26/02/2012 The League Cup Show

This place used to be Liverpool A's second home. But it's changed a bit

The Red' last cup success was made And as for Cardiff, well, they may

be the underdogs today, but the favourites to fall in his final. --

do fall in this final. The big question is, can the Welsh dragons

The scene is set as Liverpool are looking for an 8th League Cup title,

facing a Cardiff side but they actually 90 minutes away from

winning their first. No commentators are Mark Ronson and

Guy Mowbray. -- your commentators. Would you please welcome the

into a rapturous welcome. -- the Wembley looks a picture. A really

good showcase for English football right around the world, is again

being screened in an estimated 151 countries worldwide. -- this game.

Kenny Dalglish, back at Wembley as Liverpool manager. I suspect he

thought that game would never come again. The Cardiff City line-up: A

bold, attack-minded team named by Malky Mackay with two genuine

strikers. Goals come from midfield, too, Whittingham is joint top

scorer with Kenny Miller on 10. At the back, Mark Hudson is passed

this for his first game over a and captains Liverpool in a team

which has surprised those who expected Craig Bellamy to play. --

Cup final. It is Championship against Premier League, Wales

against England, Cardiff City against Liverpool. Cardiff Plain on

this page for the 4th time in very recent seasons. -- playing. For

Liverpool, it is their first visit to Wembley since 1996. Strange that

all their recent cup success, I say recent, but it is a while since

corner! He rattled the woodwork. What an effort from Johnson, So

Close! Yes, it was measured, a great break by Liverpool, Gerrard

travelling 60 yards with the ball as well. He is a terrific shot from

Glen Johnson. Doesn't that bode well for an Open final? Cardiff

leant back as he struck. There was great movement and a nice bit of

work from Cowie in particular. a great ball in as well. A superb

walk in and a flick around the corner. You should at least make

opponent this time, but he heads the ball wide. Cardiff are just

standing off Liverpool a little bit, look at all the room. Everyone

across the midfield has had lots of time and space in the red Liverpool

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds

the blue flags that offline at Wembley. It is the 20-year-old's

8th goal of the season. The man who scored the only goal of the fourth-

round tie against Burnley. He is when there was something a lot

safer on in the ball to Downing. It never came. I would like to say he

is getting a bit nearer with his efforts, but I would be lying!

is the goal that got Cardiff jumping. We talked about a lack of

pressure on the Liverpool midfield players, but Kenny Miller just had

time to control it, have a look and receive it. Great ball in.

cross of the day, the best bit of wing play of the day. Just one

Liverpool player in the penalty area as the ball arrived.

stretching has begun. He will do it right in front of the manager, you

had to be back to defend it, and well, you never know. I did not

expect a great deal better than that. It was like a nervous titter

before he hit it. -- stutter. Well, maybe. A delayed thought. Yes, I

cannot normally kick it with my shout. Cleared by Taylor. I think

the ball touched someone's hand, but it was hit so quick. I do not

That must have shaved the post. piece of defending, that is,

Gerrard, you can see he has instant recall after that carpentry. He is

a bit of a ball magnets in there. - calf injury. Make sure they do

biggest Liverpool chance of the game yet. How did Jordan Henderson

miss that. Not a fraction of Saved. Great, one of the best in

the final, think of it last year, it never seems to go as planned for

the favourites. There is the overall big boss, John W Henry is

here. Two and a half minutes until start. He scored at Exeter in the

second round. Two at Stoke in the 4th, when he was quite magnificent.

That is a free kick, Charlie Adam bundled over. One last chance

before the break for Liverpool. is demanding that he takes charge

Keaton. Oh, how on earth was that Miss?! Straight at the keeper.

