1968 Football League Cup Final

1968 Football League Cup Final

Event	1967–68 Football League Cup
Leeds United Arsenal 1 0
Date	2 March 1968
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Les Hamer (Horwich)
Attendance	97,887

The 1968 Football League Cup Final took place on 2 March 1968 at Wembley Stadium. It was the eighth final and the second to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Arsenal and Leeds United.

Leeds had been Inter-Cities Fairs Cup finalists the previous season, while Arsenal had been a mid-table side of late, and it was their first Wembley appearance since the 1952 FA Cup Final. For both clubs, it was their first League Cup Final. Leeds had conceded just three goals in six matches in their run-up to the final and their defence were on top again in a drab battle for the trophy against Arsenal. Terry Cooper scored the only goal of the game, hammering home a long range goal after 20 minutes. After that, Leeds shut up shop and a defensive performance saw them out for the rest of the match.

It was the first major trophy of Don Revie's reign at Elland Road and started one of the most successful periods in the club's history. Arsenal reached the League Cup Final the following year, only to lose again (this time to Swindon Town), but went on to win both domestic and European trophies in the following seasons.

Match facts

Leeds United White shirts/White shorts and socks	1–0 (final score after 90 minutes)	Arsenal Red shirts with White arms/White shorts/Red socks
Manager: Don Revie Team: Gary Sprake (GK) Paul Reaney Terry Cooper Billy Bremner (c) Jack Charlton Norman Hunter Jimmy Greenhoff Peter Lorimer Paul Madeley Johnny Giles Eddie Gray Substitute: Rod Belfitt Scorer: Cooper  20'	Half-time: 1–0 Competition: Football League Cup (Final) Date: 15.00 BST Saturday 2 March 1968 Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 97,887 Match rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes extra-time if necessary. Match replayed if scores still level. One named substitute.	Manager: Bertie Mee Team: Jim Furnell (GK) Peter Storey Bob McNab Frank McLintock (c) Ian Ure Peter Simpson John Radford David Jenkins George Graham Jon Sammels George Armstrong Substitute: Terry Neill

Road to Wembley

Home teams listed first.

Leeds United Round 2: Leeds United 3–1 Luton Town Round 3: Leeds United 3–0 Bury Round 4: Sunderland 0–2 Leeds United Round 5: Leeds United 2–0 Stoke City   Semi-final: 1st Leg: Derby County 0–1 Leeds United 2nd Leg: Leeds United 3–2 Derby County Agg Score: Leeds United 4–2 Derby County

Arsenal Round 2: Coventry City 1–2 Arsenal Round 3: Arsenal 1–0 Reading Round 4: Arsenal 2–1 Blackburn Rovers Round 5: Burnley 3–3 Arsenal Replay: Arsenal 2–1 Burnley Semi-final: 1st Leg: Arsenal 3–2 Huddersfield Town 2nd Leg: Huddersfield Town 1–3 Arsenal Agg Score: Arsenal 6–3 Huddersfield Town

External links

• 1968 League Cup Final at Live Football
• Game facts at soccerbase.com
• Full Results from the 1968 Football League Cup competition at soccerbase.com
• League Cup 1968 at The English Football Archive