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1994 Football League Cup final

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1994 Football League Cup Final
Event1993–94 Football League Cup
Date27 March 1994
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchKevin Richardson (Aston Villa)
RefereeKeith Cooper (Glamorgan)
Attendance77,231
1993
1995

The 1994 Football League Cup Final took place on 27 March 1994 at the old Wembley Stadium. It was contested between Manchester United and Aston Villa. Aston Villa won 3–1, with one goal from Dalian Atkinson and two from Dean Saunders, to claim their fourth League Cup final victory; Manchester United's goal was scored by Mark Hughes, before Andrei Kanchelskis was sent off for handball. Manchester United won both the Premier League and FA Cup that season, the result denying United a domestic treble, while Villa finished 10th in the Premier League.

Road to Wembley

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Aston Villa

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Aston Villa Round Manchester United
Birmingham City 0–1 Aston Villa Round 2 Stoke City 2–1 Manchester United
Aston Villa 1–0 Birmingham City Manchester United 2–0 Stoke City
Aston Villa won 2–0 on aggregate Manchester United won 3–2 on aggregate
Sunderland 1–4 Aston Villa Round 3 Manchester United 5–1 Leicester City
Arsenal 0–1 Aston Villa Round 4 Everton 0–2 Manchester United
Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 Aston Villa Round 5 Manchester United 2–2 Portsmouth
Portsmouth 0–1 Manchester United
Tranmere Rovers 3–1 Aston Villa Semi-finals Manchester United 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday
Aston Villa 3–1 Tranmere Rovers Sheffield Wednesday 1–4 Manchester United
Aston Villa won 5–4 on penalties Manchester United won 5–1 on aggregate

Match

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Summary

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Aston Villa had finished runners-up to Manchester United in the league the previous season, but were in poor form going into the League Cup final, having lost their last three games. The bookmakers and national press were predicting that the Villa would be beaten comfortably at Wembley. Manchester United had suffered a slight blip of their own with a couple of draws in their previous league matches and high-profile red cards to Eric Cantona and Peter Schmeichel – but victory in the League Cup was predicted to be the first part of a domestic treble. Alex Ferguson decided to field a full-strength team with the exception of the suspended Schmeichel, who was deputised by former Villa keeper Les Sealey. Villa boss Ron Atkinson decided to field a five-man midfield with Tony Daley and Dalian Atkinson on the flanks and young attacking midfielder Graham Fenton playing in a withdrawn role behind striker Dean Saunders.

The match began with Aston Villa playing a fast counter-attacking game. United saw a lot of the ball, but the Villa defence, marshalled by former Manchester United centre-back Paul McGrath, rendered Cantona anonymous. There was a scare for Villa when Mark Bosnich looked to have brought down Roy Keane outside the box, but the referee waved play on. Aston Villa's only chance in the first quarter of the match had been an inswinging corner from Steve Staunton which was touched over by Sealey. On 25 minutes, however, Andy Townsend played a pass into the feet of Dean Saunders who flicked the ball over the top of United's defence and into the path of Atkinson, who put his side 1–0 up.

In the second half, the pattern of the game remained the same, United sluggish and Villa playing a counter-attacking game. On 70 minutes, Kevin Richardson tackled United substitute Lee Sharpe who looked certain to score. Five minutes later, Villa went down the other end and earned a free kick when Daley was brought down just outside the United box. Richardson swung it in and Saunders stuck a leg out to divert it into the net for Villa's second goal. Mark Hughes pulled a goal back for United with seven minutes remaining and was denied a second just moments later when Bosnich pushed a volley round the post. With time nearly up Villa broke once more, Daley striking the United post with a fantastic shot. The ball fell to Atkinson who hit it goalwards only for the ball to strike Andrei Kanchelskis on the hand. The Russian was to be red carded and could only watch as Dean Saunders converted the resulting penalty to complete the scoring in a 3–1 victory for Aston Villa.

The match was also the last to be covered on the original BBC Radio 5; the station closed down that night, with BBC Radio 5 Live launching the following morning.[citation needed]

Details

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Aston Villa3–1Manchester United
Atkinson 26'
Saunders 76', 90+1' (pen.)
Report Hughes 83'
Attendance: 77,231
Aston Villa
Manchester United
GK 13 Australia Mark Bosnich
RB 2 England Earl Barrett
CB 5 Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath
CB 4 England Shaun Teale
LB 3 Republic of Ireland Steve Staunton downward-facing red arrow 79'
RM 10 England Dalian Atkinson
CM 6 England Kevin Richardson (c)
CM 14 Republic of Ireland Andy Townsend
LM 11 England Tony Daley
AM 25 England Graham Fenton
CF 9 Wales Dean Saunders
Substitutes:
GK 1 England Nigel Spink
DF 17 England Neil Cox upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 7 Republic of Ireland Ray Houghton
Manager:
England Ron Atkinson
GK 13 England Les Sealey
RB 2 England Paul Parker
CB 4 England Steve Bruce (c) downward-facing red arrow 83'
CB 6 England Gary Pallister
LB 3 Republic of Ireland Denis Irwin
RM 14 Russia Andrei Kanchelskis Red card 90'
CM 16 Republic of Ireland Roy Keane
CM 8 England Paul Ince
LM 11 Wales Ryan Giggs downward-facing red arrow 68'
CF 10 Wales Mark Hughes
CF 7 France Eric Cantona
Substitutes:
GK 25 England Gary Walsh
MF 5 England Lee Sharpe upward-facing green arrow 68'
FW 9 Scotland Brian McClair upward-facing green arrow 83'
Manager:
Scotland Alex Ferguson

Alan Hardaker Trophy (Man of the Match)

Match officials

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
  • Match to be replayed if scores still level
  • Three named substitutes, of which two may be used

References

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  1. ^ "Alan Hardaker Trophy Winners". football-league.co.uk. The Football League. 24 February 2013. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b c O'Malley, Peter, ed. (27 March 1994). The Coca-Cola Cup - The Final 1994 - Aston Villa v Manchester United - The Official Matchday Programme. Wembley Stadium. pp. 38–9.
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