1996 Football League Cup final

The 1996 Football League Cup Final took place on 24 March 1996 at Wembley Stadium and was contested between Aston Villa and Leeds United. This was the 36th final and the 30th to be played at Wembley and is widely considered to be the toughest final of all time. Aston Villa had won the trophy two years earlier, while Leeds' last victory was in their only final appearance in 1968.

1996 Football League Cup Final

Event	1995–96 Football League Cup
Aston Villa Leeds United 3 0
Date	24 March 1996
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match	Andy Townsend^[1] (Aston Villa)
Referee	Robbie Hart (County Durham)^[2]
Attendance	77,056^[2]
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In the first half the teams were separated by a goal from Savo Milošević. After half-time, Leeds United tired and Aston Villa took advantage to eventually win 3–0. Goals from Ian Taylor and Dwight Yorke completed the scoring.^[2] This was the beginning of the end for Leeds United manager Howard Wilkinson, as he was heckled by the club's fans for his and the team's failure. However, it was Villa's fifth success in the competition, at the time equalling the record set by Liverpool.

Road to Wembley

Aston Villa Round 2 (1st leg) Aston Villa 6–0 Peterborough United Round 2 (2nd leg) Peterborough United 1–1 Aston Villa   (Aston Villa win 7–1 on aggregate) Round 3 Aston Villa 2–0 Stockport County Round 4 Aston Villa 1–0 Queens Park Rangers Quarter-final Aston Villa 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Semi-final (1st leg) Arsenal 2–2 Aston Villa Semi-final (2nd leg) Aston Villa 0–0 Arsenal   (2–2 on aggregate. Aston Villa advance on Away Goals) Leeds United Round 2 (1st leg) Leeds United 0–0 Notts County Round 2 (2nd leg) Notts County 2–3 Leeds United   (Leeds win 3–2 on aggregate) Round 3 Derby County 0–1 Leeds United Round 4 Leeds United 2–1 Blackburn Rovers Quarter-final Leeds United 2–1 Reading Semi-final (1st leg) Birmingham City 1–2 Leeds United Semi-final (2nd leg) Leeds United 3–0 Birmingham City   (Leeds United win 5–1 on aggregate) Match details 24 March 1996 17:00 Aston Villa 3–0 Leeds United Milošević   20' Taylor   55' Yorke   88' Report Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 77,056^[2] Referee: Robbie Hart (County Durham)^[2]               Aston Villa           Leeds United GK 1   Mark Bosnich CB 4   Gareth Southgate CB 5   Paul McGrath CB 6   Ugo Ehiogu RWB 2   Gary Charles LWB 3   Alan Wright CM 7   Ian Taylor CM 8   Mark Draper CM 11   Andy Townsend (c) CF 9   Savo Milošević CF 10   Dwight Yorke Substitutes: GK 13   Michael Oakes DF 12   Steve Staunton FW 14   Tommy Johnson Manager:   Brian Little GK 1   John Lukic CB 3   Lucas Radebe   65' CB 6   David Wetherall CB 5   John Pemberton RWB 2   Gary Kelly LWB 11   Gary Speed CM 4   Carlton Palmer CM 8   Mark Ford   46' CM 10   Gary McAllister (c) CF 7   Andy Gray CF 9   Tony Yeboah Substitutes: DF 15   Nigel Worthington FW 12   Brian Deane   46' FW 14   Tomas Brolin   65' Manager:   Howard Wilkinson Man of the match Andy Townsend (Aston Villa)^[1] Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Three named substitutes, of which two may be used References . The Football League. 26 February 2012. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 8 May 2012. "Milosevic gives Villa a touch of magic". The Independent. 25 March 1996. Retrieved 8 May 2012. External links Game facts at soccerbase.com at soccerbase.com at The English Football Archive