# 1968–69 Football League Cup

The 1968–69 Football League Cup was the ninth season of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition ended with the final on 15 March 1969.
The final was contested by Third Division team Swindon Town and First Division side Arsenal at Wembley Stadium in London. Roger Smart gave Swindon a surprise lead in the first half but Bobby Gould equalised for Arsenal in the 85th minute. In extra-time, Don Rogers scored twice for Swindon, leading them to a 3–1 victory.

## Calendar

Of the 91 teams, 37 received a bye to the second round (teams ranked 1st–38th in the 1967–68 Football League, excluding Manchester United who did not compete) and the other 54 played in the first round. Semi-finals were two-legged.
| Round | Main date | Fixtures | Fixtures | Clubs | New entries this round |
| Round | Main date | Original | Replays | Clubs | New entries this round |
| First Round | 14 August 1968 | 27 | 12 | 91 → 64 | 54 (teams ranked 17th–22nd in Second Division; all Third and Fourth Division) |
| Second Round | 4 September 1968 | 32 | 8 | 64 → 32 | 37 (all First Division, except 1 team that did not enter; teams ranked 1st–16th in Second Division) |
| Third Round | 25 September 1968 | 16 | 2 | 32 → 16 | none |
| Fourth Round | 16 October 1968 | 8 | 2 | 16 → 8 | none |
| Fifth Round | 30 October 1968 | 4 | 1 | 8 → 4 | none |
| Semi-finals | 20 November & 4 December 1968 | 4 | 1 | 4 → 2 | none |
| Final | 15 March 1969 | 1 | 0 | 2 → 1 | none |

## First round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Aldershot | 2–4 | Brentford | 14 August 1968 |
| Bournemouth & Boscombe Athletic | 1–6 | Southend United | 13 August 1968 |
| Bradford City | 3–2 | Hartlepool | 14 August 1968 |
| Bradford Park Avenue | 0–3 | Darlington | 13 August 1968 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 2–0 | Oxford United | 14 August 1968 |
| Bristol City | 2–0 | Newport County | 13 August 1968 |
| Bristol Rovers | 0–2 | Swansea Town | 13 August 1968 |
| Bury | 1–1 | Stockport County | 13 August 1968 |
| Chester | 0–0 | Tranmere Rovers | 13 August 1968 |
| Colchester United | 2–0 | Reading | 13 August 1968 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 1–1 | Northampton Town | 14 August 1968 |
| Derby County | 3–0 | Chesterfield | 13 August 1968 |
| Doncaster Rovers | 0–0 | Peterborough United | 14 August 1968 |
| Gillingham | 2–2 | Orient | 14 August 1968 |
| Grimsby Town | 0–0 | Notts County | 14 August 1968 |
| Halifax Town | 0–3 | Hull City | 14 August 1968 |
| Lincoln City | 2–1 | Mansfield Town | 14 August 1968 |
| Luton Town | 3–0 | Watford | 14 August 1968 |
| Plymouth Argyle | 0–0 | Exeter City | 14 August 1968 |
| Preston North End | 1–1 | Oldham Athletic | 14 August 1968 |
| Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | Rotherham United | 13 August 1968 |
| Southport | 2–2 | Barrow | 14 August 1968 |
| Swindon Town | 2–1 | Torquay United | 13 August 1968 |
| Walsall | 2–0 | Shrewsbury Town | 13 August 1968 |
| Workington | 2–1 | Rochdale | 14 August 1968 |
| Wrexham | 2–0 | Port Vale | 14 August 1968 |
| York City | 3–4 | Barnsley | 14 August 1968 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Barrow | 1–3 | Southport | 19 August 1968 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 1–0 | Northampton Town | 21 August 1968 |
| Exeter City | 0–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 21 August 1968 |
| Orient | 3–0 | Gillingham | 20 August 1968 |
| Notts County | 0–1 | Grimsby Town | 21 August 1968 |
| Oldham Athletic | 0–1 | Preston North End | 21 August 1968 |
| Peterborough United | 1–0 | Doncaster Rovers | 19 August 1968 |
| Stockport County | 1–0 | Bury | 19 August 1968 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 2–2 | Chester | 21 August 1968 |

### Second Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Plymouth Argyle | 0–1 | Exeter City | 26 August 1968 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 1–1 | Chester | 26 August 1968 |

### Third replay

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Chester | 1–2 | Tranmere Rovers | 28 August 1968 |

