The 1979 Football League Cup Final took place on 17 March 1979 at Wembley Stadium. It was the nineteenth Football League Cup

Football League Cup

The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 final and the thirteenth to be played at Wembley. It was contested between Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

 and Southampton

Southampton F.C.

Southampton Football Club is an English football team, nicknamed The Saints, based in the city of Southampton, Hampshire. The club gained promotion to the Championship from League One in the 2010–2011 season after being relegated in 2009. Their home ground is the St Mary's Stadium, where the club...

. Forest were the hot favourites to win being the holders of the League Cup and the reigning First Division champions. The match finished 3–2 to Forest. Forest's goals came from Garry Birtles

Garry Birtles

Garry Birtles is a retired English footballer, who played as a forward in The Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 1980 European Cup Finals...

 (2) and Tony Woodcock

Tony Woodcock

Anthony Stewart "Tony" Woodcock is a retired English international footballer who played professionally in both England and Germany as a striker. He won the European Cup in 1979 with Nottingham Forest.-Early career:...

. Southampton's goals came from David Peach

David Peach

David Sidney Peach is a former footballer, who played at left back for Southampton in the FA Cup Final 1976.-Chelsea & Gillingham:...

 and Nick Holmes

Nick Holmes (footballer)

Nicholas Charles Holmes is a retired footballer, who won the FA Cup Final with Southampton in 1976 and, from July 2002 to July 2010, was general manager of Salisbury City.-Southampton:...

.

Match details

Nottingham Forest Red shirts/White shorts/Red socks	3 — 2 (final score after 90 minutes)	Southampton Yellow shirts/Blue shorts/Yellow socks
Manager:   Brian Clough Brian Clough Brian Howard Clough, OBE was an English footballer and football manager. He is most notable for his success with Derby County and Nottingham Forest. His achievement of winning back-to-back European Cups with Nottingham Forest, a traditionally moderate provincial English club, is considered to be... ---- Team: 1   Peter Shilton Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton OBE is a former English footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He currently holds the record for playing more games for England than anyone else, earning 125 caps....   (GK) 2   Colin Barrett Colin Barrett Colin Barrett is an English-born footballer who played as a defender in the Football League during the 1970s and 1980s.He joined Manchester City in 1970 and made his debut on 19 August 1972 against Norwich City. He left the club in April 1976 to join Nottingham Forest... 3   Frank Clark 4   John McGovern John McGovern (footballer) John McGovern is a Scottish former association football player and manager. McGovern is most famous for captaining the Nottingham Forest side that won the European Cup twice, under the management of Brian Clough....   (c) 5   Larry Lloyd Larry Lloyd Laurence Valentine Lloyd was a footballer, a burly and tough central defender who won honours for both Bill Shankly's Liverpool and Brian Clough's all-conquering Nottingham Forest side of the late 1970s.... 6   David Needham David Needham David Needham is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League for Notts County, Queens Park Rangers and Nottingham Forest, and in the North American Soccer League for the Toronto Blizzard, in the 1970s and 1980s.Needham started his career at Notts County in 1966... 7   Martin O'Neill Martin O'Neill Martin Hugh Michael O'Neill, OBE, is a Northern Irish football manager and former player.Until resigning the post on 9 August 2010, he was manager of Aston Villa. Starting his career in his native Northern Ireland, O'Neill moved to England where he spent most of his playing career with Nottingham... 8   Archie Gemmill Archie Gemmill Archibald "Archie" Gemmill is a Scottish former footballer, most famous for a goal he scored against the Netherlands in the 1978 FIFA World Cup... 9   Garry Birtles Garry Birtles Garry Birtles is a retired English footballer, who played as a forward in The Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 1980 European Cup Finals... 10   Tony Woodcock Tony Woodcock Anthony Stewart "Tony" Woodcock is a retired English international footballer who played professionally in both England and Germany as a striker. He won the European Cup in 1979 with Nottingham Forest.-Early career:... 11   John Robertson 12   Ian Bowyer Ian Bowyer Ian Bowyer is a former English footballer who spent much of his career at Nottingham Forest, and was part of their European Cup victories in 1979 and 1980. He has also had spells as a coach and manager... Scorers: Garry Birtles Garry Birtles Garry Birtles is a retired English footballer, who played as a forward in The Football League between the 1970s and 1990s. He is best known for his time at Nottingham Forest, during which he won the 1979 and 1980 European Cup Finals...  , Tony Woodcock Tony Woodcock Anthony Stewart "Tony" Woodcock is a retired English international footballer who played professionally in both England and Germany as a striker. He won the European Cup in 1979 with Nottingham Forest.-Early career:...	Half-time: 0-1 Competition: Football League Cup Football League Cup The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...  (Final) Date: 15.00 GMT Saturday 17 March 1979 Venue: Wembley Stadium, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... Attendance: 96,952 Referee: Peter Reeves Match rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes extra-time if necessary. Match replayed if scores still level. One named subsititute.	Manager:   Lawrie McMenemy Lawrie McMenemy Lawrie McMenemy MBE is a retired English football coach, best known for his spell as manager of Southampton Football Club... ---- Team: 1   Terry Gennoe Terry Gennoe Terry Gennoe is a former footballer and is currently the first team goalkeeping coach at Aston Villa. -Playing career:...  (GK) 2   Ivan Golac Ivan Golac Ivan Golac is a former Yugoslav football player and manager.A Yugoslav international right back, he is best known as a player and manager of FK Partizan, of Belgrade... 3   David Peach David Peach David Sidney Peach is a former footballer, who played at left back for Southampton in the FA Cup Final 1976.-Chelsea & Gillingham:... 4   Steve Williams 5   Chris Nicholl Chris Nicholl Christopher John "Chris" Nicholl is an English-born former Northern Ireland international footballer.-Playing career:Nicholl was born in Macclesfield... 6   Malcolm Waldron Malcolm Waldron Malcolm Waldron born 6 September 1956 is a former footballer who played for various clubs, including Southampton and Portsmouth. He played as a Centre back during the late 1970s and early 1980s.-Southampton:... 7   Alan Ball (c) 8   Phil Boyer Phil Boyer Philip John "Phil" Boyer is an English former footballer who played for various clubs during his career, including Southampton, Norwich City, Bournemouth and Manchester City. He has the rare distinction of having played over 100 league games for four different clubs... 9   Austin Hayes Austin Hayes Austin William Patrick Hayes was an English-born footballer of Irish descent, who played once as a full international for the Republic of Ireland in 1979, the same year that he collected a Football League Cup runners-up medal with Southampton.-Football career:Hayes was born in Hammersmith, London...   10   Nick Holmes Nick Holmes (footballer) Nicholas Charles Holmes is a retired footballer, who won the FA Cup Final with Southampton in 1976 and, from July 2002 to July 2010, was general manager of Salisbury City.-Southampton:... 11   Terry Curran Terry Curran Edward Terence Curran is a former English professional footballer whose career lasted from 1975 to 1988. Curran was an attacking midfielder, who could also play as a winger, he could also play as an out and out Striker... 12   Tony Sealy Tony Sealy Anthony John "Tony" Sealy is a retired footballer in the 1970s and 1980s. He won four Championship medals with four different clubs and played for numerous clubs across the world.-Playing career:...   ---- Scorers: David Peach David Peach David Sidney Peach is a former footballer, who played at left back for Southampton in the FA Cup Final 1976.-Chelsea & Gillingham:...   Nick Holmes Nick Holmes (footballer) Nicholas Charles Holmes is a retired footballer, who won the FA Cup Final with Southampton in 1976 and, from July 2002 to July 2010, was general manager of Salisbury City.-Southampton:...