Unbelievable chance. Either side of poor reaction defensively from

Cardiff. Is that one of those moments in a Cup final that makes

was of balance, and he fell. The ball has gone way behind. There was

good pressure, when the ball came back to him, there was really good

pressure from Cardiff which made him snatch at it a little. Great

block, and as he gets on his feet, annoyed, he will be like, remember

me?! The Cardiff fans will not forget his first half of football

in a hurry. The arts are being upset again in the Carling Cup

final, Joe Mason in the 19th minute for Cardiff City with a wonderful

finish. Tom Heaton managed to keep out a Daniel Agger that was

straight at him towards the end of the first half. On this wonderful

weekend for Welsh sport, the dragon is flying high again. At half-time

in the 2012 Carling Cup final, we have an upset on the cards. It is

ringing in our ears, I am sure the words of Kenny Dalglish of winning

in the ears of the Liverpool players. No changes yet, though I

am sure Craig Bellamy will be introduced sometime soon if the

scoreline doesn't change soon. Stuart Clark has joined Kenny

Dalglish on the edge of that of approach from Cardiff. And Cowie

instrumental again for Cardiff. We have seen two of those from Don

not pick it up but basically, hardly any reaction when Suarez

gets clear and pitches the ball. Just get yourself in the box! He is

there! I think this is the change we expected and Craig Bellamy is

coming on. Jordan Henderson, having been booked as well, is making

waves. Yes. And this is the team that many of us thought would start

for Liverpool today. Cardiff fans recognise this man as one of their

Liverpool have had eight now. -- Cardiff have not had. Now Eddie is

in! Martin Skrtel with the equaliser! Liverpool level and

Anfield south has erupted! That is the first time in this game that

Cardiff have failed to clear their lines or stop there have been so

good. -- clear Airlines. They have been so good. Skrtel cleared like a

striker. And that his two out of two? Yes. This is the noisiest that

from Heaton. Instinctive stuff. It came to him in a flash. Yeah. He

stopped it from going out, which enabled Skrtel to get the shot in.

Martin Skrtel, shot-making can't get it past Heaton. Downing

has thought about this once or twice. Most have travelled from

South Wales and are still enjoying defend now. No, it's not. Don Cowie

doing well with Gunnarsson. And just wide! A great chance! That was

a really clever bit of football from Cardiff, because they thought

it was the long throw. Didn't make great contact with it, did he?

Suarez, who keeps on finding space for himself. Well held by Heaton.

Yeah. And nice height. Another one Miller! Will Cardiff get a better

chance to win it than that? they are arguing amongst themselves.

That is the player they wanted it to come to. And he went for power.

A similar position to the one Joe Mason scored from in the first half.

And we are into injury time. There will be at least four more minutes

or one of these teams to find a amongst the Cardiff defenders there.

I think they want another half-hour. That's it. Full-time in the 2012

Carling Cup Final, which is going the full distance. Joe Mason in the

first offer Cardiff, Martin Skrtel with the early second-half

equaliser for Liverpool. But neither team able to find the

A packed Wembley. Great noise. And 18 at second tier holding their own.

going wide but he couldn't take that chance. In comes the corner.

And again, Suarez thought he has scored. He keeps thinking he has

scored. Hudson, bar a couple of blips, has been outstanding in

action for his team. And coming on in his place will be Anthony

Gerrard. There you go. Steve's cousin. And of course, they were

heavily featured in the build up to the game. They remember playing

football together in their grandmother's back garden. And

Malky Mackay looks like he has They were about to put Dirk Kuyt on

but I think they will delay that until this has been taken. They are

that might have been his best header of the game and one of the

more difficult ones as well. Unlucky, that. And having come the

closest to scoring all match, that is it for Andy Carroll. Can't be

the Wembley Euro for Liverpool today. Maybe Dirk Kuyt can. -- the

went over the crossbar in the blink of an eye. Patient as well, isn't

it? Waited for just the right many wide from Liverpool. We are

nearly finishing the game as we started it, with Glen Johnson

firing towards that Cardiff goal. And the first period of extra time

is almost up. And with this free kick, it will be. Neither side has

managed to score in the first 15 minutes. Another 15 minutes to

decide the 2012 Colin Cup Final. Or it will be decided on penalties. --

back to Kuyt...! Has the Dutchman won Carling Cup for Liverpool? The

man who has waited so long for his winner's medal. He may just have

grabbed one for himself! The thing is, you are watching a guy on fresh

legs. They can't get anywhere near him. And he reacts so, so quickly.

No one can get near him. I think Heaton has no time to react to that.

Heaton beaten by the pace and Cardiff are giving it everything,

looking for the level of. It is off the line! And behind for another

in! Cardiff are level! Turner with the goal! What an amazing final we

are witnessing! If anybody deserved a goal for his team, this boy...

Absolutely brilliant! Fantastic! Just reacted like a centre-forward.

There you go. They didn't have a corner for nearly two hours. Two

have come in quick succession and day with two great corners. -- Anda

time. They have gone all the way to penalties and all the cheers are

coming from the Cardiff City supporters. They were beaten! They

were finished in this Carling Cup Final! But they have the passion

and the resolve to come at Liverpool again and draw themselves

level! Quite incredible! It is going to be settled by kicks from

the Carling Cup Final. Penalties. Cardiff have already won why is

this weighed on their road to remove -- to Wembley. Liverpool

have lost two penalty shoot-outs in the club's history, including the

last one to Northampton. Steven Gerrard... And it is saved by Tom

Heaton! What a save! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Who would

have thought it? Onto the crossbar! The goalkeeper to save the first

two Crystal Palace -- Crystal Palace penalties in the first semi-

final. Malky Mackay just about manages to get his head up! And he

has missed as well! The drama is never-ending! I have to say, this

is the best known cure to constipation four-man! -- for man!

