# 2001–02 Football League Cup

The 2001–02 Football League Cup (known as the Worthington Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 42nd staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs.
The competition began on 20 August 2001, and ended with the final on 26 February 2002 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley Stadium had been closed for a rebuild.
The tournament was won by Blackburn Rovers, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 2–1 in the final, thanks to single strikes from Matt Jansen and Andy Cole, sandwiched by an equaliser from Christian Ziege. Blackburn had only just returned to the Premier League at the beginning of the season after relegation several years earlier.

## First round

The 70 First, Second and Third Division clubs compete from the First Round, except Manchester City and Coventry. 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 2000–01 season.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Birmingham City | 3–0 | Southend United | 22 August 2001 |
| 2 | Cambridge United | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | West Bromwich Albion | 22 August 2001 |
| West Bromwich Albion won 4–3 on penalties |||||
| 3 | Stoke City | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | Oldham Athletic | 22 August 2001 |
| Oldham Athletic won 6–5 on penalties |||||
| 4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 1–2 | Swindon Town | 22 August 2001 |
| 5 | Barnsley | 2–0 | Halifax Town | 21 August 2001 |
| 6 | Blackpool | 3–2 | Wigan Athletic | 21 August 2001 |
| 7 | Bournemouth | 0–2 | Torquay United | 21 August 2001 |
| 8 | Brentford | 1–0 | Norwich City | 21 August 2001 |
| 9 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 2–1 | Wimbledon | 21 August 2001 |
| 10 | Bristol City | 2–1 | Cheltenham Town | 21 August 2001 |
| 11 | Burnley | 2–3 | Rushden & Diamonds | 21 August 2001 |
| 12 | Bury | 1–3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 August 2001 |
| 13 | Exeter City | 0–1 | Walsall | 21 August 2001 |
| 14 | Grimsby Town | 2–1 | Lincoln City | 21 August 2001 |
| 15 | Huddersfield Town | 0–1 | Rochdale | 21 August 2001 |
| 16 | Kidderminster Harriers | 2–3 (a.e.t.) | Preston North End | 21 August 2001 |
| 17 | Leyton Orient | 2–4 | Crystal Palace | 21 August 2001 |
| 18 | Macclesfield Town | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Bradford City | 21 August 2001 |
| 19 | Mansfield Town | 3–4 | Notts County | 21 August 2001 |
| 20 | Millwall | 2–1 | Cardiff City | 21 August 2001 |
| 21 | Northampton Town | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Queens Park Rangers | 21 August 2001 |
| 22 | Oxford United | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Gillingham | 21 August 2001 |
| 23 | Port Vale | 2–1 | Chesterfield | 21 August 2001 |
| 24 | Portsmouth | 1–2 | Colchester United | 21 August 2001 |
| 25 | Reading | 4–0 | Luton Town | 21 August 2001 |
| 26 | Stockport County | 3–0 | Carlisle United | 21 August 2001 |
| 27 | Swansea City | 0–2 | Peterborough United | 21 August 2001 |
| 28 | Tranmere Rovers | 3–1 | Shrewsbury Town | 21 August 2001 |
| 29 | Watford | 1–0 | Plymouth Argyle | 21 August 2001 |
| 30 | Wrexham | 2–3 | Hull City | 21 August 2001 |
| 31 | Wycombe Wanderers | 0–1 | Bristol Rovers | 21 August 2001 |
| 32 | York City | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Crewe Alexandra | 21 August 2001 |
| Crewe Alexandra won 6–5 on penalties |||||
| 33 | Darlington | 0–1 | Sheffield United | 20 August 2001 |
| 34 | Hartlepool United | 0–2 | Nottingham Forest | 20 August 2001 |
| 35 | Scunthorpe United | 0–2 | Rotherham United | 20 August 2001 |

