1992 Football League Cup final
Event | 1991–92 Football League Cup | ||||||
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Date | 12 April 1992 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Man of the Match | Brian McClair (Manchester United) | ||||||
Referee | George Courtney (County Durham) | ||||||
Attendance | 76,810 | ||||||
Weather | Dry | ||||||
The 1992 Football League Cup final was a football match played on 12 April 1992 at Wembley Stadium, London, to determine the winner of the 1991–92 Football League Cup, known as the Rumbelows Cup for sponsorship purposes. The match was contested by Manchester United and Nottingham Forest in front of a crowd of 76,810, and finished in a 1–0 victory for Manchester United. Both teams progressed through five knockout rounds of the competition to reach the final; it was Nottingham Forest's sixth final in fifteen years, four of which they had won; and Manchester United's third, they had never won the competition before.
After a cautious start from both sides, Manchester United took the lead in the fourteenth minute from a
Background
The
Route to the final
As First Division clubs, both Manchester United and Nottingham Forest entered the League Cup in the second round, which was seeded to avoid First Division teams facing each other.[4] The competition used a combination of single and two-legged ties; the first and second rounds both featured two-legs, while the third round, fourth round and quarter-finals each comprised a single match, with replays to be played if they finished in a draw. The semi-final once again had two legs, while the final was a single match.[2]
Manchester United
Round | Opponent | Result | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
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Second round | Cambridge United | 4–1 | 3–0 (h) | 1–1 (a) |
Third round | Portsmouth | 3–1 (h) | n/a | |
Fourth round | Oldham Athletic | 2–0 (h) | ||
Fifth round | Leeds United | 3–1 (a) | ||
Semi-final | Middlesbrough | 2–1 | 0–0 (a) | 2–1 AET (h)
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Manchester United were drawn at home for their first leg against Second Division club Cambridge United,[4][5] which they won 3–0. Ryan Giggs was involved in all three goals; he scored the first, started the move that led to Brian McClair scoring the second, and forced the corner from which Steve Bruce scored the third.[6] In the second leg, a goal from McClair gave Manchester United a 4–0 aggregate lead early on, but poor finishing prevented them from adding more, and they won the tie 4–1 after a late goal from Cambridge United.[7] In the third round, Manchester United beat Portsmouth 3–1; two goals from Mark Robins and one from Bryan Robson saw off the Second Division side despite a relatively even contest.[8]
Manchester United's fourth round performance against
Due to fixture congestion, the first leg of Manchester United's semi-final against Second Division side Middlesbrough did not take place until both legs of the other semi-final had already been played. Journalists were full of praise for both teams' goalkeepers in the first leg, which was a 0–0 draw.[12][13][14] For the second leg, played at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, the pitch was described in The Daily Telegraph as a "quagmire", but the quality of the match was nonetheless praised.[15] Manchester United opened the scoring in the first half; Lee Sharpe getting the goal after a series of passes through the midfield. Five minutes into the second half, Middlesbrough equalised, and the scores remained level at full-time. In extra time, both sides struggled with the wet conditions and mistakes gave each team opportunities to score. Ultimately, Giggs scored the only goal of the added period; a cross from Denis Irwin took a touch from Robson before Giggs scored with a left-footed volley. Manchester United won the tie 2–1 after extra time to progress to the final.[15][16]
Nottingham Forest
Round | Opponent | Result | 1st leg | 2nd leg |
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Second round | Bolton Wanderers | 9–2 | 4–0 (h) | 5–2 (a) |
Third round | Bristol Rovers | 2–0 (h) | n/a | |
Fourth round | Southampton (replay required) |
0–0 (h) 1–0 (a) | ||
Fifth round | Crystal Palace (replay required) |
1–1 (a) 4–2 (h) | ||
Semi-final | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 | 1–1 (h) | 2–1 AET (a)
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Like Manchester United, Nottingham Forest were drawn at home for the first leg; they faced
In the fourth round, Nottingham Forest were held 0–0 by Southampton, forcing a