Oh, no! That has missed by a scored, Cardiff one up. This is an

excellent penalty when you consider the pressures he is under. And out

comes debt queued, the man who has won it -- who has had one for

Liverpool today. -- here comes Dirk Kuyt. And no mistake. 1-1 but

Frenchman, he was struggling to move in the latter stages of extra

time. What is left in those legs? He hits the post, and we are really

level again, 1-1 after three. just looked tired, running up to

address the ball, a lack of energy. Stewart Downing has had a good game

for Liverpool. He carries on that way, too. That was nice. Yes, class.

He picked his spot. The pendulum has swung the red wave. Peter

Whittingham would be one you would put your shirt on for Cardiff City.

How are the nerves? He has beaten them and Pepe Reina. 2-2 after four

penalties each, now we are really at sudden death. It is Glen Johnson

for Liverpool. The pressure is ratcheting up now. Johnson, into

the roof, and the Liverpool fans nearly lift the roof off Wembley.

Anthony Gerrard has to score. Reina is trying to make him wait,

always knew a Gerrard would play a big part today. It is the wrong

part for Cardiff City, and it is sheer joy for Liverpool, who are

bringing a trophy back to that Anfield Cabinet at long last again.

There cannot be a worse way to lose a game than this. I mean, Cardiff

have been absolutely fantastic today. To a man, they should all be

extremely proud of each other. It is always just... It is like

Russian roulette, penalties. Liverpool and won it, but Cardiff

should not be themselves up over this, because they have been

outstanding. That is the last one that was missed. At a rain and when

the right way, but he did not need to get there. -- Pepe Reina. That

had Kenny Dalglish running like a young one. Is there for Anthony

Let's hear from the winning Gerrard, Steven Gerrard. Congratulations,

what an epic game, what a cruel way to lose and what a way to win.

is always cruel when it goes to penalties. There has to be a loser.

Cardiff were superb today, their supporters were fantastic. You know,

they can be proud of their performance. We got through by the

skin of Our teeth. We always do it for the hard way. Yes, it was

incredible, incredible day, disappointed not to play longer

than 50 minutes, but you have to put that aside. I was so happy to

score the goal, I think 30 seconds before the end of the game, I

cleared it off the line, I thought, this is it, but it ended in

penalties. Unbelievable, the team worked really hard, but the most

important thing is that we kept believing and at the end of the day

we deserve the trophy. I have got mixed emotions, delighted to win

the cup for our supporters, but I feel for Anthony and Cardiff.

you have a word with him. doesn't matter what I say to them

at this time. I know he is going to be down, I have been there when I

scored an own goal against Chelsea. We will all be behind him.

Here come the victors. Liverpool! Steve and Gerrard leads the team at

the steps. There is absolutely no better feeling. It is nice to see

such a big team really make a big play of this cup competition. Right

from the start, the team that Kenny Dalglish fielded at Exeter in the

early rounds was a strong team. It has carried on like that throughout,

and this is the reward. Liverpool is a club that wins trophies. More

than most others. It has been too Their 19th major cup final at

Wembley. The car has the red-and- white ribbons on it. -- carb.

