1996–97 Football League Trophy

The Football League Trophy 1996–97, known as the Auto Windscreens Shield 1996–97 for sponsorship reasons, was the 14th staging of the Football League Trophy, a knock-out competition for English football clubs in Second and Third Division. The winners were Carlisle United and the runners-up were Colchester United.[1]

The competition began on 7 December 1996 and ended with the final on 20 April 1997 at the Wembley Stadium.

In the first round, there were two sections: North and South. In the following rounds each section gradually eliminates teams in knock-out fashion until each has a winning finalist. At this point, the two winning finalists face each other in the combined final for the honour of the trophy.

First round

Crewe Alexandra, Lincoln City, Mansfield Town, Scunthorpe United, Shrewsbury Town, Wigan Athletic, Wrexham and York City from the North section all received byes.

Barnet, Bristol City, Exeter City, Northampton Town, Peterborough United, Torquay United, Walsall and Watford from the South section all received byes.

Northern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
9 DecemberChesterfield0–2Preston North End
10 DecemberBury3 – 1[2]Darlington
10 DecemberCarlisle United2–0Rochdale
10 DecemberDoncaster Rovers1–2Stockport County
10 DecemberHartlepool United0–2Burnley
10 DecemberHull City3–1Chester City
10 DecemberRotherham United0 – 1[2]Blackpool
10 DecemberScarborough0–1Notts County

Southern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
7 DecemberHereford United0–4Millwall
10 DecemberBristol Rovers1–2Brentford
10 DecemberCambridge United0–1Colchester United
10 DecemberGillingham1 – 2[2]Cardiff City
10 DecemberLuton Town2–1Leyton Orient
10 DecemberPlymouth Argyle2–0Bournemouth
17 DecemberBrighton & Hove Albion3 – 2[2]Fulham
8 JanuarySwansea City1 – 1[2]Wycombe Wanderers
Swansea City won 6 – 5 on penalties

Second round

Northern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
13 JanuaryBury6–0Mansfield Town
14 JanuaryBlackpool4–0Lincoln City
14 JanuaryShrewsbury Town3 – 2[2]Wigan Athletic
21 JanuaryYork City1–0Preston North End
28 JanuaryCarlisle United4–0Hull City
28 JanuaryScunthorpe United 1 – 1[2]Notts County
Scunthorpe United won 4 – 2 on penalties
28 JanuaryWigan Athletic 3–0Rotherham United
4 FebruaryBurnley 0–1Stockport County

Southern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
7 JanuaryBrentford2 – 1[2]Barnet
7 JanuaryMillwall2 – 3[2]Colchester United
7 JanuaryWatford2–1Torquay United
14 JanuaryCardiff City1 – 1[2]Exeter City
Exeter City won 4 – 2 on penalties
14 JanuaryPlymouth Argyle1–0Brighton & Hove Albion
21 JanuaryPeterborough United2–0Walsall
21 JanuarySwansea City0–1Bristol City
4 FebruaryNorthampton Town1–0Luton Town

Quarter-finals

Northern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
4 FebruaryCrewe Alexandra1–0Blackpool
4 FebruaryYork City0–2Carlisle United
11 FebruaryBury1 – 2[2]Stockport County
11 FebruaryShrewsbury Town2 – 1[2]Scunthorpe United

Southern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
28 JanuaryBrentford0–1Colchester United
28 JanuaryExeter City0–1Peterborough United
11 FebruaryPlymouth Argyle0–2Northampton Town
11 FebruaryWatford2–1Bristol City

Area semi-finals

Northern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
18 FebruaryShrewsbury Town1–2Carlisle United
4 MarchCrewe Alexandra1 – 1[2]Stockport County
Stockport County won 5 – 3 on penalties

Southern Section

Date Home team Score Away team
18 FebruaryColchester United2–1Northampton Town
18 FebruaryWatford0–1Peterborough United

Area finals

Northern Area final

18 March 1997
Carlisle United 2–0 Stockport County
Archdeacon  56',  90' (pen)
Brunton Park, Carlisle
Attendance: 7,057

25 March 1997
Stockport County 0–0 Carlisle United
Edgeley Park, Stockport
Attendance: 8,593

Carlisle United beat Stockport County 2–0 on aggregate.

Southern Area final

11 March 1997
Peterborough United 2–0 Colchester United
Otto  15'
Charlery  35'
London Road Stadium, Peterborough
Attendance: 4,556

18 March 1997
Colchester United 3 – 0
(a.e.t.) 		Peterborough United
Fry  37'
Buckle  81'
Abrahams  99'
Layer Road, Colchester
Attendance: 4,705

Colchester United beat Peterborough United 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

CARLISLE UNITED:
GK Tony Caig
DF Dean Walling
DF Will Varty
DF Stéphane Pounewatchy
MF Rory Delap
MF Steve Hayward (c)
MF Warren Aspinall
MF Paul Conway
MF Owen Archdeacon
FW Allan Smart  24'
FW Lee Peacock
Substitutes:
MF Tony Hopper
FW Rod Thomas  24'  95'
FW Matt Jansen  95'
Manager:
Mervyn Day
COLCHESTER UNITED:
GK Carl Emberson
DF Joe Dunne
DF David Greene
DF Peter Cawley
DF Paul Gibbs  105'
MF David Gregory  85'
MF Richard Wilkins (c)
MF Steve Whitton
MF Paul Abrahams  91'
FW Tony Adcock
FW Mark Sale
Substitute:
MF Karl Duguid  91'
MF Chris Fry  105'
MF Adam Locke  85'
Manager:
Steve Wignall

MATCH RULES

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum of 3 substitutions.

Notes

  1. ↑ "Carlisle 0–0 Colchester (Carlisle win on penalties)". Carlisle United FC Online. Retrieved 16 September 2012.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.10 2.11 2.12 after extra time

External links