The League Cup was a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs introduced to provide a new source of income. The 1960–61 Football League Cup was the inaugural season. Five League teams did not compete (Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). Despite an initial lack of enthusiasm on the part of some other big clubs, the competition became firmly established in the footballing calendar.
Villa received a bye to the second round and, on 12 October, beat Huddersfield Town 4–1 at home before a crowd of 17,057. On 15 Nov 1960 7,677 watched Preston North End draw 3–3 with travelling Villa. The Villains won the home replay 3–1 in front of 15,000.
The competition ended with the two-legged final almost a year later on 22 August and 5 September 1961. Villa beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate after extra time. Rotherham won the first leg 2–0 at Millmoor, their home ground thanks to goals from Alan Kirkman and Barry Webster. In the second leg at Villa Park, Harry Burrows and Peter McParland levelled the tie on aggregate and Alan O'Neill scored in extra-time to win the cup.
Date
Opponent
Venue
Result
Notes
Scorers
12 Oct 1960
Huddersfield
Villa Park
4–1 W
2nd Round
Gerry Hitchens 19'; Ron Wylie 27', 55'; Harry Burrows 78'
15 Nov 1960
Preston
Deepdale
3–3 D
3rd Round
Alan O’Neill 5'; Gerry Hitchens 40'; Bobby Thomson 85'
23 Nov 1960
Preston
Villa Park
3–1 W
3rd Round replay
Gerry Hitchens 30'; Ron Wylie 58'; Jimmy MacEwan 82'
13 Dec 1960
Plymouth
Villa Park
3–3 D
4th Round
Peter McParland 48', 56'; Jimmy MacEwan 70'
19 Dec 1960
Plymouth
Home Park
0–0 D
4th Round replay
—
6 Feb 1961
Plymouth
Home Park
5–3 W
4th Round 2nd replay
Harry Burrows 45'; Alan O’Neill 59'; Gerry Hitchens 63', 70', 88'
The 1961 League Cup Final was played on 22 August and 5 September 1961 and was contested between First Division side Aston Villa and Second Division team Rotherham United. Aston Villa won the game 3–2 on aggregate (after extra time).
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 7 January 1961. Nine matches were drawn and went to replays, with two of these requiring a second replay. Oxford United was the last non-league club left in the competition.
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 28 January 1961, with three games postponed until 1 February. Six matches were drawn and went to replays, which were all played in the following midweek match, and one of these was then replayed a second time. Tottenham Hotspur and Crewe Alexandra were drawn together for the second consecutive season in the fourth round, with Tottenham having beaten Crewe 13–2 in a replay the one year earlier.
The fourth round match between second division Luton Town and first division Manchester City at Kenilworth Road was originally played on Saturday 28 January 1961. It saw Luton Town take a 2–0 lead before Denis Law scored 6 goals for Manchester City. The match was then abandoned at 6–2 to Manchester City due to a waterlogged pitch. When the match was held again 4 days later on Wednesday 1 February 1961, Luton Town beat Manchester City 3–1.
↑Ward, Andrew (2010). Football's Strangest Matches: Extraordinary but true stories from over a century of football. London: Portico. p.76. ISBN1907554084.
