The 1992 Football League Cup Final was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...

match played on 12 April 1992 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, to determine the winner of the 1991–92 Football League Cup. The match was contested by

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

and Nottingham Forest. Manchester United won 1–0 to win the

League Cup In several sports, most prominently association football, a league cup or secondary cup generally signifies a cup competition for which entry is restricted only to teams in a particular league. The first national association football tournament t ...

for the first time, with

Brian McClair Brian John McClair (born 8 December 1963) is a Scottish football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a forward from 1980 to 1998, notable for his near 11-year spell at Manchester United where he won 14 trophies includ ...

scoring the only goal.

Road to Wembley

As First Division clubs, both Manchester United and Nottingham Forest entered the League Cup in the second round. Both sides were drawn at home for the first leg, with Manchester United taking on

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...

and Nottingham Forest taking on Third Division

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pik ...

. Manchester United managed a 3–0 win in their first leg at

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,310 it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after Wembl ...

, with goals from

Ryan Giggs Ryan Joseph Giggs (né Wilson; 29 November 1973) is a Welsh football coach and former player. Regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Giggs played his entire professional career for Manchester United and briefly served as ...

and

Steve Bruce Stephen Roger Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English professional football manager and former player who played as a centre-back. He most recently managed West Bromwich Albion. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising scho ...

, before an early goal from McClair set up a 1–1 draw at the

Abbey Stadium Abbey Stadium is a football stadium in Cambridge, England. It has been the home ground of Cambridge United F.C. since 1932, and currently has a maximum capacity of 8,127 spectators. Cambridge Regional College F.C., Cambridge United's feeder cl ...

. Meanwhile, Forest won 4–0 in their first leg match, before a 5–2 win in the second leg for a 9–2 aggregate score. The two sides were again drawn at home in the third round, both against Second Division opposition. Manchester United beat

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

3–1 in their tie, with two goals from Mark Robins and one from

Bryan Robson Bryan Robson OBE (born 11 January 1957) is an English football manager and former player. He began his career with West Bromwich Albion in 1972, where he amassed over 200 appearances and was club captain before moving to Manchester United in ...

cancelling out John Beresford's goal for the visitors, while Forest beat

Bristol Rovers Bristol Rovers Football Club are a professional football club in Bristol, England. They compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. They play home matches at the Memorial Stadium in Horfield, they have been ...

2–0. Home ties again awaited both teams in the fourth round, both against First Division opponents for the first time in the competition, with Manchester United beating

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic be ...

2–0 thanks to goals from McClair and

Andrei Kanchelskis Andrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis ( uk, Андрій Антанасович Канчельскіс; russian: Андрей Антанасович Канчельскис; born 23 January 1969) is a professional football manager and former player. He ...

, while Forest could only manage a goalless draw against

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, before a 1–0 win in the replay at The Dell. The quarter-final saw both teams drawn away for the first time in the competition, again against First Division opposition, with Manchester United beating local rivals

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

3–1 at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The ...

, with goals from

Clayton Blackmore Clayton Graham Blackmore (born 23 September 1964) is a Welsh former international footballer. He was a combative player known for his attacking free kicks and a utility player who excelled in defence, but could play equally well in midfield. Bl ...

, Kanchelskis and Giggs securing the victory after Leeds took an early lead through

Gary Speed Gary Andrew Speed (8 September 1969 – 27 November 2011) was a Welsh professional footballer and manager. As manager of Wales, Speed is often credited as being the catalyst for the change in fortunes of the national team and as setting t ...

. This came just a week before Manchester United beat Leeds 1–0 at Elland Road in the third round of the FA Cup. Nottingham Forest again needed a replay to make it into the semi-finals, following a 1–1 draw against

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

Selhurst Park Selhurst Park is a football stadium in Selhurst in the London Borough of Croydon which is the home ground of Premier League side Crystal Palace. The stadium was designed by Archibald Leitch and opened in 1924. It has hosted international fo ...

with a 4–2 win at the

City Ground The City Ground is a football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest Football Club since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,445. The stadium was a venue when En ...

. In the semi-finals, Manchester United drew

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the ...

, the only Second Division side remaining in the competition, while Nottingham Forest were paired with

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...

, the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...

holders. Middlesbrough held Manchester United to a goalless draw in the first leg at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and ...

, and then forced extra time in the second leg at Old Trafford with a second-half goal from

Bernie Slaven Bernard Joseph Slaven (born 13 November 1960) is a former professional football striker. He scored 223 goals in 567 league and cup appearances over the course of an 18-year career and also earned seven caps for the Republic of Ireland. He star ...

cancelling out

Lee Sharpe Lee Stuart Sharpe (born 27 May 1971) is an English professional golfer, former professional footballer, sports television pundit and reality television personality. As a player was predominantly a left winger from 1988 to 2004, he notably play ...

's goal on the half-hour mark, before Ryan Giggs settled the tie just after the half-time break in extra time. Meanwhile, Forest drew 1–1 with Spurs in their first leg at the City Ground, before also requiring extra time to confirm a 2–1 victory at

White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...

. Manchester United had not yet won the League Cup, losing in both of their previous appearances in the competition's final in 1983 and 1991. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, had won the competition four times between 1979 and 1990, equalling Liverpool's record number of victories in the competition. Forest had won the

1991–92 Full Members' Cup The 1991–92 Full Members' Cup, known as the Zenith Data Systems Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 7th and final staging of a knock-out competition for English football clubs in the First and Second Division. The winners were Nottingham Fores ...

a fortnight prior and were hoping for a Football League cup Double. On the league scene, Manchester United were seriously challenging for the First Division title for the first time during Alex Ferguson's six seasons as manager, while Nottingham Forest were on course for another top 10 finish but had rarely looked like serious challengers since the 1983-84 season.

Match

Summary

The only goal of the game came in the 14th minute; after a long passing move by Manchester United, centre-back Gary Pallister played the ball midway inside the Nottingham Forest half to McClair, who laid it off to Giggs. Giggs then drove at the Forest defence, drawing defenders towards him and away from McClair in the centre. He then slid the ball sideways to McClair, who was able to dribble into the penalty area and shoot left-footed past Forest goalkeeper

Andy Marriott Andrew Marriott (born 11 October 1970) is an English-born Welsh professional footballer, who played as a goalkeeper. He is a journeyman player, having represented various clubs, and has also played for the Welsh national team. Football career M ...

into the bottom-right corner of the goal.

Details

Broadcasting

The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on ITV, with commentary from Brian Moore and Ian St John.

References

External links

Tournament results
at RSSSF.com {{Nottingham Forest F.C. matches

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

League Cup Final 1992 League Cup Final 1992

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

Football League Cup Final Football League Cup Final