2008–09 Football League Trophy

The Football League Trophy 2008–09, known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy 2008–09 for sponsorship reasons, is the 25th Football League Trophy, a knockout competition for English football clubs in Leagues One and Two, the third and fourth tiers of English football. Luton Town won the competition, beating Scunthorpe United 3–2 after extra time in the final. However, Luton were unable to defend their trophy as they were relegated from the Football League at the end of the season.

The format was the same as that which had been used since 1996, with four first round regions; North-West, North-East, South-West and South-East and a two-region format from the second round; North and South. The resulting regional winners then meet in the final.

First round

The First Round draw was conducted on 16 August 2008. The teams to be granted byes to the Second Round were drawn first, with the remaining teams drawn for the First Round ties. The First Round matches were played in the week commencing 1 September 2008.

Northern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
North-West
1Oldham Athletic1 – 1Morecambe2,016
Morecambe won 5 – 4 on penalties
2Crewe Alexandra3 – 0Macclesfield Town2,463
3Stockport County1 – 0Port Vale2,290
4Tranmere Rovers1 – 0Accrington Stanley2,410
North-East
5Chesterfield2 – 2Grimsby Town1,665
Grimsby Town won 4 – 1 on penalties
6Scunthorpe United2 – 1Notts County1,755
7Leeds United2 – 1Bradford City20,128
8Hartlepool United0 – 3Leicester City2,807

Southern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
South-West
1Bournemouth3 – 0Bristol Rovers2,220
2Brentford2 – 2Yeovil Town1,339
Brentford won 4 – 2 on penalties
3Exeter City1 – 2Shrewsbury Town1,530
4Aldershot Town2 – 2Swindon Town1,814
Swindon Town won 7 – 6 on penalties
South-East
5Millwall0 – 1Colchester United2,456
6Northampton Town0 – 1Brighton & Hove Albion2,047
7Southend United2 – 4Leyton Orient3,499
8Dagenham & Redbridge4 – 2Barnet1,412

First round byes

Northern section

Bury, Carlisle United, Chester City, Darlington, Lincoln City, Rochdale,
Rotherham United, Huddersfield Town.

Southern section

Cheltenham Town, Gillingham, Hereford United, Luton Town, Milton Keynes Dons, Peterborough United, Walsall, Wycombe Wanderers.

Second round

The Second Round draw was conducted on 6 September 2008, with matches played in the week commencing 6 October 2008.

Northern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1Tranmere Rovers1 – 0Crewe Alexandra2,626
2Rochdale2 – 2Carlisle United1,608
Rochdale won 4 – 2 on penalties
3Chester City1 – 1Morecambe926
Morecambe won 3 – 1 on penalties
4Bury1 – 0Stockport County2,384
5Scunthorpe United2 – 1Grimsby Town4,844
6Rotherham United4 – 2Leeds United4,658
7Darlington1 – 0Huddersfield Town1,791
8Leicester City0 – 0Lincoln City8,046
Leicester City won 3 – 1 on penalties

Southern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1Cheltenham Town1 – 2Walsall1,741
2Hereford United1 – 2Swindon Town1,458
3Wycombe Wanderers0 – 7Shrewsbury Town1,730
4Milton Keynes Dons0 – 1Bournemouth4,329
5Peterborough United0 – 1Dagenham & Redbridge2,644
6Brighton & Hove Albion2 – 2Leyton Orient2,157
Brighton & Hove Albion won 5 – 4 on penalties
7Gillingham0 – 1Colchester United1,557
8Luton Town2 – 2Brentford2,029
Luton Town won 4 – 3 on penalties

Area quarter-finals

The draw for the area quarter-finals was conducted on 11 October 2008. The matches were played in the week commencing 3 November 2008, with the exception of the match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Swindon Town, which was played on 12 November 2008.

Northern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1Rotherham United2 – 0Leicester City4,255
2Tranmere Rovers1 – 0Morecambe2,110
3Darlington1 – 0Bury1,651
4Scunthorpe United1 – 0Rochdale2,474

Southern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1Shrewsbury Town5 – 0Dagenham & Redbridge2,747
2Brighton & Hove Albion2 – 0Swindon Town2,234
3Walsall0 – 1Luton Town1,844
4Bournemouth0 – 1Colchester United2,275

Area semi-finals

The draw for the area semi-finals was conducted on 8 November 2008, and matches were played in the week commencing 15 December 2008.

Northern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1Scunthorpe United2 – 1Tranmere Rovers2,669
2Rotherham United1 – 1Darlington2,706
Rotherham United won 4 – 2 on penalties

Southern Section

Tie no Home team Score Away team Attendance
1Luton Town1 – 0Colchester United2,638
2Shrewsbury Town0 – 0Brighton & Hove Albion4,052
Brighton & Hove Albion won 5 – 4 on penalties

Area finals

The area finals, which serve as the semi-finals for the entire competition, are contested over two legs, home and away. The first legs were played on 20 January 2009; the second legs were played on 17 February 2009.

Northern Section

20 January 2009
19:30
Scunthorpe United 2 – 0 Rotherham United
Woolford  60'
Pearce  67' 		Report
Glanford Park, Scunthorpe
Attendance: 6,038
Referee: Clive Oliver (Northumberland)

17 February 2009
19:45
Rotherham United 0 – 1 Scunthorpe United
Report Hooper  74'
Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield
Attendance: 6,555
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)

Scunthorpe United won 3–0 on aggregate.

Southern Section

Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 Luton Town on aggregate. Luton Town won 4–3 on penalties.

Final

5 April 2009
13:15 BST
Luton Town 3 – 2 (a.e.t.) Scunthorpe United
Martin  32'
Craddock  70'
Gnakpa  95' 		Report Hooper  14'
McCann  88'
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 55,378
Referee: Phil Crossley (Kent)

External links