Oba the moon

On an afternoon when fellow Toon old boys Scott Parker and Damien Duff also scored vital goals for West Ham and Fulham respectively, Obafemi Martins stole the headlines. The Birmingham substitute, on loan from Rubin Kazan, came on to prod the ball into an empty net following a mix-up between Arsenal's Wojciech Szczesny and Laurent Koscielny in the 89th minute of the League Cup Final. Quite a way in which to open his Blues account, and unsurprisingly the Nigerian striker's familiar gymnastic routine was dusted off.

Aside from leaving Arsene Wenger ruminating on yet another trophy-winning opportunity squandered, the goal ensured winners' medals for both Lee Bowyer and Stephen Carr as well as Martins. It beggars belief that Carr, the one-paced chugger whose tackling and positional sense used to so infuriate us, has now gone from the soccer scrapheap to captaining a Premier League side to silverware.