plymouth Argyle10 September 2002Crystal Palace win 2–1 after extra time 15Cambridge United3–1Reading10 September 200216Grimsby Town0–1Chesterfield10 September 200217Hartlepool United1–2Tranmere Rovers10 September 200218Huddersfield Town2–0Darlington10 September 200219Hull City1–1Leicester City10 September 2002Leicester City win 4–2 after extra time20Leyton Orient3–2Queens Park Rangers10 September 200221Lincoln City1–3Stockport County10 September 200222Mansfield Town1–3Derby County10 September 200223Northampton Town0–1Wigan Athletic10 September 200224Norwich City0–3Cheltenham Town10 September 200225Oldham Athletic3–2Notts County10 September 200226Port Vale0–2Crewe Alexandra10 September 200227Portsmouth2–0Peterborough United10 September 200228Rotherham United3–1Carlisle United10 September 200229Rushden & Diamonds0–0Millwall10 September 20020–0 after extra time — Rushden & Diamonds win 5–3 on penalties30Sheffield United1–0York City10 September 200231Southend United1–4Wimbledon10 September 200232Torquay United0–1Gillingham10 September 200233Walsall1–0Shrewsbury Town10 September 200234Watford1–2Luton Town10 September 200235Wrexham2–1Bradford City10 September 2002
Second round
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Aston Villa3–0Luton Town2 October 20022Bolton Wanderers0–1Bury2 October 20023Crystal Palace7–0Cheltenham Town2 October 20024Coventry City8–0Rushden & Diamonds2 October 20025Derby County1–1Oldham Athletic2 October 2002Oldham Athletic win 2–1 after extra time 6Leyton Orient2–3Birmingham City2 October 20027Nottingham Forest1–2Walsall2 October 20028Sheffield Wednesday1–1Leicester City2 October 2002Leicester City win 2–1 after extra time9Southampton6–1Tranmere Rovers2 October 200210Wigan Athletic3–1West Bromwich Albion2 October 200211Brentford1–4Middlesbrough1 October 200212Cambridge United0–7Sunderland1 October 200213Charlton Athletic0–0Oxford United1 October 20020–0 after extra time — Oxford United win 6–5 on penalties14Chesterfield1–1West Ham1 October 20021–1 after extra time — West Ham win 5–4 on penalties15Huddersfield Town0–1Burnley1 October 200216Macclesfield Town1–2Preston North End1 October 200217Manchester City3–2Crewe Alexandra1 October 200218Portsmouth1–3Wimbledon1 October 200219Rotherham United3–3Wolverhampton Wanderers1 October 20024–4 after extra time — Rotherham United win 4–2 on penalties20Sheffield United4–1Wycombe Wanderers1 October 200221Stockport County1–1Gillingham1 October 2002Gillingham win 2–1 after extra time22Tottenham Hotspur1–0Cardiff City1 October 200223Wrexham0–3Everton1 October 200224Ipswich Town3–1Brighton & Hove Albion24 September 2002
Third round
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate1Arsenal2–3Sunderland6 November 20022Blackburn Rovers1–1Walsall6 November 20022–2 after extra time — Blackburn Rovers win 5–4 on penalties3Burnley2–1Tottenham Hotspur6 November 20024Crystal Palace3–0Coventry City6 November 20025Chelsea2–1Gillingham6 November 20026Fulham3–1Bury6 November 20027Ipswich Town3–1Middlesbrough6 November 20028Liverpool3–1Southampton6 November 20029Newcastle United2–2Everton6 November 20023–3 after extra time — Everton win 3–2 on penalties10Oxford United0–3Aston Villa6 November 200211Sheffield United2–1Leeds United6 November 200212West Ham0–1Oldham Athletic6 November 200213Birmingham City0–2Preston North End5 November 200214Wimbledon1–3Rotherham United5 November 200215Manchester United2–0Leicester City5 November 200216Wigan Athletic1–0Manchester City5 November 2002
Fourth round
Quarter-finals
Semi-finals
First leg
Second leg
Liverpool win 3-2 on aggregate.
Manchester United win 4–2 on aggregate
Final
The 2003 Football League Cup final was played on 2 March 2003 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. The game was contested between Manchester United and Liverpool. Liverpool won the game 2–0.
See also EFL Cup 2002–03 in English football
References
External links Official Carling Cup website Carling Cup at bbc.co.uk League Cup news, match reports and pictures on Reuters.co.uk