Medieval Steven Gerrard to hold aloft. Liverpool have silverware

again. Liverpool are the winners of Congratulations, what a hard way to

win. It is a long way to win it, anyway! Our name is on the trophy,

that is all that matters. I thought the boys played particularly well,

and Cardiff were always going to be difficult. They had the big boys up

front, Gestede, he did well for them. At the end of the day, we

have got our name on the trophy. Dirk Kuyt scored that goal, so

close to being the winning goal, it must have been like going through

murder, really. We were always going to be under pressure. Very

good delivery from set plays. They were never going to lie down. They

were always going to come back, great credit to Cardiff. As I say,

not a nice way to win a cup, but we will take it. Many commiserations,

a painful way to lose a fine of. Yes, it was, in answer to your

question! We had a chance in the last minute of the game. Kenny just

played it over, I thought that would be that. In extra-time, the

way we came back, I was so very, very proud of them. Why has it been

so long for Liverpool? We have done well in the League and the

Champions League, the Champions League final in 2007, different

things. It is not easy to win trophies, that is what makes it

special rules by during the years of drought, did you think, that my

time of winning trophies has come to an end? You never think that at

Liverpool. This is hopefully the first of many more. You have seen

highs and lows, this must be one of the lowest. Yes, getting been in

any cup final is disappointing. We found ourselves in a match against

a very good Liverpool side, and when you take it to penalties, you

think, it might be your day, particularly when Steven Gerrard

missed his penalty. Personally very disappointing not to step up to the

mark. What are your emotions after that? What a way to win! Thrilling

day. It was so great, what an exciting football match. I am so

proud of our supporters and our players and all the work that they

have done to win this. It has been a long time since Liverpool have

won some silverware, it is a great day. John Henry, they are easy ways

to win football games and harder ways, that was the hard way. That

was the hard way. Cardiff played a great game. But I felt we deserved

to win. We were dominant through most of the match. But boy, this

was part thought! Do you intend this, gentlemen, to be the

beginning of something special for this football club? Mr Henry?

well, so much has gone on off the field over the last few years

before we came in and since we came in. The history of this club is

winning matches like this, so hopefully this is a first step.

the beginning of something special? We hope so. We have been hoping for

steady progress, and I think this is certainly a great market.

Obviously, we are still in the FA Cup, and we would like to make the

Champions League. This is going to be a great boost for the players,

and we are looking forward to Very well done to Liverpool, their

8th League Cup title. I am joined by Mark Biden, three-time Cup

finalists, what an epic battle, Cardiff made Liverpool work all the

way. I mean, the final so often disappoint, Britain's most

successful club against a club in the Championship. Everyone was

rolling up expecting to see an entertaining game with Liverpool

scoring three awful goals. Full of admiration for Cardiff, because

they pushed Liverpool to the absolute limit. I think the

headline makers were looking for Craig Bellamy to be the game

changed, but the main cameo performance was from Dirk Kuyt.

Fresh legs just when they needed it, watch how he goes past the tired

legs. The shot was terrible, but his reaction was so quick. He puts

it into an area where Heaton could not get to it. At this stage, we

thought it was game over. We thought Cardiff had given

everything, people were going down with cramp. Yeah. Kuyt scrambling

off the line. Great position, he flicks it over the bar, he has

scored one, cleared one off the line, and then the most important

one, the penalty, to get Liverpool on the way. After Steven Gerrard

and Charlie Adam had both missed. Two bankers. Charlie Adams scored

loads of penalties for Blackpool. His first medal after six years at

the club. How things could have been different if Kenny Miller took

that chance with two minutes left of the 90. I was out of my seat.

Great free-kick, a lovely touch, strike! He went for too much power.

Watch his diagonal run. He gets it on the turn, take a little bit of

pace out of the shot. Look at that, he is stretching a little bit, but

it is OK. Look at the whole of the goal that he has got to hit, that

would have been the winner on 88 minutes. If that went in, they

would walk out with the trophy. Then the drama of the penalties.

Tom Heaton, a former Manchester United trainee, he was a hero

against Crystal Palace. Absolutely, doing his homework, Steven Gerrard

possibly taking the first one, who goes where? Everyone gassed in here.

Steven Gerrard got over that. He got hold of it, going down to his

right, but he managed to get the left Armer. It is as good a penalty

as he will see, penalty save. Everyone thought he would be the

match-winner or the difference between these two teams, but it was

his Cousin Anthony. Anthony, yes, listen, they have taken Liverpool

to extra-time and penalties. There has to be a hero and a villain, but

it could happen to everyone. Even after the two strikers had missed,

the pressure was on him. He came on as a substitute, playing against

Stephen, this is it for him. Plenty of people have gone on to do well

after those misses, and hopefully they can carry on good work in the

Championship and get promotion. Liverpool, a springboard. You would

hope so, �145 million with a talent against �4 million worth of talent.

I expected them to win, but the manner in which their won, sheer

relief, and you are hoping this is a platform. The results can improve

after winning the Carling Kay until the end of the season. They need

Champions League football. You are hoping that it is something special

Paul Kenny. Cardiff, you have been in their position, three cup finals,

how Ardler the for Malky Mackay to pick them up? Listen, look what you

have done, can we come back here in the play-offs and get success? We

have won so many friends across the nation, playing the football that

they did. Come back, we have got lots to go for. This is not a time

to hang our heads in shame. Liverpool are a big club, we have

taken them all the way to penalties, it could have gone anyway, let's

march forward for promotion. Congratulations to Liverpool, the