Nottingham Forest faced Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final. Playing at home in the first leg, Forest conceded from a penalty in the 24th minute, and were still trailing at half time. In the second half, Sheringham received the ball after a deflection off a Tottenham defender and put the ball between the goalkeeper's legs to equalise for Nottingham Forest; the match finished 1–1.[24] Forest travelled to Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane for the second leg, but the match was delayed by an hour due to an Irish Republican Army (IRA) bomb found on nearby railway lines.[25] Once the match got underway, Nottingham Forest took an early lead; Glover slotting the ball home after a run through midfield from Gemmill. Tottenham Hotspur equalised five minutes later, and the match remained 1–1 through until full-time. Keane scored the winning goal for Nottingham Forest during the first period of extra time. Gary Crosby took a corner from the right-hand side, which Keane headed past the goalkeeper to give Forest a 2–1 lead, which they held onto until the end.[26]
Pre-match
In the weeks leading up to the match, there was a possibility that the final would be subject to strike action from the players. The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) was unhappy with the financial offer from the Premier League, which was being established as English football's top division from the 1992–93 season. A meeting on 1 April failed to reach an agreement, and the League Cup final was the first match the PFA threatened to disrupt with strike action.[27] On Monday 6 April, six days before the final, a further meeting between the Premier League and the PFA resulted in Gordon Taylor, the chief executive of the PFA, announcing that due to "an improved offer from the Premier League", the League Cup final would definitely go ahead.[28]
In the league, Manchester United entered the weekend of the final top of the First Division,[29] and were challenging for their first League title since 1967.[30] In contrast, Nottingham Forest were eighth in the table,[29] and winning the League Cup was their only realistic chance of qualifying for European football.[31] Both teams were missing key players for the match. Nottingham Forest were without their captain, Stuart Pearce, who had been injured during their 1992 Full Members' Cup final victory the previous month. They had also lost Steve Chettle and Carl Tiler to injuries.[32] Manchester United were missing Robson, but writing for The Daily Telegraph, Colin Gibson remarked that "while Pearce might be irreplaceable for Forest, United have learnt to live without Robson."[33]
Match
Summary
The final was played at
The match began with the two sides limiting each other to midfield play, preventing any significant attacking threats.[31] Nottingham Forest had the first chance on goal in the 6th minute;[30] after a series of passes between Clough and Keane, the latter had a shot saved by Peter Schmeichel in the Manchester United goal. In the 14th minute, United's McClair received the ball from Gary Pallister, and passed it first-time to Giggs on the left wing.[31] Giggs cut inside and then feinted as though he were going to shoot, making the Forest defender, Des Walker, commit; instead, Giggs played a square pass to McClair,[30] who shot low and to the goalkeeper's left to give Manchester United a 1–0 lead.[31]
Nottingham Forest defender Gary Charles suffered a recurrence of a hamstring injury which led to him being substituted after 23 minutes; replaced by Brian Laws. Writing in the Nottingham Evening Post, the journalist Ian Edwards said that after taking their lead, Manchester United were content to allow Nottingham Forest possession of the ball, partly to protect against Forest's preferred tactic of scoring counterattacking goals.[38] David Lacey of The Guardian described it as a "mature display of controlled aggression backed by defensive discipline" from Manchester United,[31] while the Birmingham Post's Andy Colquhoun said that Forest's young team "broke like waves on the rocks of United's formidable defence".[39] Forest managed one more attacking effort in the first half, when Keane, who the Nottingham Evening Post selected as their team's player of the match, passed the ball to Clough, whose shot was blocked by Bruce in the United defence.[38]
Early in the second half,
Details
Manchester United
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Nottingham Forest
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Match rules
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Aftermath
Manchester United subsequently lost three of their final six league matches, including one against Nottingham Forest, to finish second in the league behind Leeds United, while Nottingham Forest finished eighth.[41] United went on to dominate English football for the next two decades, winning the Premier League 13 times between 1993 and 2013;[42] they have subsequently won the League Cup five more times, in 2006, 2009, 2010, 2017 and 2023.[43] In contrast, Nottingham Forest were relegated from the top division in 1992–93,[44] and have not contested a major final since.[45]
References
