Congratulations to Swansea City: 2013 Capital One Cup Champions

Swansea City won the Capital One Cup on Sunday (telegraph.co.uk)

I know it's a couple of days late, but the Puddle would like to pass on congratulations to Swansea City FC, who won the Capital One Cup this weekend, capturing the first major trophy available to the Premier League Clubs this season.

The Swans took League 2 side Bradford City to the woodshed on Sunday, with a cracking 5-0 defeat at Wembley Stadium.  It only took Swansea 16 minutes to go ahead, and their cause was aided by a red card given to Bradford's Mark Duke early on in the second half.  The final margin was the largest in the history of the League Cup.

The victory is historic for a number of reasons.  First off, Swansea become the first Welsh side to win the League Cup.  It's also their first major trophy and punches a ticket to next year's Europa League.  Personally, I love to watch the Swans play football, they do it right.  It'll be really interesting to see how they stack up against other European sides next season!

I also wouldn't be surprised to see the side collect another trophy or two in the next few years.

League Cup: Young United Squad Hold Off Newcastle

Tom Cleverly gives United a 2-0 lead (mirror.co.uk)

This hasn't been the best week for Manchester United on the injury front, particularly on defense.  Earlier this week captain Nemanja Vidic was ruled out for 8 weeks with a knee injury, and Phil Jones was already ruled out for 8 weeks.  Couple that news with the fact that Chris Smalling is not yet fit and Jonny Evans took a knock over the weekend, and Sir Alex has some worries about his back line.

Nonetheless, the Red Devils rolled out their 2012 Capital One Cup campaign against Newcastle United Wednesday at Old Trafford.  Here were the four men in their back line: Alexander Buttner, Scott Wooton, Marnick Vermijl, and Michael Keane.  Not exactly household names.  This lineup was going up against the Newcastle attack with a combined 2 senior squad appearances.  Was Sir Alex ever worried?  Probably not really.

The good news for United was that they did have depth and experience in their midfield and front line.  Wayne Rooney returned to the XI for the first time since he suffered an nasty gash injury on his leg early in the season.  He was complimented by Javier Hernandez and a midfield featuring the likes of Anderson and English international Tom Cleverly.  It was this duo that would provide United with the fire power that they needed on this night.

The home side controlled the possession for most of the night and their young defense put in a very good shift.  It was Anderson who put United on top in the 44th minute.  Darren Fletcher, who also returned after a long absence, dished the ball to the Brazilian midfielder, who smacked the ball just off the post and in the top corner to give United the 1-0 lead going into the break.

Anderson nearly doubled his tally and the United advantage early on in the second half.  In the 47th minute Danny Welbeck played him into the area, but he put the shot over the bar, allowing Newcastle to breath a little bit.  They finally did get a second goal in the 58th minute when Tom Cleverly took a centering pass from Welbeck and knocked it into the bottom corner.  The all English International connection gave United the 2-1 lead.

After the second goal Newcastle subbed in star striker Papiss Cisse, and he looked to certain to put the young United defense to the test.  It didn't take long for him to show his quality either.  In the 62nd minute he rose and headed in a cross from fellow substitute Shane Ferguson to make it 2-1.  However, United held up to the threat of a comeback, even after Cisse clanked an overhead kick off the wood late on.  The Red Devils held on to win the match, and the League Cup draw set up a tasty matchup with Chelsea in the next round.  Chelsea bounced Wolves 6-0 at Stamford Bridge in the their third round match.