# 2004–05 Football League Cup

The 2004–05 Football League Cup (known as the Carling Cup for sponsorship reasons) was the 45th staging of the Football League Cup, a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition name reflects a sponsorship deal with lager brand Carling.
The competition began in August 2004 and ended with the final on 25 February 2005. The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff hosted the final match, as it had done since 2001, with the new Wembley Stadium still not complete.
The winners were Chelsea, beating Liverpool in the final 3–2 thanks to an own goal from Steven Gerrard, and goals in extra-time from Didier Drogba and Mateja Kežman in extra-time after the match finished 1–1.

## First round

| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Mansfield Town | 0–4 | Preston North End | 21 September 2004 |
| 2 | Boston United | 3–3 | Luton Town | 7 September 2004 |
| Boston United win 4–3 after extra time |||||
| 3 | Bradford City | 1–1 | Notts County | 25 August 2004 |
| Notts County win 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 4 | Coventry City | 4–1 | Torquay United | 25 August 2004 |
| 5 | Nottingham Forest | 2–0 | Scunthorpe United | 25 August 2004 |
| 6 | Oxford United | 0–2 | Reading | 25 August 2004 |
| 7 | Sheffield Wednesday | 1–0 | Walsall | 25 August 2004 |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 1–2 | Bristol Rovers | 24 August 2004 |
| 9 | Bury | 2–3 | Burnley | 24 August 2004 |
| 10 | Colchester United | 2–1 | Cheltenham Town | 24 August 2004 |
| 11 | Crewe Alexandra | 4–1 | Blackpool | 24 August 2004 |
| 12 | Darlington | 0–2 | Barnsley | 24 August 2004 |
| 13 | Doncaster Rovers | 3–1 | Port Vale | 24 August 2004 |
| 14 | Gillingham | 1–2 | Northampton Town | 24 August 2004 |
| 15 | Grimsby Town | 1–0 | Wigan Athletic | 24 August 2004 |
| 16 | Hartlepool United | 2–1 | Macclesfield Town | 24 August 2004 |
| 17 | Hull City | 2–2 | Wrexham | 24 August 2004 |
| 2–2 after extra time — Wrexham win 3 – 1 on penalties |||||
| 18 | Ipswich Town | 2–0 | Brentford | 24 August 2004 |
| 19 | Kidderminster Harriers | 1–1 | Cardiff City | 24 August 2004 |
| 1–1 after extra time — Cardiff City win 5–4 on penalties |||||
| 20 | Leeds United | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town | 24 August 2004 |
| 21 | Leyton Orient | 1–3 | Bournemouth | 24 August 2004 |
| 22 | Lincoln City | 3–1 | Derby County | 24 August 2004 |
| 23 | Oldham Athletic | 2–1 | Stoke City | 24 August 2004 |
| 24 | Peterborough United | 0–3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 24 August 2004 |
| 25 | Queens Park Rangers | 3–0 | Swansea City | 24 August 2004 |
| 26 | Rotherham United | 2–1 | Chesterfield | 24 August 2004 |
| 27 | Rushden & Diamonds | 0–1 | Swindon Town | 24 August 2004 |
| 28 | Sheffield United | 1–1 | Stockport County | 24 August 2004 |
| Sheffield United win 4–1 after extra time |||||
| 29 | Sunderland | 3–0 | Chester City | 24 August 2004 |
| 30 | Tranmere Rovers | 2–1 | Shrewsbury Town | 24 August 2004 |
| 31 | Watford | 1–0 | Cambridge United | 24 August 2004 |
| 32 | West Ham United | 2–0 | Southend United | 23 August 2004 |
| 33 | Wycombe Wanderers | 0–1 | Bristol City | 24 August 2004 |
| 34 | Yeovil Town | 2–2 | Plymouth Argyle | 24 August 2004 |
| Yeovil win 3–2 after extra time |||||
| 35 | Rochdale | 2–4 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 23 August 2004 |

