1963 Football League Cup Final

The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa had won the inaugural competition in 1960–61, and had beaten Birmingham 4–0 in their most recent League meeting,[1] while Birmingham were seeking to win their first major trophy. Birmingham won 3–1 on aggregate, with all the goals coming in the first leg.

1963 Football League Cup Final
Event1962–63 Football League Cup
Birmingham City Aston Villa
3 1
First Leg
Birmingham City Aston Villa
3 1
Date23 May 1963
VenueSt Andrew's, Birmingham
RefereeE. Crawford
Attendance31,850
Second Leg
Aston Villa Birmingham City
0 0
Date27 May 1963
VenueVilla Park, Birmingham
RefereeA. W. Sparling
Attendance37,921

Match summary

The first leg took place on 23 May 1963 at Birmingham's home ground, St Andrew's. Birmingham took the lead when Harris fed Auld who crossed for Ken Leek's powerful shot, but Aston Villa equalised via Bobby Thomson. Seven minutes into the second half, the same combination of players made it 2–1, and after 66 minutes Jimmy Bloomfield met a Harris cross to score off the post to give Birmingham a 3–1 lead.[1] The second leg four days later at Villa Park was goalless. With former England centre half Trevor Smith marking Thomson out of the game[2] and Birmingham's defensive tactics including regularly kicking the ball out for throw-ins,[3] Aston Villa were unable to break their opponents down.

Players and officials

First leg
Birmingham City3–1Aston Villa
 Thomson  83'
St Andrew's, Birmingham
Attendance: 31,580
Referee: E. Crawford


1 Johnny Schofield
2  Stan Lynn
3  Colin Green
4  Terry Hennessey
5  Trevor Smith (c)
6  Malcolm Beard
7  Mike Hellawell
8  Jimmy Bloomfield
9  Jimmy Harris
10  Ken Leek
11  Bertie Auld
Manager:
  Gil Merrick
1  Nigel Sims
2  Cammie Fraser
3  Charlie Aitken
4  Vic Crowe
5  John Sleeuwenhoek
6  Gordon Lee
7  Alan Baker
8  George Graham
9  Bobby Thomson
10  Ron Wylie
11  Harry Burrows
Manager:
  Joe Mercer

Second Leg
Aston Villa0–0Birmingham City
Villa Park, Birmingham
Attendance: 37,921
Referee: A. W. Sparling


1  Nigel Sims
2  Cammie Fraser
3  Charlie Aitken
4  Vic Crowe
5  Lew Chatterley
6  Gordon Lee
7  Alan Baker
8  George Graham
9  Bobby Thomson
10  Ron Wylie
11  Harry Burrows
Manager:
  Joe Mercer
1  Johnny Schofield
2  Stan Lynn
3  Colin Green
4  Terry Hennessey
5  Trevor Smith (c)
6  Malcolm Beard
7  Mike Hellawell
8  Jimmy Bloomfield
9  Jimmy Harris
10  Ken Leek
11  Bertie Auld
Manager:
  Gil Merrick

Road to the final

Birmingham City
Round 2Birmingham City6–0Doncaster Rovers
Round 3Barrow1–1Birmingham City
Round 3 replayBirmingham City5–1Barrow
Round 4Birmingham City3–2Notts County
Round 5Birmingham City6–0Manchester City
Semi-final (1st leg)Birmingham City3–2Bury
Semi-final (2nd leg)Bury1–1Birmingham City
 (Birmingham City win 4–3 on aggregate)

Aston Villa
Round 2Aston Villa6–1Peterborough United
Round 3Aston Villa3–1Stoke City
Round 4Aston Villa6–2Preston North End
Round 5Aston Villa4–1Norwich City
Semi-final (1st leg)Sunderland1–3Aston Villa
Semi-final (2nd leg)Aston Villa0–0Sunderland
 (Aston Villa win 3–1 on aggregate)

References
  1. Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books. p. 33. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
  2. Ponting, Ivan (15 September 2003). "Obituary: Trevor Smith". The Independent. London. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  3. Jawad, Hyder (6 March 2005). Strange Magic: Birmingham City v Aston Villa. The Birmingham Post. pp. 27–28.
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