2011 Football League Cup final
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Event | 2010–11 Football League Cup | ||||||
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Date | 27 February 2011 | ||||||
Venue | 2012 → |
The 2011 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the
Background
Arsenal held the advantage over Birmingham in the league matches between the two sides in 2010–11, having beaten them 2–1 at the Emirates Stadium in October and again 3–0 at St Andrew's on New Year's Day.[6][7]
Arsenal had played in six Football League Cup finals, but had only won two, most recently in
Road to Wembley
Arsenal | Round | Birmingham City | ||||
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Bye | Round 2[A] | Birmingham City | 3–2 | Rochdale | ||
Tottenham Hotspur | 1–4 | Arsenal (a.e.t.) | Round 3[B] | Birmingham City | 3–1 | Milton Keynes Dons |
Newcastle United | 0–4 | Arsenal | Round 4 | Birmingham City | 1–1 (4–3 pen. ) |
Brentford (a.e.t.) |
Arsenal | 2–0 | Wigan Athletic | Round 5 | Birmingham City | 2–1 | Aston Villa |
Ipswich Town | 1–0 | Arsenal | Semifinal | West Ham United | 2–1 | Birmingham City |
Arsenal | 3–0 | Ipswich Town | Birmingham City | 3–1 | West Ham United (a.e.t.) | |
Arsenal won 3–1 on aggregate | Birmingham City won 4–3 on aggregate |
Pre-match
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/2011leaguecupfinalprematch.png/220px-2011leaguecupfinalprematch.png)
In the build-up to the game, Arsène Wenger criticised the FA and UEFA for overpricing tickets for their finals. [citation needed]
A number of Arsenal players missed out on the final. Thomas Vermaelen was not fit, while goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański had been ruled out for the rest of the season. Theo Walcott picked up a sprained ankle in a match against Stoke City a few days prior, and captain Cesc Fàbregas was also injured in that game; both missed the final. Abou Diaby was also injured.[8]
For Birmingham, Scott Dann was ruled out for the rest of the season following an injury in the League Cup semi-final, while James McFadden was still not recovered from an injury received in September. Former Arsenal player Alexander Hleb was injured in an FA Cup match the week before, and failed to recover in time to play. David Bentley, who had replaced Hleb in that match, was cup-tied, having played for Tottenham Hotspur in their defeat to Arsenal in the third round.
Match
Summary
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4e/Kickoff2011leaguecupfinal.png/220px-Kickoff2011leaguecupfinal.png)
There was a moment of contention just two minutes into the match as an early Birmingham chance was created through Lee Bowyer, who appeared to be fouled by Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny in what would probably have been a penalty kick and red card for the keeper. However, Bowyer had already been flagged offside (a decision that replays proved was incorrect).
After ten minutes, Birmingham's Barry Ferguson was involved a collision, and played the rest of the game with what proved to be two broken ribs.[9]
Arsenal threatened regularly throughout the course of the match, with an eventual 20 attempts on goal to Birmingham's 11 (both teams were denied by the woodwork once), however the fine work of Birmingham goalkeeper
Birmingham took the lead in the 28th minute when a corner kick was sent into the box,
On 83 minutes, Birmingham brought on Obafemi Martins in place of Fahey. Six minutes later, and in the final minute of normal time, Martins scored to put Birmingham 2–1 up after a mix-up between Szczęsny and defender Laurent Koscielny. A long ball from Blues keeper Foster, flicked on by Žigić, appeared to be heading safely into the hands of the Arsenal keeper. But Koscielny attempted to play the ball, distracting Szczęsny and causing him to bobble the ball into the path of Martins, who tapped it into an empty net.
Too little time was left for Arsenal to recover, and after four-and-a-half minutes of injury time was seen out, Birmingham City secured their second Football League Cup trophy.[10]
Details
Arsenal | 1–2 | Birmingham City |
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Van Persie ![]() |
Report | Žigić ![]() Martins ![]() |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Arsenal
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![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Birmingham City
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Man of the match
Match officials |
Match rules
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Statistics
Arsenal | Birmingham | |
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Total shots | 20 | 11 |
Shots on target | 12 | 7 |
Ball possession | 56% | 44% |
Corner kicks | 6 | 3 |
Fouls committed | 11 | 9 |
Offsides | 2 | 4 |
Yellow cards | 2 | 3 |
Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Source: BBC Sport[10]
Notes
- A. ^ Clubs competing in the Premier League, but not in UEFA competitions, receive a bye to the second round.
- B. ^ Clubs competing in UEFA competitions receive a bye to the third round.
References
- ^ a b c "Foster makes history at Wembley". football-league.co.uk. The Football League. 28 February 2011. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 4 March 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f "Officials named for Carling Cup final". football-league.co.uk. The Football League. 31 January 2011. Archived from the original on 11 February 2011. Retrieved 1 February 2011.
- ^ "Weather History for London, United Kingdom". wunderground.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016.
- ^ "Carling Cup Draw Dates". Carling Cup official website. Molson Coors Brewing Company. Archived from the original on 20 July 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
- ^ McCarra, Kevin (27 February 2011). "Obafemi Martins grabs glory as Birmingham beat Arsenal". The Guardian. London: Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 28 February 2011.
- ^ Sheringham, Sam (16 October 2010). "Arsenal 2–1 Birmingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ Magowan, Alistair (1 January 2011). "Birmingham 0–3 Arsenal". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 January 2011.
- ^ "Arsenal's Theo Walcott ruled out of Carling Cup final against Birmingham and Cesc Fabregas doubtful". The Daily Telegraph. 23 February 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
- ^ Curtis, John (9 March 2011). "Barry Ferguson to play on with broken rib for Birmingham". The Independent. Independent Digital News & Media. Archived from the original on 27 July 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2019.
- ^ a b McNulty, Phil (27 February 2011). "Martins the hero for Blues". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
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