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The 1998 Coca-Cola Cup Final was a football match played between Chelsea and Middlesbrough on 29 March 1998 at Wembley Stadium. Chelsea, under new manager Gianluca Vialli, won with two extra time goals and would go on to win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup later that season. Middlesbrough's second consecutive defeat in the final was followed by promotion back to the Premier League after just one season.

The game itself was not one of the great finals; both teams were restricted to shots from distance. This all changed in extra time when Chelsea took control. Frank Sinclair, a villain in the 1994 FA Cup Final defeat when conceding a penalty and slipping to allow Mark Hughes to score, became the hero in this match. He started the move that ended with his header finding the corner of the Middlesbrough net to open the scoring. Chelsea's second goal came from Roberto Di Matteo. A corner played into the near post was not cleared by the Boro defence and Di Matteo was able to side foot the ball into the net on the half-volley. Di Matteo had come back to haunt Middlesbrough as he had scored the opening goal when the same sides met in the 1997 FA Cup Final the previous season. Once again Chelsea had won 2-0.

[edit] Match facts

1998-03-29	Chelsea	2 – 0	Middlesbrough	Wembley, London Attendance: 77,698 Referee: P. Jones (Loughborough)
	Sinclair  95' Di Matteo  107'

Chelsea

Middlesbrough

CHELSEA : GK 1 Ed de Goey RWB 2 Dan Petrescu 75' CB 5 Frank Leboeuf CB 12 Michael Duberry CB 20 Frank Sinclair LWB 14 Graeme Le Saux CM 16 Roberto Di Matteo CM 11 Dennis Wise CM 24 Eddie Newton CF 25 Gianfranco Zola CF 10 Mark Hughes 83' Substitutes: GK 13 Kevin Hitchcock DF 6 Steve Clarke 75' CF 19 Tore André Flo 83' Manager: Gianluca Vialli

MIDDLESBROUGH: GK 1 Mark Schwarzer RB 18 Gianluca Festa CB 5 Nigel Pearson CB 4 Steve Vickers LB 17 Vladimír Kinder MF 7 Robbie Mustoe MF 10 Paul Merson MF 15 Neil Maddison 102' MF 14 Andy Townsend CF 19 Hamilton Ricard 65' CF 9 Marco Branca Substitutes: DF 2 Curtis Fleming MF 8 Paul Gascoigne 65' CF 12 Mikkel Beck 102' Manager: Bryan Robson

[edit] Road to Wembley