- ^ a b Mukherjee, Soham (24 February 2023). "Which team has won the most League Cups? Every single winner since 1961 and most successful clubs listed". Goal. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ a b "League Cup, 1992 (Rumbelows League Cup) – matches". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
- ^ Tickner, Dave (23 February 2022). "Ranking the assorted names and sponsors of the League Cup". Football365. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Coventry Evening Telegraph. 29 August 1991. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bateman, Cynthia (26 September 1991). "Giggs eclipses Cambridge". The Guardian. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gubba, Ron (26 September 1991). "Giggs is the inspiration as United take control". The Daily Telegraph. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Malam, Colin (10 October 1991). "Pallister setback for United". The Daily Telegraph. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bierley, Stephen (31 October 1991). "Robins kills off Pompey in half a game". The Guardian. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Farnsworth, Keith (5 December 1991). "Quick kill by McClair". The Daily Telegraph. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gibson, Colin (9 January 1992). "United turn on style to book their place in last four". The Daily Telegraph. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Davies, Christopher (5 March 1992). "Pears and Schmeichel help raise standards". The Daily Telegraph. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bateman, Cynthia (5 March 1992). "Keepers reap their reward". The Guardian. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pears keeps Boro's hopes alive—just". Birmingham Post. 5 March 1992. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Gibson, Colin (12 March 1992). "Giggs volley gives United return trip to Wembley". The Daily Telegraph. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bierley, Stephen (12 March 1992). "Giggs sends United back to Wembley". The Guardian. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Bacon, Jeremy (26 September 1991). "Gaynor hits two as Forest sink Bolton". The Daily Telegraph. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
- Nottingham Evening Post. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Davies, Christopher (31 October 1991). "Beagrie's first goals may be last for Everton". The Daily Telegraph. p. 34 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Lacey, David (5 December 1991). "Saints defend with a sweeper but tackle with a shovel". The Guardian. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Malam, Colin (18 December 1991). "Gemmill shows progress". The Daily Telegraph. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
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- ^ "Players strike moves closer". Birmingham Evening Mail. 2 April 1992. p. 58 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Gibson, Colin (7 April 1992). "New formula lifts threat of player strike". The Daily Telegraph. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Historic league table generator: League Division One table after close of play on 10 April 1992". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
- ^ a b c Gibson, Colin (13 April 1992). "McClair takes first prize". The Daily Telegraph. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f Lacey, David (13 April 1992). "Forest pay dearly for United's travel insurance". The Guardian. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- Nottingham Evening Post. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wembley win may unlock League door for Ferguson". The Daily Telegraph. 11 April 1992. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Manchester United v Nottingham Forest, 12 April 1992". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 5 March 2023.
- ^ "Sunday Television: ITV/LWT". The Sunday Telegraph. 12 April 1992. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
- Nottingham Evening Post. 11 April 1992. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
- Nottingham Evening Post. 11 April 1992. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Edwards, Ian (13 April 1992). "End of a Euro dream". Nottingham Evening Post. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Colquhoun, Andy (13 April 1992). "United know-how cuts Forest bid down to size". Birmingham Post. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
- Derby Evening Telegraph. p. 35 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "League Division One end of season table for 1991–92 season". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
- ^ Bevan, Chris (22 April 2013). "Golden years: The tale of Manchester United's 20 titles". BBC Sport. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Trophy room: League Cup". Manchester United. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Nottingham Forest: Season History". Premier League. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
- ^ "Honours". Nottingham Forest. Retrieved 23 August 2023.