League Cup Final: London WW 4–0 Vienna Kontinental
Written by: Wolfgang Fötze
League Champions Vienna had breezed through the group stage, winning every match comfortably against Belgrade, Milan, and Lisboa. Their run continued with victories over Athens in the quarter-final and a dramatic 90th minute Jaxon winner against Norden in the semi-final. On the other side, last year's league runners-up London overcame a setback in their group. London beat Hamburg and Paris comfortably, but lost to Norden in the final group game to lose the top spot. London proceeded to eliminate favorites Deportivo Madrid in the quarterfinal and quickly dealt with Istanbul in the semifinal, securing their spot in the final.*
Both teams, London in their familiar 4-2-2-2 formation and Vienna, who switched to a narrow 4-2-3-1, from the off showed attacking intentions.
The first 18 minutes saw London taking control, dominating possession in Vienna's third. The first big chance came in the 18th minute when Tomás Ibáñez Lopez played a long indirect free-kick from the wing, which was met by Tasos Agonis who attempted to clear the ball. However, it fell to the feet of Henerz Dalesy who played a quick pass to Maki Barnes. Barnes in turn played a pass to the feet of Amine Amzal who controlled the ball and turned towards goal, striking the ball into the post.
Vienna, still stuck in their own half, struggled to break free from the relentless London press and the breakthrough eventually came in the 33rd minute. Amzal found Teemu Tolvani in a pocket of space with a through ball down the right flank. Tolvani, with lots of space, turned inside and toe-poked the ball past Do-Yun Kang to give London the lead.
The first half concluded with London recording 64% possession and registering three shots, while Vienna struggled to muster any offensive threat. Vienna, trying to get back into the game, adjusted their tactics in the second half, transitioning to a wider 4-2-3-1 variant, looking to re-capture their style shown in the league
In the 57th minute, Tomás Ibáñez Lopez positioned himself outside the Vienna box, delivering a ball to Amine Amzal. Amzal controlled the ball and navigated around the Vienna defenders, firing a shot towards goal, forcing Do-Yun Kang into making a save to deny Amzal's attempt.
Despite Vienna’s efforts, London continued to assert dominance in the match, controlling possession in the attacking area and creating more goal scoring opportunities, and they extended their lead in the 67th minute. Ibáñez Lopez, once again stationed outside the box, delivered a pass to Ray Peest, who pulled off a first-time shot, slotting it in the bottom corner to double their lead.
With desperation mounting, Vienna launched all their midfielders and attackers forward, desperately trying to create a chance. But, in the 86th minute, London further carried on with dominance. Amzal, played a long driven pass through the non-existent Vienna midfield to Tomar Jr. Tomar Jr returned the ball to Amzal, who slotted it home with ease, making it 3-0.
The final nail in the coffin for Vienna came in injury time when Max Jaxon, out of frustration, lashed out with a reckless kick to Amzal's calf inside the box. The referee pointed to the spot, and Amzal calmly dispatched the penalty past Kang, sealing a 4-0 victory for London and their first ever Football United League Cup Trophy.
Vienna ended the game with zero shots and only 38% possession with fans deeming it was one of the worst performances in the club's history and a big wake-up call for the league champions.
