League Cup shocks: Arsenal, Chelsea, QPR, Man Utd and Liverpool

Wednesday, December 12, 2012
9:13 AM

FEATURE: A full-strength Arsenal last night slumped to a penalty shoot-out defeat at League Two side Bradford at Valley Parade in the Capital One Cup.

Here, London24 Sport takes a look at some other memorable upsets in the competition.

1967: QPR 3 West Brom 2, final

QPR of the old Third Division looked out of the Wembley final at 2-0 down, but Alec Stock’s side roared back into the match and goals from Roger Morgan, Rodney Marsh and Mark Lazarus brought them a famous victory.

1969: Swindon 3 Arsenal 1, final

The 1969 final provided perhaps the competition’s greatest upset. Division Three side Swindon shocked mighty Arsenal, two years before the Gunners did a league and cup double, with winger Don Rogers scoring twice in extra-time to secure a 3-1 victory.

1989: Scarborough 3 Chelsea 2 (Scarborough won 4-3 on aggregate), second round

Drawn to face Chelsea in round two, Scarborough were given little chance, having barely been a league club for two years. Having drawn the first leg 1-1 at Stamford Bridge, Boro hit back from 2-0 down on the night at the McCain Stadium with three goals in seven minutes capped by Martin Russell’s winning penalty to seal a famous win.

1989: Oldham 3 Arsenal 1, third round

Arsenal were felled 3-1 by Joe Royle’s Oldham, who had already beaten Leeds and Scarborough (7-0). The Boundary Park plastic pitch may have been a factor as George Graham’s league champions came unstuck against a side who would go on to beat West Ham 6-0 in one leg of their semi-final, en route to the final and a 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

1995: Manchester United 0 York 3 (York won 4-3 on aggregate), second round

David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Lee Sharpe and Brian McClair - not to mention Alex Ferguson - all had egg on their face at Old Trafford as Paul Barnes struck twice and Tony Barras headed a third, and a second-leg 3-1 win for United at Bootham Crescent was not enough to turn the tie around.

2001: Liverpool 1 Grimsby 2, third round

After a goalless 90 minutes Gary McAllister put Liverpool ahead in the ninth minute of extra-time but Marlon Broomes and then Phil Jevons, in the final minute, knocked out the holders.

2006: Southend 1 Manchester United 0, fourth round

Sir Alex Ferguson fielded a strong side including Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo at Roots Hall, but Freddy Eastwood’s 30-yard free-kick won it for the Shrimpers.

2010: Liverpool 2 Northampton 2 (Northampton win 4-2 on penalties), third round

Roy Hodgson’s ill-fated Liverpool reign hit a new low as Abdul Osman’s penalty dumped them out on a rainy night at Anfield. Milan Jovanovic put Liverpool in front, but Billy McKay equalised and Michael Jacobs’ tap-in gave the League Two side a deserved lead in extra-time. David Ngog’s late header sent the match to a shoot-out, but the Cobblers would not be denied.

2011: Birmingham 2 Arsenal 1, final

Obafemi Martins scored an 89th-minute winner for Birmingham as he capitalised on an almighty mix-up between Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny to roll the ball into the net. Robin van Persie had earlier cancelled out Nikola Zigic’s opener, but the Blues, who would be relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season stood firm before striking at the death.