## Second round

The 35 winners from the First Round joined the 13 Premier League, clubs not participating in European competition in the Second Round, plus Manchester City and Coventry (who received byes for their league position the previous season). Matches were played on 10–13 September.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2–0 | Torquay United | 13 September 2001 |
| 2 | Blackburn Rovers | 2–0 | Oldham Athletic | 12 September 2001 |
| 3 | Bristol City | 2–3 | Watford | 12 September 2001 |
| 4 | Charlton Athletic | 2–0 | Port Vale | 12 September 2001 |
| 5 | Derby County | 3–0 | Hull City | 12 September 2001 |
| 6 | Everton | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Crystal Palace | 12 September 2001 |
| Crystal Palace won 5–4 on penalties |||||
| 7 | Newcastle United | 4–1 (a.e.t.) | Brentford | 12 September 2001 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Stockport County | 12 September 2001 |
| Nottingham Forest won 8–7 on penalties |||||
| 9 | Sheffield Wednesday | 4–2 (a.e.t.) | Sunderland | 12 September 2001 |
| 10 | Bolton Wanderers | 4–3 (a.e.t.) | Walsall | 11 September 2001 |
| 11 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0–3 | Southampton | 11 September 2001 |
| 12 | Bristol Rovers | 0–3 | Birmingham City | 11 September 2001 |
| 13 | Colchester United | 1–3 | Barnsley | 11 September 2001 |
| 14 | Crewe Alexandra | 2–0 (a.e.t.) | Rushden & Diamonds | 11 September 2001 |
| 15 | Gillingham | 2–1 | Millwall | 11 September 2001 |
| 16 | Grimsby Town | 3–3 (a.e.t.) | Sheffield United | 11 September 2001 |
| Grimsby Town won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 17 | Middlesbrough | 3–1 | Northampton Town | 11 September 2001 |
| 18 | Notts County | 2–4 (a.e.t.) | Manchester City | 11 September 2001 |
| 19 | Peterborough United | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Coventry City | 11 September 2001 |
| Coventry City won 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 20 | Reading | 0–0 (a.e.t.) | West Ham | 11 September 2001 |
| Reading won 6–5 on penalties |||||
| 21 | Rochdale | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Fulham | 11 September 2001 |
| Fulham won 6–5 on penalties |||||
| 22 | Rotherham United | 0–4 | Bradford City | 11 September 2001 |
| 23 | Tranmere Rovers | 4–1 | Preston North End | 11 September 2001 |
| 24 | West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 (a.e.t.) | Swindon Town | 11 September 2001 |
| 25 | Blackpool | 0–1 | Leicester City | 10 September 2001 |

## Third round

The 25 winners from the Second Round joined the seven Premiership clubs participating in European competition in the Third Round. Matches were played on 8–10 October.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Arsenal | 4–0 | Manchester United | 5 November 2001 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Reading | 10 October 2001 |
| 3 | Blackburn Rovers | 2–1 (a.e.t.) | Middlesbrough | 10 October 2001 |
| 4 | Fulham | 5–2 | Derby County | 10 October 2001 |
| 5 | Manchester City | 6–0 | Birmingham City | 10 October 2001 |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 2–2 (a.e.t.) | Crystal Palace | 10 October 2001 |
| Sheffield Wednesday won 3–1 on penalties |||||
| 7 | Barnsley | 0–1 | Newcastle United | 9 October 2001 |
| 8 | Coventry City | 0–2 | Chelsea | 9 October 2001 |
| 9 | Crewe Alexandra | 2–3 | Ipswich Town | 9 October 2001 |
| 10 | Gillingham | 0–2 | Southampton | 9 October 2001 |
| 11 | Leicester City | 0–6 | Leeds United | 9 October 2001 |
| 12 | Liverpool | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Grimsby Town | 9 October 2001 |
| 13 | Tranmere Rovers | 0–4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 9 October 2001 |
| 14 | Watford | 4–1 | Bradford City | 9 October 2001 |
| 15 | West Bromwich Albion | 0–1 | Charlton Athletic | 9 October 2001 |
| 16 | Bolton Wanderers | 1–0 | Nottingham Forest | 8 October 2001 |

## Fourth round

The matches were played on 27–29 November.

## Fifth round

The four matches were played on 11–12 and 19 December.

## Semi-finals

The semi-final draw was made in December 2001 after the conclusion of the quarter finals. Unlike the other rounds, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The ties were played in the weeks beginning 7 and 21 January 2002.

### Second leg

Blackburn Rovers won 6–3 on aggregate.
Tottenham Hotspur won 6–3 on aggregate

## Final

The 2002 Worthington Cup Final was played on 24 February 2002 and was contested between Premier League teams Tottenham Hotspur and Blackburn Rovers at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Blackburn Rovers won the game 2–1.
| Blackburn Rovers | Tottenham Hotspur |