Scottish international defender Matt Elliott powered home two headers to give Leicester City a deserved 2-1 win over 10-man Tranmere Rovers of the first division in the English League Cup final this afternoon. The skipper connected with a Steve Guppy corner in the 29th minute and Leicester appeared to be cruising for a 1-0 victory after Tranmere midfielder Clint Hill was sent off in the 64th minute for a foul on Emile Heskey.
The dismissal, however, spurred the Merseysiders into renewed efforts and 35-year-old David Kelly equalised in the 78th minute, only for Leicester to regain the lead three minutes later with a near carbon-copy of their first goal. Tranmere, appearing in their first major final in 116 years showed terrific spirit in a rousing finale, forcing a series of corners and Kelly clipped the bar with a header in the last minute. But Leicester survived to lift the trophy for the second time in four years and earn a berth in next season's UEFA Cup.
Hill had given some indication of what was to come after 10 minutes when he launched a two footed tackle on Stefen Oakes and was lucky to escape with only a yellow card. Both sides continued to throw themselves into their challenges with gusto but still managed to create some openings in a far more open final than last year, when Leicester lost to a last-minute Tottenham Hotspur goal. Kelly and Scott Taylor were willing runners for Tranmere and Kelly tested Tim Flowers with a sharp low shot after 12 minutes. Centre back Dave Challinor had several opportunities to show off his extraordinary long throws but Leicester's big defenders dealt with them comfortably.
The premier league side began to slowly exercise control of midfield and took the lead after 29 minutes when Elliott thundered a header in off the bar from a Guppy corner. Heskey then headed over the bar from a Tony Cottee cross and Neil Lennon fired a shot narrowly over after a well-worked free kick in the 44th minute. Leicester took a firm grip of the game after the break and Muzzy Izzet, who recently pledged his allegiance to Turkey, should have made it 2-0 10 minutes into the second half but he hesitated and lost control with the goal at his mercy. Referee Alan Wilkie had to go off injured after an hour, adding another official twist to the story of Wendy Toms who was running the line and becoming the first woman to do so in a Wembley cup final.
New ref Phil Richards took just four minutes to make his mark, sending off Hill for tripping Heskey as the big striker headed for goal. It was Hill's fourth red card of the season. The dismissal seemed to lift Tranmere, who enjoyed a brief period of pressure and their efforts bore fruit in the 77th minute when Kelly seized on a knockdown from Gary Jones to fire a left foot shot past Flowers. However, the Tranmere fans, so long in the shadow of neighbours Liverpool and Everton, had only four minutes to enjoy parity as Elliott again rose highest to notch his second goal from a Guppy corner. Lennon then blazed over an open goal forcing his defenders into some desperate work in the closing minutes. But they held out, with Elliott's distinctive bald head in the thick of the action in front of his own goal offering a fitting finale.