## Second round

| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Leicester City | 2–2 | Preston North End | 4 October 2004 |
| Preston win 2–3 after extra time |||||
| 2 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Queens Park Rangers | 22 September 2004 |
| 3 | Blackburn Rovers | 2–2 | Bournemouth | 22 September 2004 |
| 3–3 after extra time — Bournemouth win 7 – 6 on penalties |||||
| 4 | Boston United | 1–4 | Fulham | 22 September 2004 |
| 5 | Bristol City | 2–2 | Everton | 22 September 2004 |
| 2–2 after extra time — Everton win 4–3 on penalties |||||
| 6 | Coventry City | 1–0 | Sheffield Wednesday | 22 September 2004 |
| 7 | Northampton Town | 0–3 | Southampton | 22 September 2004 |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 1–1 | Rotherham United | 22 September 2004 |
| Nottingham Forest win 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 9 | Oldham Athletic | 0–6 | Tottenham Hotspur | 22 September 2004 |
| 10 | Birmingham City | 3–1 | Lincoln City | 21 September 2004 |
| 11 | Burnley | 1–1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 21 September 2004 |
| 1–1 after extra time — Burnley win 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 1–1 | Hartlepool United | 21 September 2004 |
| Crystal Palace win 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 13 | Colchester United | 1–1 | West Bromwich Albion | 21 September 2004 |
| Colchester United win 2–1 after extra time |||||
| 14 | Crewe Alexandra | 2–2 | Sunderland | 21 September 2004 |
| 3–3 after extra time — Crewe Alexandra win 4–2 on penalties |||||
| 15 | Doncaster Rovers | 2–0 | Ipswich Town | 21 September 2004 |
| 16 | Grimsby Town | 0–2 | Charlton Athletic | 21 September 2004 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 1–0 | Swindon Town | 21 September 2004 |
| 18 | Milton Keynes Dons | 1–4 | Cardiff City | 21 September 2004 |
| 19 | Manchester City | 7–1 | Barnsley | 21 September 2004 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 1–0 | Bristol Rovers | 21 September 2004 |
| 21 | Reading | 0–3 | Watford | 21 September 2004 |
| 22 | Tranmere Rovers | 0–1 | Portsmouth | 21 September 2004 |
| 23 | West Ham United | 3–2 | Notts County | 21 September 2004 |
| 24 | Wrexham | 2–3 | Sheffield United | 21 September 2004 |
| 25 | Yeovil Town | 0–2 | Bolton Wanderers | 21 September 2004 |

## Third round

| Tie no | Home team | Score$^1$ | Away team | Date |
| 1 | Birmingham City | 0–1 | Fulham | 27 October 2004 |
| 2 | Bolton Wanderers | 2–2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 27 October 2004 |
| Tottenham Hotspur win 4–3 after extra time |||||
| 3 | Charlton Athletic | 1–2 | Crystal Palace | 27 October 2004 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 1–0 | West Ham United | 27 October 2004 |
| 5 | Everton | 2–0 | Preston | 27 October 2004 |
| 6 | Manchester City | 1–2 | Arsenal | 27 October 2004 |
| 7 | Middlesbrough | 3–0 | Coventry City | 27 October 2004 |
| 8 | Newcastle United | 2–1 | Norwich City | 27 October 2004 |
| 9 | Southampton | 3–2 | Colchester United | 27 October 2004 |
| 10 | Bournemouth | 2–2 | Cardiff City | 26 October 2004 |
| 3–3 after extra time — Cardiff City win 5 – 4 on penalties |||||
| 11 | Burnley | 3–1 | Aston Villa | 26 October 2004 |
| 12 | Crewe Alexandra | 0–3 | Manchester United | 26 October 2004 |
| 13 | Doncaster Rovers | 0–2 | Nottingham Forest | 26 October 2004 |
| 14 | Millwall | 0–3 | Liverpool | 26 October 2004 |
| 15 | Portsmouth | 2–1 | Leeds United | 26 October 2004 |
| 16 | Sheffield United | 0–0 | Watford | 26 October 2004 |
| 0–0 after extra time — Watford win 4 – 2 on penalties |||||

## Semi-finals
### First leg
### Second leg

Chelsea win 2–1 on aggregate.
Liverpool win 2–0 on aggregate