Chelsea went into the match as strong favourites having won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in the previous two seasons, whereas Stoke were attempting to win their first major trophy. Terry Conroy put Stoke into the lead early on, but Chelsea hit back through Peter Osgood just before half time. Stoke got the decisive final goal from veteran George Eastham to end their 109-year wait for a major honour.[1] It remains the club's only major trophy victory; the closest they have come since then to beating this achievement was in 2011 when they lost to Manchester City in the 2011 FA Cup Final.
Despite it being Stoke's first major final they showed no signs of nerves as they took the game to the "Blues" and after only five minutes, a long throw-in from Peter Dobing was headed on by Denis Smith.[1] Chelsea's defence panicked and Terry Conroy was quickest to react to put Stoke into the lead.[1] Chelsea improved their game, but it was Stoke who should have scored again with both Dobing and Jimmy Greenhoff being denied by the agile Peter Bonetti.[1] A rare mistake from Alan Bloor inside his own goal-area brought Chelsea an equaliser just before half-time with Peter Osgood taking full advantage.[1]
After the break Stoke again forced Chelsea back into their own half and although the play became rather scrappy both sides should have scored.[1] But then on 73 minutes George Eastham scored a second goal for Stoke after Greenhoff's shot was only blocked by Bonetti.[1]Gordon Banks made a number of saves to keep Stoke's one goal advantage intact and Stoke held out to secure their first major trophy.[1] The club marked the achievement by parading the trophy in an open top bus around Stoke-on-Trent.[1]
Match stats 24 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine at soccerbase.com
at Football Focus
April 10, 2024
1972, football, league, final, 1972, football, league, final, took, place, march, 1972, wembley, stadium, contested, chelsea, stoke, city, 1972, football, league, finalevent1971, football, league, cupstoke, city, chelsea2, 1date4, march, 1972venuewembley, stad. The 1972 Football League Cup Final took place on 4 March 1972 at Wembley Stadium and was contested by Chelsea and Stoke City 1972 Football League Cup FinalEvent1971 72 Football League CupStoke City Chelsea2 1Date4 March 1972VenueWembley Stadium LondonRefereeNorman Burtenshaw Great Yarmouth Attendance97 852 19711973 Chelsea went into the match as strong favourites having won the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in the previous two seasons whereas Stoke were attempting to win their first major trophy Terry Conroy put Stoke into the lead early on but Chelsea hit back through Peter Osgood just before half time Stoke got the decisive final goal from veteran George Eastham to end their 109 year wait for a major honour 1 It remains the club s only major trophy victory the closest they have come since then to beating this achievement was in 2011 when they lost to Manchester City in the 2011 FA Cup Final Contents 1 Match review 2 Match details 3 Road to Wembley 3 1 Stoke City 3 2 Chelsea 4 References 5 External linksMatch review editBoth sides reached the final after semi final ties with Chelsea beating Tottenham Hotspur and Stoke West Ham United 1 The match took place on 4 March 1972 at Wembley Stadium in front of 97 852 with around 35 000 travelling down from Stoke on Trent 1 Despite it being Stoke s first major final they showed no signs of nerves as they took the game to the Blues and after only five minutes a long throw in from Peter Dobing was headed on by Denis Smith 1 Chelsea s defence panicked and Terry Conroy was quickest to react to put Stoke into the lead 1 Chelsea improved their game but it was Stoke who should have scored again with both Dobing and Jimmy Greenhoff being denied by the agile Peter Bonetti 1 A rare mistake from Alan Bloor inside his own goal area brought Chelsea an equaliser just before half time with Peter Osgood taking full advantage 1 After the break Stoke again forced Chelsea back into their own half and although the play became rather scrappy both sides should have scored 1 But then on 73 minutes George Eastham scored a second goal for Stoke after Greenhoff s shot was only blocked by Bonetti 1 Gordon Banks made a number of saves to keep Stoke s one goal advantage intact and Stoke held out to secure their first major trophy 1 The club marked the achievement by parading the trophy in an open top bus around Stoke on Trent 1 Match details edit4 March 1972Stoke City2 1ChelseaConroy nbsp 5 Eastham nbsp 73 Osgood nbsp 45 Wembley Stadium LondonAttendance 97 852Referee Norman Burtenshaw nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp Stoke City nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp ChelseaGK 1 nbsp Gordon BanksDF 2 nbsp Jackie MarshDF 3 nbsp Mike PejicMF 4 nbsp Mike BernardDF 5 nbsp Denis SmithDF 6 nbsp Alan BloorMF 7 nbsp Terry ConroyMF 8 nbsp Jimmy Greenhoff nbsp FW 9 nbsp John RitchieFW 10 nbsp Peter Dobing c MF 11 nbsp George EasthamSubstitutes MF 12 nbsp John Mahoney nbsp Manager nbsp Tony Waddington GK 1 nbsp Peter BonettiDF 2 nbsp Paddy Mulligan nbsp DF 3 nbsp Ron Harris c MF 4 nbsp John HollinsDF 5 nbsp John DempseyDF 6 nbsp David WebbMF 7 nbsp Charlie CookeFW 8 nbsp Chris GarlandFW 9 nbsp Peter OsgoodMF 10 nbsp Alan HudsonMF 11 nbsp Peter HousemanSubstitutes FW 12 nbsp Tommy Baldwin nbsp Manager nbsp Dave SextonRoad to Wembley editHome teams listed first Stoke City edit Round 2 Southport 1 2 Stoke CityRound 3 Oxford United 1 1 Stoke City Replay Stoke City 2 0 Oxford UnitedRound 4 Manchester United 1 1 Stoke City Replay Stoke City 0 0 Manchester United 2nd Replay Stoke City 2 1 Manchester UnitedQuarter final Bristol Rovers 2 4 Stoke CitySemifinal 1st leg Stoke City 1 2 West Ham UnitedSemifinal 2nd leg West Ham United 0 1 Stoke City Replay Stoke City 0 0 West Ham United 2nd Replay Stoke City 3 2 West Ham United Chelsea edit Round 2 Plymouth Argyle 0 2 ChelseaRound 3 Nottingham Forest 1 1 Chelsea Replay Chelsea 2 1 Nottingham ForestRound 4 Chelsea 1 1 Bolton Wanderers Replay Bolton Wanderers 0 6 ChelseaQuarter final Norwich City 0 1 ChelseaSemifinal 1st leg Chelsea 3 2 Tottenham HotspurSemifinal 2nd leg Tottenham Hotspur 2 2 Chelsea Chelsea won 5 4 on aggregateReferences edit a b c d e f g h i j k Matthews Tony 1994 The Encyclopaedia of Stoke City Lion Press ISBN 0 9524151 0 0 External links edit1972 League Cup final at The English Football Archive Match stats Archived 24 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine at soccerbase com Final line ups at Football Focus Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1972 Football League Cup final amp oldid 1159221056, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
