Worthington Cup Final
Liverpool 1 Birmingham 1AET
Liverpool win 5-4 on penalties
Liverpool won their first major trophy in six years today when they beat First Division Birmingham City 5-4 in a dramatic penalty shootout in the League Cup Final after the match finished 1-1 after extra-time.
Liverpool, who beat Bolton to take this trophy back in 1995 and have now won a record six League Cup crowns, had looked certain to win it in normal-time after Robbie Fowler gave them a first-half lead but City levelled with a last minute penalty from Darren Purse.
The Premiership giants clinched their first trophy under French coach Gerard Houllier when goalkeeper Sander Westerveld guessed correctly, diving to his left to save substitute Andrew Johnson's spot-kick - the first time the competition had been settled in this way.
Gary McAllister, who famously had a penalty saved by David Seaman when playing for Scotland against England during Euro 96, succesfully converted the opening kick of the shoot-out.
Then Westerveld saved Martin Grainger's effort. Nick Barmby and Christian Ziege both scored for Liverpool before Ian Bennett saved Dietmar Hamann's strike to leave Liverpool 3-2 up.
Neither goalkeeper could made any more saves asLiverpool won 5-4, Before that, neither side could break the deadlock in the 30 minutes of extra time that followed the nornal time stalemate, although Hamann's 20-yard strike with four minutes remaining cannoned off the post.
The match was barely a minute from ending before Birmingham grabbed an unexpected lifeline.
Liverpool's Swiss defender Stephane Henchoz's crass stoppage time challenge on captain Martin O'Connor gave City a penalty.
However, O'Connor, Birmingham's main penalty taker had to be stretchered off.
Purse took the spot kick instead and placed it expertly in the bottom right corner beyond the dive of Westerveld, cancelling out Fowler's 25-yard strike in the 30th minute.