One of the greatest moments in Cardiff City football club’s history is when Ben Turner poked home in the 118th minute to equalise against Liverpool.
Cardiff took the lead in the first half when Joe Mason put the ball between Pepe Reina’s legs, sending the Bluebirds’ fans into raptures at Wembley Stadium.
However, Martin Skrtel equalised in the second half, before Dirk Kuyt took the lead for the Reds in injury time.
It looked all over the Bluebirds, until Turner netted after a goalmouth scramble to send the game to penalties.
Liverpool went on to win on penalties, but the moment the ball crossed the line and Turner ran off to the City fans is one of the best moments in Cardiff’s history.
Ben Turner says League Cup final goal gave him goosebumps
Turner spoke exclusively with Roathboy about his League Cup final appearance, including his iconic last-minute equaliser against Liverpool.
The English defender revealed that he still gets goosebumps when he thinks about the goal, and claims he was “a man possessed” when he ran off to celebrate the goal.
“I get goosebumps thinking about it! It was a massive moment in my life and my family were there. I know everyone says it, but I honestly loved playing for Cardiff.
“The celebration, it just happened. It wasn’t planned, it was just raw emotion. I wasn’t expecting to score against Liverpool! It wasn’t until I got booked for taking my top off that I realised I had done it.
“When I watch it back, the emotion from myself and all my team-mates, all the Cardiff fans going mad, I was like a man possessed. Anyone could have scored, I just thank my lucky stars that it was me. That was my moment”
Unfortunately, Anthony Gerrard missed the final penalty to hand the trophy to Liverpool, as Cardiff City lost their third consecutive match at Wembley Stadium (including the FA Cup final and Championship play-off final).
Turner was proud of his performance against Luis Suarez and Steward Downing
The former Cardiff defender managed to keep both Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll quiet in the Carling Cup final, with neither player managing to score in the game.
Along with partner Mark Hudson, the central defence managed to cover all aspects of the Liverpool strikers, with Dirk Kuyt and Martin Skrtel picking up the goals for the Reds.
“It was tough because they were Premier League players and Suarez was world class. He could have played for any team.
“When me and Mark Hudson went out there, you knew if you gave Suarez an inch, he would score and there were a number of times when he would get down the side of us, but we would cover each other.
“You also had the aerial threat of Andy Carroll, who was probably the best in the air out of the whole of British football.
“He’s a monster. Two completely different challenges and I can look back with pride because neither of them scored, but that was a tough, tough game.
“When I look back at that partnership, we both lacked certain things, but when we were together, we were more than the sum of our parts.
“We really wanted to do well for each other, so we would cover each other or put our head in where it hurts.
Ben Turner retired from football in 2017, and was appointed first-team coach at Woking in December 2023.
