1985–86 Football League Cup

The 1985–86 Football League Cup (known as the Milk Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 26th season of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.

1985–86 Football League Cup
Milk Cup, League Cup
Country England
 Wales
Teams92
ChampionsOxford United (1st title)
Runners-upQueens Park Rangers
Top goal scorer(s)John Aldridge (5)

The competition began on 20 August 1985, and ended with the final on 20 April 1986 at the Old Wembley Stadium. The cup was won by Oxford United, who beat Queens Park Rangers 3–0 in the final, to win their first major cup silverware. It was Oxford United's first season in Division One. Goals from Trevor Hebberd, Ray Houghton and Jeremy Charles sealed the victory. TV coverage of this competition only began after Christmas following the "blackout" where no club matches were shown for the first half of the season,[1][2] and there was no UEFA Cup place for the winners as a result of the ban on English clubs that followed the Heysel Stadium disaster.

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 15th to 19th in the Second Division from the 1984–85 season. Each tie was played across two legs.

Home team First Leg Second Leg Agg. Away team Dates
First Leg Second Leg
Aldershot1–32–23–5Leyton Orient20 August 19853 September 1985
Bolton Wanderers4–11–15–2Stockport County20 August 19853 September 1985
Bradford City2–24–3[3]6–5Chesterfield21 August 19853 September 1985
Bristol Rovers2–00–12–1Newport County20 August 19853 September 1985
Burnley2–13–55–6Bury20 August 19853 September 1985
Cambridge United1–10–21–3Brentford20 August 19853 September 1985
Cardiff City2–11–33–4Swansea City20 August 19853 September 1985
Charlton Athletic1–21–12–3Crystal Palace20 August 19853 September 1985
Colchester United2–31–43–7Millwall21 August 19853 September 1985
Crewe Alexandra3–34–37–6Carlisle United20 August 19853 September 1985
Darlington3–20–03–2Scunthorpe United20 August 198510 September 1985
Derby County3–00–23–2Hartlepool United21 August 19854 September 1985
Halifax Town1–10–31–4Hull City20 August 19853 September 1985
Hereford United5–10–25–3Bristol City21 August 19853 September 1985
Mansfield Town2–04–46–4Middlesbrough21 August 19853 September 1985
Notts County1–01–2[3]2–2[4]Doncaster Rovers20 August 19853 September 1985
Peterborough United0–00–20–2Northampton Town21 August 19853 September 1985
Plymouth Argyle2–10–22–3Exeter City20 August 19854 September 1985
Preston North End2–13–15–2Blackpool20 August 19853 September 1985
Reading1–30–21–5Bournemouth21 August 19853 September 1985
Rotherham United1–31–52–8Sheffield United20 August 19853 September 1985
Southend United1–10–21–3Gillingham20 August 19853 September 1985
Torquay United1–22–23–4Swindon Town20 August 19853 September 1985
Tranmere Rovers1–30–01–3Chester City28 August 19854 September 1985
Walsall4–11–05–1Wolverhampton Wanderers20 August 19853 September 1985
Wigan Athletic2–10–22–3Port Vale20 August 19852 September 1985
Wrexham4–01–25–2Rochdale20 August 19853 September 1985
York City2–12–14–2Lincoln City20 August 19854 September 1985

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 22 sides from the First Division. Each tie was again played across two legs.

Home team First Leg Second Leg Agg. Away team Dates
First Leg Second Leg
Brentford2–20–22–4Sheffield Wednesday25 September 198515 October 1985
Brighton and Hove Albion5–22–07–2Bradford City25 September 19859 October 1985
Bristol Rovers2–31–23–5Birmingham City24 September 19859 October 1985
Bury1–21–22–4Manchester City25 September 19859 October 1985
Chester City1–22–73–9Coventry City25 September 19859 October 1985
Crewe Alexandra1–32–33–6Watford24 September 19858 October 1985
Crystal Palace0–10–10–2Manchester United24 September 19859 October 1985
Derby County2–01–13–1Leicester City25 September 19859 October 1985
Everton3–22–05–2Bournemouth25 September 19857 October 1985
Exeter City1–41–82–12Aston Villa25 September 19859 October 1985
Fulham1–14–2[3]5–3Notts County24 September 19858 October 1985
Gillingham1–31–22–5Portsmouth24 September 19858 October 1985
Grimsby Town1–13–24–3York City24 September 19858 October 1985
Hereford United0–01–2[3]1–2Arsenal25 September 19858 October 1985
Ipswich Town3–14–17–2Darlington24 September 19858 October 1985
Leeds United0–03–03–0Walsall25 September 19858 October 1985
Liverpool3–05–28–2Oldham Athletic24 September 19859 October 1985
Mansfield Town2–20–22–4Chelsea25 September 19859 October 1985
Millwall0–00–0[3]0–0[5]Southampton25 September 19858 October 1985
Newcastle United0–01–11–1[4]Barnsley25 September 19858 October 1985
Nottingham Forest4–03–07–0Bolton Wanderers25 September 19858 October 1985
Leyton Orient2–00–42–4Tottenham Hotspur23 September 198530 October 1985
Oxford United2–12–04–1Northampton Town25 September 19858 October 1985
Preston North End1–11–22–3Norwich City30 September 19859 October 1985
Queens Park Rangers3–05–18–1Hull City24 September 19858 October 1985
Sheffield United1–21–32–5Luton Town24 September 19858 October 1985
Shrewsbury Town2–32–04–3Huddersfield Town24 September 19858 October 1985
Sunderland3–21–3[3]4–5Swindon Town24 September 19858 October 1985
West Bromwich Albion1–02–23–2Port Vale24 September 19858 October 1985
West Ham United3–03–26–2Swansea City24 September 19858 October 1985
Wimbledon5–01–26–2Blackburn Rovers24 September 19858 October 1985
Wrexham0–10–10–2Stoke City24 September 19858 October 1985

