The 2006–07 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 47th staging of the Football League Cup, a knock-out competition for the top 92 football clubs played in English football league system. The competition name reflects a sponsorship deal with lager brand Carling.

The competition began in August 2006 and ended with the final on 25 February 2007. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final, as the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium could not be completed in time to host the final.

The winners were Chelsea, beating Arsenal in the final 2-1 after two goals by Didier Drogba.

Format

The competition consists of five single elimination rounds (taking place only on week-nights) before a two-legged semi-final and then a final match at a neutral venue. The venue for each fixture in round one to the finals will not be neutral. It will be the home ground of one of the two clubs in each fixture, and will be decided as part of the draw for each round.

There are no replays in the competition. If necessary, extra-time and penalties will decide each tie's winners on the night.

First round The 72 Football League clubs compete from the first round, which is divided into North and South sections. Each section is divided equally into a pot of seeded clubs and a pot of unseeded clubs. Clubs' rankings depend upon their finishing position in the 2005-06 season. Therefore, the clubs relegated from the Premier League in 2006; Sunderland (North), Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion (South) are the top seeds, and the clubs newly promoted to the Football League — Accrington Stanley and Hereford United — are bottom seeds in north and south sections respectively.

At 12:00 BST on 21 June 2006, seeded clubs and unseeded clubs were paired off to create the first round draw. The small numbers represent the seeding. Ties are shown in order of the draw.

NorthTie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance120 Chesterfield0–0Wolverhampton Wanderers 44,1360–0 after extra time — Chesterfield win 4–3 on penalties25 Stoke City1–2Darlington 283,573319 Port Vale2–1Preston North End 23,52247 Burnley0–1Hartlepool United 253,85359 Sheffield Wednesday1–4Wrexham 298,047634 Bury2–0Sunderland 12,93078 Hull City1–1Tranmere Rovers 216,075Hull City win 2–1 after extra time822 Blackpool1–1Barnsley 113,9382–2 after extra time — Barnsley win 4–2 on penalties913 Huddersfield Town0–2Mansfield Town 325,1111024 Carlisle United1–1Bradford City 174,7571–1 after extra time — Carlisle United win 4–3 on penalties1123 Rotherham United3–1Oldham Athletic 163,0651218 Scunthorpe United2–2Lincoln City 273,455Scunthorpe United win 4–3 after extra time1336 Accrington Stanley1–0Nottingham Forest 142,1461426 Grimsby Town0–3Crewe Alexandra 121,635153 Leeds United1–0Chester City 3110,0131615 Doncaster Rovers3–2Rochdale 303,6901735 Stockport County0–1Derby County 103,394186 Leicester City2–0Macclesfield Town 336,298

SouthTie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance17 Cardiff City0–2Barnet 333,305225 Milton Keynes Dons0–0Colchester United 132,747Milton Keynes Dons win 1–0 after extra time326 Swindon Town2–2Brentford 165,5822–2 after extra time — Brentford win 4–3 on penalties43 Crystal Palace1–2Notts County 354,481536 Hereford United3–1Coventry City 43,404617 Swansea City2–2Wycombe Wanderers 285,892Wycombe Wanderers win 3–2 after extra time729 Peterborough United1–1Ipswich Town 104,7292–2 after extra time — Peterborough United win 4–2 on penalties821 AFC Bournemouth1–3Southend United 123,764915 Brighton & Hove Albion1–0Boston United 312,5331024 Cheltenham Town2–1Bristol City 183,7131114 Millwall2–1Gillingham 195,040128 Southampton5–2Yeovil Town 2020,653131 Birmingham City1–0Shrewsbury Town 3012,428149 Plymouth Argyle0–1Walsall 276,4071532 Bristol Rovers1–1Luton Town 62,8821–1 after extra time — Luton Town win 5–3 on penalties1611 Queens Park Rangers3–2Northampton Town 224,5691734 Torquay United0–2Norwich City 53,1001823 Leyton Orient0–3West Bromwich Albion 23,058

1 Score after 90 minutes

Second round In Round 2, the 36 winners from Round 1 were joined by the 12 Premier League clubs not participating in European competitions. The draw took place on 26 August 2006 and matches were played during the week commencing 18 September.

Tie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance1Leeds United3–1Barnet7,2202Watford0–0Accrington Stanley8,3680–0 after extra time — Watford win 6–5 on penalties3Crewe Alexandra2–0Wigan Athletic3,9074Doncaster Rovers3–3Derby County5,5983–3 after extra time — Doncaster Rovers win 8–7 on penalties5Sheffield United1–0Bury6,2736Millwall0–4Southampton5,4927West Bromwich Albion3–1Cheltenham Town10,9748Peterborough United1–2Everton10,7569Hereford United1–3Leicester City4,07310Port Vale3–2Queens Park Rangers3,55011Fulham1–2Wycombe Wanderers6,62012Hull City0–0Hartlepool United6,3920–0 after extra time — Hull City win 3–2 on penalties13Walsall1–3Bolton Wanderers6,24314Middlesbrough0–1Notts County11,14815Charlton Athletic1–0Carlisle United8,19016Barnsley1–2Milton Keynes Dons4,41117Chesterfield2–1Manchester City7,96018Scunthorpe United1–2Aston Villa6,50219Southend United3–2Brighton & Hove Albion4,81920Brentford0–3Luton Town3,00521Reading3–3Darlington10,3533–3 after extra time — Reading win 4–2 on penalties22Birmingham City1–1Wrexham10,491Birmingham City win 4–1 after extra time23Rotherham United2–4Norwich City3,95824Mansfield Town1–2Portsmouth6,646 1 Score after 90 minutes

Third round Round 3 was drawn on 23 September from the 24 remaining clubs and the eight Premier League clubs in European competitions. The ties were played the week of 23 October:

Tie noHome teamScore1Away teamAttendance1Wycombe Wanderers1–1Doncaster Rovers3,3082–2 after extra time — Wycombe win 3–2 on penalties2Sheffield United2–4Birmingham City10,5843Leicester City2–2Aston Villa27,288Aston Villa win 3–2 after extra time4Watford2–1Hull City8,2745Leeds United1–3Southend United10,4496Chesterfield2–1West Ham United7,7877Notts County2–0Southampton6,7318Newcastle United3–0Portsmouth25,0289Charlton Athletic1–0Bolton Wanderers10,78810Liverpool4–3Reading42,44511West Bromwich Albion0–2Arsenal21,56612Port Vale0–0Norwich City4,5180–0 after extra time — Port Vale win 3–2 on penalties13Everton4–0Luton Town27,14914Milton Keynes Dons0–5Tottenham Hotspur8,30615Crewe Alexandra1–1Manchester United10,046Manchester United win 2–1 after extra time16Blackburn Rovers0–2Chelsea14,732 1 Score after 90 minutes

Fourth round The Fourth round draw was made on 25 October 2006.

Quarter-finals The quarter-final draw was made on 11 November 2006 at 12:00 GMT.

Semi-finals The semi-final draw was made on 23 December 2006 at 12:00 GMT. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home.

First leg

Second leg

Chelsea won 5–1 on aggregate.

Arsenal won 5–3 on aggregate.

Final

See also Football League Cup

External links

Official Carling Cup website Carling Cup at bbc.co.uk