EFL Cup 2003-04 Facts & Trivia
The 2003-04 EFL Cup (Carabao Cup) was won by Middlesbrough. Below are the facts, records and trivia from that cup run — the final, the giant-killings, the biggest wins, the hat-tricks and the shootouts.
See the full EFL Cup 2003-04 bracket and results. Or read the FA Cup 2003-04 facts.
1. Middlesbrough — champions
Middlesbrough beat Bolton Wanderers 2-1 to win the EFL Cup.
2. Final scorers
Joseph-Désiré Job and Boudewijn Zenden scored for Middlesbrough in the final.
3. West Bromwich Albion's cup run
West Bromwich Albion, in from the 1st Round, went all the way to the Quarter-Final — a memorable run from the early rounds.
4. Jermain Defoe's hat-trick
Jermain Defoe scored a hat-trick for West Ham United in the 2nd Round (2-3 v Cardiff City) (3 hat-tricks were scored in all).
5. The heaviest win
The biggest win of the competition: Aston Villa beat Wycombe Wanderers 5-0 in the 2nd Round.
6. 8-goal thriller
Charlton Athletic 4-4 Luton Town was the highest-scoring tie of the season with 8 goals.
7. Spot-kick marathon
Arsenal and Rotherham United needed 17 penalties to settle their 3rd Round tie (9-8 on spot-kicks after 1-1).
8. Middlesbrough's road to glory
Middlesbrough beat Brighton & Hove Albion, Wigan Athletic, Everton, Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal and Bolton Wanderers on the way to the trophy — 6 ties won.
9. Sharpest shooters
Aston Villa scored the most goals of any club in the competition this season, with 15.
10. Bolton Wanderers fall short
Bolton Wanderers reached the final but finished runners-up.
11. The last four
The semi-finalists were Bolton Wanderers, Aston Villa, Arsenal and Middlesbrough.
12. By the numbers
90 ties across 92 matches produced 259 goals in the EFL Cup this season.