City Win The League Cup: 25 Years Ago Today

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City Win The League Cup: 25 Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago, on 27 February, 2000, we won the last League Cup Final to be played under the Twin Towers of the old Wembley Stadium.

2025-02-27T08:30+00:00

by John Hutchinson

Published

27 Feb, 2025

City Win The League Cup: 25 Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago, on 27 February, 2000, we won the last League Cup Final to be played under the Twin Towers of the old Wembley Stadium.

John Hutchinson

2025-02-27T08:30+00:00

City Win The League Cup: 25 Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago, on 27 February, 2000, we won the last League Cup Final to be played under the Twin Towers of the old Wembley Stadium.

John Hutchinson

2025-02-27T08:30+00:00

City Win The League Cup: 25 Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago, on 27 February, 2000, we won the last League Cup Final to be played under the Twin Towers of the old Wembley Stadium.

John Hutchinson

2025-02-27T08:30+00:00

City Win The League Cup: 25 Years Ago Today

Twenty-five years ago, on 27 February, 2000, we won the last League Cup Final to be played under the Twin Towers of the old Wembley Stadium.

John Hutchinson

2025-02-27T08:30+00:00

This was Leicester’s third Wembley League Cup Final in four years. In 1997, we had beaten Middlesbrough after a replay at Hillsborough. We had lost to a last-minute goal against Tottenham Hotspur in 1999, and now, a year later, City beat Tranmere Rovers 2-1.

Depleted by injuries in the earlier round, Leicester’s path to the 2000 showpiece had not been easy. It had taken a penalty shootout to defeat Leeds after a 0-0 deadlock in the fourth round.

In the fifth round at Filbert Street, Fulham were 2-0 ahead with only six minutes to go before we fought back with two goals from Ian Marshall and another from Steve Walsh to make the score 3-3 at the end of extra-time. City won the ensuing penalty shootout 6-5, with reserve goalkeeper Pegguy Arphexad becoming the hero of the hour.

Pegguy Arphexad was the hero in a penalty shootout success over Fulham.

A 0-0 draw at Villa Park in the first leg of the semi-final resulted in us being heavily criticised for being a ‘boring’ side, but when Elliott scored the only goal of the tie in the second leg at a packed Filbert Street, the crowd contemplated a seventh visit to Wembley in the last nine years.

Martin O’Neill’s Leicester went into the 2000 League Cup Final as overwhelming favourites. For the fourth successive season, they were in the top half of the Premier League, while Tranmere were a First Division (now Championship) side.

With past, present and future internationals in our team such as Tim Flowers, Frank Sinclair, Matt Elliott, Gerry Taggart, Steve Guppy, Robbie Savage, Neil Lennon, Muzzy Izzet, Tony Cottee and Emile Heskey, and with players of the calibre of Ian Marshall, Andrew Impey, Theo Zagorakis and Pegguy Arphexad on the bench, Leicester looked far too strong for John Aldridge’s Tranmere. Rovers’ main threats were Dave Challinor, with his famous long throw-ins, and the ex-Leicester striker David Kelly.

Matt Elliott's header books our place at Wembley in the second leg against Villa.

Tranmere proved to be gallant underdogs. Trailing 1-0 at half-time to Elliott’s 28th-minute headed opener from a pin-point Guppy corner, Leicester nevertheless took some time to get into their stride. In the second half, Cottee and Izzet both missed good chances. With about half an hour to go, the referee went off injured, and within minutes his replacement sent off Tranmere’s Clint Hill for tripping Heskey just outside the area. Then, with 10 minutes to go, Tranmere equalised after the City defence failed to cut a ball to Kelly, who blasted home an angled drive from the left.

The despondency of the Leicester fans in the 75,000 crowd did not last long. A minute later, in a goal which was almost a carbon copy of their first, Leicester scored again. Elliott rose to head in a Guppy corner from the right to restore our lead.

Matt Elliott scored twice to seal a 2-1 win over Tranmere in the final.

The last 10 minutes were tense. Lennon shot over the bar, and then City had to face four quick corners in succession. In injury time, Tranmere’s Nick Henry headed against the bar, but then the final whistle went. Leicester had done it.

Elliott was awarded the Man of the Match award. Cottee, who had been declared fit shortly before the game, won his first-ever domestic honour despite his illustrious career with Everton, West Ham United and England. After the game he said: “I am ecstatic. Seventeen years I’ve been waiting for this, but it has all been worthwhile and to think we will be in Europe next year is absolutely brilliant!”

The next day, on the Monday evening, the victorious team went on an open top bus tour in Leicester. Thousands of flag-waving and cheering fans lined the streets. Camera crews and reporters crammed onto the bus with the players. Europe beckoned, as did another top-10 finish in the Premier League.

Head over to the LCFC App for more exclusive content remembering our League Cup success in 2000, including a conversation with Martin O'Neill and a nostalgic look at items in our heritage collection from that day 25 years ago!

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