1989–90 Full Members' Cup

The 1989–90 Full Members' Cup, known as the Zenith Data Systems Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the 5th staging of a knock-out competition for English football clubs in the First and Second Division. The winners were Chelsea and the runners-up were Middlesbrough.

1989–90 Full Members' Cup

Tournament details
Country	England
Teams	37
Final positions
Champions	Chelsea (2nd title)
Runner-up	Middlesbrough
Semifinalists	Aston Villa Crystal Palace
Tournament statistics
Matches played	36
← 1988–89 1990–91 →

The competition began on 7 November 1989 and ended with the final on 25 March 1990 at the Wembley Stadium.

In the first round, there were two sections: North and South. In the following rounds each section gradually eliminates teams in knock-out fashion until each has a winning finalist. At this point, the two winning finalists face each other in the combined final for the honour of the trophy.

Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham, Manchester United, Everton, Southampton and Queens Park Rangers opted out of this competition.

First round

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 7 November Leeds United 1–0 Blackburn Rovers 7 November Sheffield United 1–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 14 November Sunderland 1–2 Port Vale

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 29 November Coventry City 1–3[1] Wimbledon 8 November Oxford United 2–3[1] Luton Town

Second round

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 28 November Barnsley 1–2 Leeds United 28 November Hull City 1–2 Aston Villa 29 November Middlesbrough 3–1 Port Vale 28 November Newcastle United 2–0 Oldham Athletic 29 November Nottingham Forest 3–2 Manchester City 21 November Sheffield Wednesday 3–2[1] Sheffield United 28 November Stoke City 2–1 Bradford City 29 November West Bromwich Albion 0–5 Derby County

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 28 November AFC Bournemouth 2–3[1] Chelsea 14 November Charlton Athletic 2–1 Leicester City 27 November Crystal Palace 4–1 Luton Town 21 November Ipswich Town 4–1 Watford 29 November Norwich City 5–0 Brighton & Hove Albion 5 December Portsmouth 0–1 Wimbledon 13 December Swindon Town 2–1 Millwall 29 November West Ham United 5–2[1] Plymouth Argyle

Third round

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 22 December Aston Villa 2–1 Nottingham Forest 20 December Middlesbrough 4–1 Sheffield Wednesday 20 December Newcastle United 3–2[1] Derby County 19 December Stoke City 2–2[1] Leeds United Leeds United won 5–4 on penalties

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 22 December Chelsea 4–3 West Ham United 19 December Crystal Palace 2–0 Charlton Athletic 21 December Ipswich Town 3–1 Wimbledon 24 January Swindon Town 4–1 Norwich City

Area semi-finals

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 17 January Aston Villa 2–0 Leeds United 23 January Middlesbrough 1–0 Newcastle United

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 13 February Crystal Palace 1–0 Swindon Town 23 January Ipswich Town 2–3 Chelsea

Area finals

Northern Area final Date Home team Score Away team 30 January Aston Villa 1–2 Middlesbrough 6 February Middlesbrough 2–1 Aston Villa Middlesbrough beat Aston Villa 4–2 on aggregate.

Southern Area final Date Home team Score Away team 21 February Crystal Palace 0–2 Chelsea 12 March Chelsea 2–0 Crystal Palace Chelsea beat Crystal Palace 4–0 on aggregate.

Final

See also: 1990 Full Members' Cup Final

Chelsea	1–0	Middlesbrough
Dorigo 26'

1990-03-25

15:00 BST

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 76,369

Referee: R. Milford, Bristol

Notes

1. after extra time

External links

• When Saturday Comes Article on the Full Members' Cup