The greatest League Cup matches

With the third round of the Carling Cup about to get underway we take a look at some of the games from the past, which have gone down in history as classic encounters

Arsenal 1-3 Swindon: Final 1969

An example of League Cup giant killing at its best; Swindon were stuck in the 3rd Division whilst Arsenal were up in the heights of the 1st. The state of the pitch at Wembley was shocking due to heavy rain and a previously staged horse show and although Arsenal complained they could not have controlled the game any more than they did. The match was dominated by two players, Swindon's keeper Peter Downsborough and their winger Don Rogers. Swindon somehow survived the heavy pressure on them, with Downsborough performing heroics between the posts, and managed to sneak a scrappy goal. With 5 minutes left it looked like they had done it, until Downsborough made his first mistake of the match and Arsenal equalised. But in the second half of extra time Don Rogers became Swindon's hero. The winger put Swindon ahead after a goalmouth scramble where he coolly struck the ball past the keeper and defenders on the goalline. Arsenal threw men forward but Swindon stood firm, and then with time running down, Rogers received the ball in acres of space and advanced upon the Arsenal keeper before again keeping his cool to round him and seal a historic victory.

Coventry 5-4 Nottingham Forest: 3rd Round 1990

Coventry and Nottingham Forest provided one of the most memorable and bizarre Cup encounters of all time in 1990. Holders, Forest were looking to advance on to win the cup for the 3rd time in succession and continue their 11 match unbeaten run in the competition. However the night did not start well for Forest and poor defensive play, especially from corners, characterised their first half as they went 1-0 down from a corner after 15 minutes. A second followed a minute later before a third on the half-hour mark and a fourth 5 minutes before half time. However Nigel Clough turned the half on its head as he scored an incredible 5 minute hat-trick before the half time whistle went. As the teams came out for the second half it seemed Forest were in the ascendency as they scored their fourth and the equalising goal after 10 minutes. But, in the 63rd minute Coventry hit back with their 5th goal from another corner. This turned out to be the winning goal and strangely marked the end of the scoring half an hour before the final whistle in a match that had already seen 8 goals scored.

QPR 3-2 West Brom: Final 1967

In the first League Cup final to be played at Wembley and the first to be played over a single leg, QPR and West Brom provided such a showpiece final that it ensured all following League Cup finals would be held in such a way. West Brom were backed as clear favourites to win before the game and they started as such, going in at half time with a 2-0 lead. However in true cup style QPR fought back with a classic second half display. In the 63rd minute QPR pulled one back through a Roger Morgan header and that seemed to fire the side with belief. 10 minutes later, Rodney Marsh, the hero of the day, set off on an elusive dribble through the defence before letting off a shot that flew in off the inside of the post. West Brom were now firmly on the back foot and in the closing stages of the game the ball fell to Mark Lazarus who sent the ball past the helpless West Brom keeper to complete the comeback.

Luton 3-2 Arsenal: Final 1988

Arsenal were hot favourites to win this game and claim the trophy for the second year running. However, Luton shocked the Gunners with a goal after just 13 minutes and managed to hold Arsenal off for much of the game. However, in just 3 minutes Arsenal managed to turn the game around with goals from Alan Smith and Martin Hayes so by 74 minutes Luton were 2-1 down. The turning point came when Andy Dibble turned Nigel Winterburn's penalty round the post to keep Luton in the game. Luton found a new belief and with 7 minutes remaining scored an equaliser after a poor Arsenal clearance. In the 90th after Luton won a free-kick the ball came into the box and fell to Brian Stein who put the ball past the keeper to send the Luton fans into delirium.

Doncaster Rovers 3-0 Aston Villa 2005

This game showed truly showed the unpredictable nature of cup football and because of this goes down as an all-time League Cup classic. The home side, Doncaster, came into the game high on confidence following their defeat of Gillingham in the previous round and started the game well. With the 10,000 strong crowd behind them the League One side asserted themselves from the start, closing down the opposition and imposing themselves. However their play was not limited to physicality as they played by far the better football, outclassing their more illustrious opponents. The breakthrough came with a penalty in the 19th minute, but it could easily have been earlier. Villa were expected to come out for the second half more positively, but it was more of the same. Doncaster were solid at the back and dominated possession with their passing and movement. A second goal came after 53 minutes followed by a spectacular third not long after to cap off a magnificent display. A great performance by the massive underdogs had sealed their passage into the next round.