Nottingham Forest

Forest began their defence of the competition with a replayed victory over Oldham Athletic

Oldham Athletic A.F.C.

Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is an English association football club based at Boundary Park, on Sheepfoot Lane in Oldham, Greater Manchester. The club currently competes in the Football League One, the third tier of the English league...

, before a 5–0 win at Oxford United

Oxford United F.C.

Oxford United Football Club is an English association football club based in Oxford, Oxfordshire. The club play in League Two, following promotion from the Conference National in May 2010. The club had been a non-League side since their relegation from the Football League in the 2005–06 season. The...

. That set up a clash with fellow First Division

Football League First Division

The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

 side Everton

Everton F.C.

Everton Football Club are an English professional association football club from the city of Liverpool. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of English football...

, and Forest won 3–2 at Goodison Park

Goodison Park

Goodison Park is a football stadium located in Walton, Liverpool, England. The stadium has been home to Everton F.C. since its completion in 1892 and is one of the world's first purpose-built football grounds...

 in front of a crowd of almost 50,000. A quarter-final win over Brighton & Hove Albion

Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.

Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....

 set up the semi-final with Third Division

Football League Third Division

The Football League Third Division was the 3 tier of English Football from 1920 until 1992 when after the formation of the Football Association Premier League saw the league renamed The Football League Division Two...

 side Watford

Watford F.C.

Watford Football Club is an English professional football club based in Watford, Hertfordshire. It is often referred to as Watford F.C., Watford, or by the team's nickname The Hornets . Watford Rovers, Founded in 1881, entered the FA Cup for the first time in 1886, and the Southern League a decade...

. Forest won the 1st leg at home 3–1, and the 2nd leg was scoreless, and thus Forest qualified for their second successive final.

Southampton

Southampton began their run with wins over First Division Birmingham City

Birmingham City F.C.

Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...

 and Derby County

Derby County F.C.

Derby County Football Club is an English football based in Derby. the club play in the Football League Championship and is notable as being one of the twelve founder members of the Football League in 1888 and is, therefore, one of only ten clubs to have competed in every season of the English...

. In the fourth round they needed a replay to beat Fourth Division

Football League Fourth Division

The Fourth Division of The Football League was the fourth-highest division in the English football league system from the 1958–59 season until the creation of the Premier League prior to the 1992–93 season...

 side Reading

Reading F.C.

Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...

; Southampton then defeated Manchester City

Manchester City F.C.

Manchester City Football Club is an English Premier League football club based in Manchester. Founded in 1880 as St. Mark's , they became Ardwick Association Football Club in 1887 and Manchester City in 1894...

 2–1 in the quarter-final. In the first leg of their semi-final with Leeds United they drew 2–2 away, before a 1-0 second leg victory on 30 January (with the goal scored by Terry Curran

Terry Curran

Edward Terence Curran is a former English professional footballer whose career lasted from 1975 to 1988. Curran was an attacking midfielder, who could also play as a winger, he could also play as an out and out Striker...

) gave Southampton their first League Cup Final appearance.

External links

• Match report and line-ups at football-england.com