1997–98 Football League Cup

The 1997–98 Football League Cup (known as the Coca-Cola Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 38th Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

1997–98 Football League Cup
League Cup, Coca-Cola Cup
Country England
 Wales
Teams92
Defending championsLeicester City
ChampionsChelsea (2nd title)
Runners-upMiddlesbrough
Top goal scorer(s)John Hartson
Joey Beauchamp
(6 goals)

The competition began on 11 August 1997, and ended with the final on 29 March 1998, held at Wembley Stadium. The tournament was won by Chelsea, who beat Middlesbrough 2–0 in the final.

First round

The 70 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 1996–97 season.

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

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

Second round

The 35 winners from the First Round joined the 13 Premier League clubs not participating in European competition and Middlesbrough and Sunderland who were relegated from the Premier League last season. First leg matches were played on 16 and 17 September, second leg matches were played on 23 and 24 September with one match played on 29 September, seven on 30 September and five on 1 October.

Tie no Home team1 (1st Leg)
(2nd Leg)
Aggregate
Away team
1Birmingham City(4-1)
(1-2)
5-3
Stockport County
2Blackburn Rovers(6-0)
(0-1)
6-1
Preston North End
3Blackpool(1-0)
(1-3)
2-3
Coventry City
4Burnley(0-4)
(0-2)
0-6
Stoke City
5Chesterfield(1-2)
(1-4)
2-6
Barnsley
6Fulham(0-1)
(0-1)
0-2
Wolverhampton Wanderers
7Grimsby Town(2-0)
(2-3)
4-3
Sheffield Wednesday
8Huddersfield Town(1-0)
(0-3)
1-3
West Ham United
9Hull City(1-0)
(1-2)
2-2
Crystal Palace
After extra time — Hull City win on away goals
10Ipswich Town(1-1)
(3-0)
4-1
Torquay United
11Leeds United(3-1)
(1-2)
4-3
Bristol City
12Leyton Orient(1-3)
(4-4)
5-7
Bolton Wanderers
13Luton Town(1-1)
(2-4)
3-5
West Bromwich Albion
14Middlesbrough(1-0)
(2-0)
3-0
Barnet
15Nottingham Forest(0-1)
(2-2)
2-3
Walsall
16Notts County(0-2)
(1-0)
1-2
Tranmere Rovers
17Oxford United(4-1)
(2-1)
6-2
York City
18Reading(0-0)
(2-0)
2-0
Peterborough United
19Scunthorpe United(0-1)
(0-5)
0-6
Everton
20Southampton(3-1)
(2-0)
5-1
Brentford
21Southend United(0-1)
(0-5)
0-6
Derby County
22Sunderland(2-1)
(2-1)
4-2
Bury
23Tottenham Hotspur(3-2)
(2-0)
5-2
Carlisle United
24Watford(1-1)
(0-4)
1-5
Sheffield United
25Wimbledon(5-1)
(4-1)
9-2
Millwall

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

Third round

The 25 winners from the Second Round joined the seven Premiership clubs participating in European competition in Round Three. Matches were played on 14 and 15 October.

Tie no Home team Score Away team Date
1Arsenal41Birmingham City14 October 1997
2Barnsley12Southampton14 October 1997
3Bolton Wanderers20Wimbledon14 October 1997
4Grimsby Town31Leicester City14 October 1997
5Ipswich Town20Manchester United14 October 1997
6Oxford United11Tranmere Rovers14 October 1997
After extra time — Oxford United win 6 5 on penalties
7Reading42Wolverhampton Wanderers14 October 1997
8Walsall21Sheffield United14 October 1997
9Chelsea11Blackburn Rovers15 October 1997
After extra time — Chelsea win 4 1 on penalties
10Coventry City41Everton15 October 1997
11Middlesbrough20Sunderland15 October 1997
12Newcastle United20Hull City15 October 1997
13Stoke City13Leeds United15 October 1997
14Tottenham Hotspur12Derby County15 October 1997
15West Bromwich Albion02Liverpool15 October 1997
16West Ham United30Aston Villa15 October 1997

Fourth round

Matches were played on 18 and 19 November.

Arsenal1 – 0 (a.e.t.)Coventry City
Bergkamp  99'
Attendance: 30,199
Referee: Gerald Ashby

Derby County0 – 1Newcastle United
Tomasson  72'
Attendance: 27,364

Leeds United2 – 3Reading
Wetherall  16'
Bowyer  54'
Asaba  9'
Williams  66'
Morley  85'
Attendance: 15,069
Referee: Graham Barber

Liverpool3 – 0Grimsby Town
Owen  28'  45' (pen)  57'
Attendance: 28,515
Referee: Roy Pearson

Middlesbrough2 – 1 (a.e.t.)Bolton Wanderers
Summerbell  39'
Hignett  115'
Thompson  33'
Attendance: 22,801
Referee: Stephen Lodge

Oxford United1 – 2 (a.e.t.)Ipswich Town
Beauchamp  66' Dozzell  63'
Mowbray  93'
Attendance: 5,723
Referee: Scott Mathieson

Chelsea2 – 1 (a.e.t.)Southampton
Flo  61'
Morris  118'
Davies  52'
Attendance: 20,968
Referee: David Elleray

West Ham United4 – 1Walsall
Lampard  15'  73'  74'
Hartson  16'
Watson  45'
Attendance: 17,463
Referee: David Orr

Quarter-finals

The four matches were played on 6 and 7 January.

Reading0 – 1Middlesbrough
Hignett  89'
Attendance: 13,072
Referee: George Cain

West Ham United1 – 2Arsenal
Abou  75' Wright  25'
Overmars  52'
Attendance: 24,770
Referee: Graham Barber

Ipswich Town2 – 2 (a.e.t.)
1 4p
Chelsea
Taricco  45'
Mathie  62'
Flo  32'
Le Saux  45'
Attendance: 22,088
Referee: Paul Durkin

Newcastle United0 – 2 (a.e.t.)Liverpool
Owen  95'
Fowler  103'
Attendance: 33,207

Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made in January 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 27 and 28 January 1998, the second leg matches were played on 18 February 1998. Arsenal's hopes of a unique domestic treble were ended by London rivals Chelsea, while Liverpool suffered a surprise exit at the hands of Middlesbrough.

First leg

Liverpool2 – 1Middlesbrough
Redknapp  31'
Fowler  82'
Merson  29'
Attendance: 33,438
Referee: Gary Willard

Arsenal2 – 1Chelsea
Overmars  23'
Hughes  47'
Hughes  68'
Attendance: 38,114

Second leg

Middlesbrough2 – 0Liverpool
Merson  2' (pen)
Branca  4'
Attendance: 29,828
Referee: Paul Durkin

Middlesbrough win 3-2 on aggregate


Chelsea3 – 1Arsenal
Hughes  10'
Di Matteo  51'
Petrescu  53'
Bergkamp  82' (pen)
Attendance: 34,330
Referee: Graham Poll

Chelsea win 4-3 on aggregate

Final

The 1998 Coca-Cola Cup Final was played on 29 March 1998 and was contested between Chelsea and Middlesbrough at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea won the final 2–0 in extra time thanks to goals from Frank Sinclair and Roberto Di Matteo.

Chelsea2–0 (a.e.t.)Middlesbrough
Sinclair  95'
Di Matteo  107'
Attendance: 77,698
Referee: Peter Jones
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