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.

Ties
Home team Result Away team Date
Birmingham City1–1Southampton29 October 1985
Chelsea1–1Fulham29 October 1985
Coventry City0–0West Bromwich Albion29 October 1985
Derby County1–2Nottingham Forest30 October 1985
Grimsby Town0–2Ipswich Town29 October 1985
Leeds United0–3Aston Villa30 October 1985
Liverpool4–0Brighton and Hove Albion29 October 1985
Luton Town0–2Norwich City29 October 1985
Manchester City1–2Arsenal30 October 1985
Manchester United1–0West Ham United29 October 1985
Oxford United3–1Newcastle United30 October 1985
Portsmouth2–0Stoke City29 October 1985
Shrewsbury Town1–4Everton29 October 1985
Swindon Town1–0Sheffield Wednesday29 October 1985
Tottenham Hotspur2–0Wimbledon6 November 1985
Watford0–1Queens Park Rangers29 October 1985

Replays
Home team Result Away team Date
Southampton3–0Birmingham City6 November 1985
Fulham0–1Chelsea6 November 1985
West Bromwich Albion4–3Coventry City6 November 1985

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
Home team Result Away team Date
Arsenal0–0Southampton19 November 1985
Aston Villa2–2West Bromwich Albion19 November 1985
Chelsea2–2Everton26 November 1985
Ipswich Town6–1Swindon Town26 November 1985
Liverpool2–1Manchester United26 November 1985
Oxford United3–1Norwich City19 November 1985
Queens Park Rangers3–1Nottingham Forest25 November 1985
Tottenham Hotspur0–0Portsmouth19 November 1985

Replays
Home team Result Away team Date
Southampton0–3Arsenal26 November 1985
West Bromwich Albion1–2Aston Villa26 November 1985
Everton1–2Chelsea10 December 1985
Portsmouth0–0Tottenham Hotspur26 November 1985

2nd Replay
Home team Result Away team Date
Tottenham Hotspur0–1Portsmouth10 December 1985

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
Home team Result Away team Date
Aston Villa1–1Arsenal22 January 1986
Liverpool3–0Ipswich Town21 January 1986
Oxford United3–1Portsmouth22 January 1986
Queens Park Rangers1–1Chelsea22 January 1986

Replays
Home team Result Away team Date
Arsenal1–2Aston Villa4 February 1986
Chelsea0–2Queens Park Rangers29 January 1986

Semi-finals

As with the first two rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs. Favourites Liverpool, in search of a unique domestic treble, were surprisingly beaten by QPR, while Oxford United eased past Aston Villa in the other semi-final.

First leg
Queens Park Rangers1–0Liverpool
Terry Fenwick
Loftus Road, London
Attendance: 15,051
Aston Villa2–2Oxford United
[Paul Birch and Simon Stainrod] John Aldridge (2–1 pen)
Villa Park, Birmingham
Attendance: 23,098

Second leg
Liverpool2–2Queens Park Rangers
Steve McMahon
Craig Johnston		 Ronnie Whelan (o.g.)
Gary Gillespie (o.g.)
Anfield, Liverpool
Attendance: 23,863

QPR win 3–2 on aggregate

Oxford United2–1Aston Villa
Les Phillips
Jeremy Charles		 Walters
Attendance: 13,989

Oxford win 4–3 on aggregate

Final
Main article: 1986 Football League Cup Final
Oxford United3–0Queens Park Rangers
Hebberd  40'
Houghton  52'
Charles  86'
Attendance: 90,396
Referee: Keith Hackett

References

General
  • "English League Cup 1985/1986". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  • "England League Cup Full Results 1960–1996". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.

Specific
  1. Remember the 1985 TV blackout? Only the Big Yin knew who McAvennie was, Simon Hart, The Independent, 22 October 2011
  2. When football fans did not see a single match on TV over Christmas, Steven Pye, The Guardian, 3 December 2019
  3. After Extra Time
  4. Away goals rule
  5. Southampton won 5–4 on penalties

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