1963 Football League Cup final

The 1963 Football League Cup Final, the third to be staged since the competition's inception, was contested between local rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa over two legs. Aston Villa had won the inaugural competition in 1960–61, and had beaten Birmingham 4–0 in their most recent League meeting,[1] while Birmingham were seeking to win their first major trophy. Birmingham won 3–1 on aggregate, with all the goals coming in the first leg.

1963 Football League Cup Final
Event1962–63 Football League Cup
First Leg
Date23 May 1963
VenueSt Andrew's, Birmingham
RefereeE. Crawford
Attendance31,850
Second Leg
Date27 May 1963
VenueVilla Park, Birmingham
RefereeA. W. Sparling
Attendance37,921
1962
1964

Match summary

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The first leg took place on 23 May 1963 at Birmingham's home ground, St Andrew's. Birmingham took the lead when Harris fed Auld who crossed for Ken Leek's powerful shot, but Aston Villa equalised via Bobby Thomson. Seven minutes into the second half, the same combination of players made it 2–1, and after 66 minutes Jimmy Bloomfield met a Harris cross to score off the post to give Birmingham a 3–1 lead.[1] The second leg four days later at Villa Park was goalless. With former England centre half Trevor Smith marking Thomson out of the game[2] and Birmingham's defensive tactics including regularly kicking the ball out for throw-ins,[3] Aston Villa were unable to break their opponents down.

Players and officials

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First leg

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Birmingham City3–1Aston Villa
Thomson   41'
St Andrew's, Birmingham
Attendance: 31,580
Referee: E. Crawford


1   Johnny Schofield
2    Stan Lynn
3    Colin Green
4    Terry Hennessey
5    Trevor Smith (c)
6    Malcolm Beard
7    Mike Hellawell
8    Jimmy Bloomfield
9    Jimmy Harris
10    Ken Leek
11    Bertie Auld
Manager:
   Gil Merrick
1    Nigel Sims
2    Cammie Fraser
3    Charlie Aitken
4    Vic Crowe (c)
5    John Sleeuwenhoek
6    Gordon Lee
7    Alan Baker
8    George Graham
9    Bobby Thomson
10    Ron Wylie
11    Harry Burrows
Manager:
   Joe Mercer

Second leg

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Aston Villa0–0Birmingham City
Villa Park, Birmingham
Attendance: 37,921
Referee: A. W. Sparling


1    Nigel Sims
2    Cammie Fraser
3    Charlie Aitken
4    Vic Crowe (c)
5    Lew Chatterley
6    Gordon Lee
7    Alan Baker
8    George Graham
9    Bobby Thomson
10    Ron Wylie
11    Harry Burrows
Manager:
   Joe Mercer
1    Johnny Schofield
2    Stan Lynn
3    Colin Green
4    Terry Hennessey
5    Trevor Smith (c)
6    Malcolm Beard
7    Mike Hellawell
8    Jimmy Bloomfield
9    Jimmy Harris
10    Ken Leek
11    Bertie Auld
Manager:
   Gil Merrick

Road to the final

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Birmingham City

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Round 2 Birmingham City 6–0 Doncaster Rovers
Round 3 Barrow 1–1 Birmingham City
Round 3 replay Birmingham City 5–1 Barrow
Round 4 Birmingham City 3–2 Notts County
Round 5 Birmingham City 6–0 Manchester City
Semi-final (1st leg) Birmingham City 3–2 Bury
Semi-final (2nd leg) Bury 1–1 Birmingham City
  (Birmingham City win 4–3 on aggregate)

Aston Villa

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Round 2 Aston Villa 6–1 Peterborough United
Round 3 Aston Villa 3–1 Stoke City
Round 4 Aston Villa 6–2 Preston North End
Round 5 Aston Villa 4–1 Norwich City
Semi-final (1st leg) Sunderland 1–3 Aston Villa
Semi-final (2nd leg) Aston Villa 0–0 Sunderland
  (Aston Villa win 3–1 on aggregate)

References

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  1. ^ a b Matthews, Tony (1995). Birmingham City: A Complete Record. Breedon Books. p. 33. ISBN 1-85983-010-2.
  2. ^ Ponting, Ivan (15 September 2003). "Obituary: Trevor Smith". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  3. ^ Jawad, Hyder (6 March 2005). Strange Magic: Birmingham City v Aston Villa. The Birmingham Post. pp. 27–28.
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