LlVERPOOL winger Stewart Downing hopes it will be third time lucky as he heads to Wembley next week looking to avoid previous Carling Cup disappointments.
The 27-year-old has been to two finals, one of which ended in defeat and the other a victory in which he did not get on the pitch.
Liverpool’s first final for five years, and their first trip to Wembley since 1996, represents Downing’s best chance of the three to finally experience victory.
Championship high fliers Cardiff, will obviously have other ideas.
But having watched from the bench in 2004 as Middlesbrough beat Bolton and then played in Aston Villa’s defeat to Manchester United two years ago the England star is keen to make amends.
“The first one I was an unused sub for Boro. I would have liked to have played but I was still involved,” he said.
“The second one for Villa against United – a few things didn’t go our way. Nemanja Vidic could have been sent off early on and we were a bit unlucky on the day.
“It would have been nice to finish with a medal but it wasn’t to be.
“Hopefully this time around I’ll get one.”
Downing played in Liverpool’s first Carling Cup tie this season, at Exeter, but did not feature again until the semi-final against Manchester City.
“You work hard to get there with the trips to Exeter and Brighton – they stick in your mind,” he added.
“They were hard games so it’d be nice to finish the job at Wembley.”