## Second round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Arsenal | 1–0 | Sunderland | 4 September 1968 |
| Aston Villa | 1–4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 September 1968 |
| Barnsley | 1–1 | Millwall | 3 September 1968 |
| Birmingham City | 0–1 | Chelsea | 3 September 1968 |
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–1 | Stoke City | 4 September 1968 |
| Bradford City | 1–1 | Swindon Town | 4 September 1968 |
| Brentford | 3–0 | Hull City | 4 September 1968 |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–1 | Luton Town | 4 September 1968 |
| Bristol City | 1–0 | Middlesbrough | 4 September 1968 |
| Carlisle United | 2–0 | Cardiff City | 4 September 1968 |
| Colchester United | 0–1 | Workington | 4 September 1968 |
| Coventry City | 2–0 | Portsmouth | 3 September 1968 |
| Crystal Palace | 3–1 | Preston North End | 4 September 1968 |
| Darlington | 1–2 | Leicester City | 4 September 1968 |
| Derby County | 5–1 | Stockport County | 4 September 1968 |
| Everton | 4–0 | Tranmere Rovers | 3 September 1968 |
| Exeter City | 3–1 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4 September 1968 |
| Grimsby Town | 1–1 | Burnley | 4 September 1968 |
| Huddersfield Town | 0–0 | Manchester City | 3 September 1968 |
| Ipswich Town | 2–4 | Norwich City | 3 September 1968 |
| Leeds United | 1–0 | Charlton Athletic | 4 September 1968 |
| Orient | 1–0 | Fulham | 3 September 1968 |
| Liverpool | 4–0 | Sheffield United | 4 September 1968 |
| Nottingham Forest | 2–3 | West Bromwich Albion | 3 September 1968 |
| Peterborough United | 4–2 | Queens Park Rangers | 4 September 1968 |
| Scunthorpe United | 2–1 | Lincoln City | 3 September 1968 |
| Southampton | 3–1 | Crewe Alexandra | 4 September 1968 |
| Southport | 0–2 | Newcastle United | 2 September 1968 |
| Walsall | 1–1 | Swansea Town | 3 September 1968 |
| West Ham United | 7–2 | Bolton Wanderers | 4 September 1968 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–0 | Southend United | 4 September 1968 |
| Wrexham | 1–1 | Blackpool | 4 September 1968 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Blackpool | 3–0 | Wrexham | 9 September 1968 |
| Burnley | 6–0 | Grimsby Town | 10 September 1968 |
| Luton Town | 4–2 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 11 September 1968 |
| Manchester City | 4–0 | Huddersfield Town | 11 September 1968 |
| Millwall | 3–1 | Barnsley | 9 September 1968 |
| Stoke City | 0–1 | Blackburn Rovers | 11 September 1968 |
| Swansea Town | 3–2 | Walsall | 10 September 1968 |
| Swindon Town | 4–3 | Bradford City | 10 September 1968 |

## Third round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Brentford | 0–2 | Norwich City | 24 September 1968 |
| Blackpool | 1–0 | Manchester City | 25 September 1968 |
| Carlisle United | 0–3 | Leicester City | 24 September 1968 |
| Chelsea | 0–0 | Derby County | 25 September 1968 |
| Everton | 5–1 | Luton Town | 24 September 1968 |
| Leeds United | 2–1 | Bristol City | 25 September 1968 |
| Orient | 0–1 | Crystal Palace | 24 September 1968 |
| Liverpool | 2–0 | Swansea Town | 25 September 1968 |
| Peterborough United | 2–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 25 September 1968 |
| Scunthorpe United | 1–6 | Arsenal | 25 September 1968 |
| Southampton | 4–1 | Newcastle United | 25 September 1968 |
| Swindon Town | 1–0 | Blackburn Rovers | 24 September 1968 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 6–3 | Exeter City | 25 September 1968 |
| West Ham United | 0–0 | Coventry City | 25 September 1968 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5–1 | Millwall | 25 September 1968 |
| Workington | 0–1 | Burnley | 25 September 1968 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Coventry City | 3–2 | West Ham United | 1 October 1968 |
| Derby County | 3–1 | Chelsea | 2 October 1968 |

## Fourth round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Arsenal | 2–1 | Liverpool | 15 October 1968 |
| Blackpool | 2–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 16 October 1968 |
| Burnley | 4–0 | Leicester City | 16 October 1968 |
| Coventry City | 2–2 | Swindon Town | 16 October 1968 |
| Crystal Palace | 2–1 | Leeds United | 16 October 1968 |
| Everton | 0–0 | Derby County | 16 October 1968 |
| Norwich City | 0–4 | Southampton | 16 October 1968 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Peterborough United | 16 October 1968 |

### Replays

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Derby County | 1–0 | Everton | 23 October 1968 |
| Swindon Town | 3–0 | Coventry City | 21 October 1968 |

## Fifth round
### Ties

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Arsenal | 5–1 | Blackpool | 29 October 1968 |
| Burnley | 2–0 | Crystal Palace | 30 October 1968 |
| Derby County | 0–0 | Swindon Town | 30 October 1968 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–0 | Southampton | 30 October 1968 |

### Replay

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Swindon Town | 1–0 | Derby County | 5 November 1968 |

## Semi-finals
### First leg

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Arsenal | 1–0 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 November 1968 |
| Burnley | 1–2 | Swindon Town | 20 November 1968 |

### Second leg

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date | Agg |
| Swindon Town | 1–2 | Burnley | 4 December 1968 | 3–3 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 1–1 | Arsenal | 4 December 1968 | 1–2 |

### Replay

| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Date |
| Burnley | 2–3 | Swindon Town | 18 December 1968 |

## Final

The final was held at Wembley Stadium, London on 15 March 1969.
| Arsenal Yellow shirts/Blue shorts/Yellow socks | 1 — 3 (after extra time) | Swindon Town White shirts/White shorts/White socks |
| Manager: Bertie Mee Team: Wilson (GK) Storey McNab McLintock Ure Simpson off 71' Radford Sammels Court Gould Armstrong Substitutes: Graham on 71' Scorers: Bobby Gould 86' | Half-time: 0–1 Competition: Football League Cup (Final) Date: 15:00 BST Saturday 15 March 1969 Venue: Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 98,189 Match rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes extra-time if necessary. Match replayed if scores still level. One named substitute. | Manager: Danny Williams Team: Downsborough (GK) Thomas Trollope Butler Burrows Harland Heath Smart Smith off 77' Noble Rogers Substitutes: Penman on 77' Scorers: Roger Smart 35' Don Rogers 104', 119' |