Date 15 March 1980 | Attendance 96,527 | |
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Venue Wembley Stadium, London Referee David Richardson (Great Harwood) Champion Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Event 1979–80 Football League Cup Similar 1981 Football League C, 1982 Football League C, 1970 Football League C, 1975 Football League C, 1986 Football League C | ||
The 1980 Football League Cup Final was the final match of the 1979–80 Football League Cup, the 20th season of the Football League Cup, a football competition for the 92 teams in The Football League. The match was played at Wembley Stadium on 15 March 1980, and was contested by League Cup holders and European champions Nottingham Forest and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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Wolves won the match 1–0 thanks to an Andy Gray goal in the 67th minute.
As both League Cup and European Cup holders, Nottingham Forest had entered the match as clear favourites. Indeed, victory here would have given the club a hat trick of League Cup wins, and they retained the European Cup at the end of the season. By contrast, Wolves' last silverware had been their League Cup win six years earlier and they had finished a lowly 18th in the First Division in the previous campaign, whilst Forest had ended runners-up.
Match summary
Living up to their tag of favourites, Nottingham Forest took the game to Wolves and created several opportunities, all denied by Bradshaw in the Wolves goal, as Francis shot across him and Gray's mazy run through was just halted. Birtles' driven attempt at a scrambled corner was also parried away by the keeper, while Wolves' attacks largely came to nothing.
The second half started more evenly and Wolves were the first to get the ball into the net, as Richards and Carr bundled it in after Shilton had flapped at a cross, only for a foul to be awarded against Wolves. In the 67th minute, a long ball upfield by Daniel created confusion in the Forest defence, as Needham and Shilton collided with one another, leaving Gray with the simplest of chances to prod the ball into the empty net.
Forest now pressed hard for the equaliser but were thwarted by the resilient mass of Wolves' defence, as they cleared the ball after several goalmouth scrambles. In a break from the Forest onslaught, Wolves almost extended their lead further when Berry hit the woodwork. Nonetheless, the Molineux men held on to upset the odds and claim their second League Cup triumph.
The cup was then presented by then-FA Chairman Sir Harold Thompson to Wolves captain Emlyn Hughes. This completed Hughes' personal achievement of having won every major domestic honour during his career.