1997–98 Football League Trophy

1997–98 Football League Trophy
Auto Windscreens Shield
Tournament details
CountryEngland
Wales
Teams48
Final positions
ChampionsGrimsby Town
Runner-upAFC Bournemouth
Tournament statistics
Matches played49

The Football League Trophy 1997–98, known as the Auto Windscreens Shield 1997–98 for sponsorship reasons, was the 17th staging of the Football League Trophy, a knock-out competition for English football clubs in Second and Third Division. The winners were Grimsby Town and the runners-up were AFC Bournemouth.

The competition began on 6 December 1997 and ended with the final on 19 April 1998 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

Blackpool, Burnley, Macclesfield Town, Mansfield Town, Notts County, Rotherham United, Wrexham and York City from the North section all received byes.

Brentford, AFC Bournemouth, Brighton & Hove Albion, Bristol City, Exeter City, Luton Town, Swansea City and Torquay United from the South section all received byes.

Second round

Quarter-finals

Area semi-finals

Area finals

Northern Area final

Grimsby Town1–1Burnley
Groves 78' Payton 23'
Blundell Park, Cleethorpes
Attendance: 6,064
Burnley0–2Grimsby Town
Nogan 10'
Donovan 57'
Turf Moor, Burnley
Attendance: 10,257

Grimsby Town beat Burnley 3–1 on aggregate.

Southern Area final

Walsall0–2AFC Bournemouth
Rolling 13'
Beardsmore 30'
Attendance: 6,017
AFC Bournemouth2–3Walsall
Evans 55' (o.g.)
Rolling 82'		 Thomas 47'
Boli 53'
Tholot 80'
Dean Court, Bournemouth
Attendance: 8,972

AFC Bournemouth beat Walsall 4–3 on aggregate.

Final

See also: 1998 Football League Trophy Final
AFC Bournemouth1–2Grimsby Town
Bailey 31' Glass 75' (o.g.)
Burnettgold-colored soccer ball 112'
Attendance: 62,432
Referee: M.E. Pierce
AFC Bournemouth
Grimsby Town
GK 1 Jimmy Glass
DF 2 Neil Young
DF 3 Jamie Vincent
DF 4 Eddie Howe Yellow card
DF 5 Ian Cox
MF 6 John Bailey Yellow card
MF 7 Russell Beardsmore downward-facing red arrow 105'
MF 8 Steve Robinson
FW 9 Mark Stein
FW 10 Steve Fletcher
MF 11 Christer Warren downward-facing red arrow 90'
Substitutes:
DF Franck Rolling
MF Jason Brissett upward-facing green arrow 90'
MF John O'Neil upward-facing green arrow 105'
Manager:
Mel Machin
GK 1 Aidan Davison
DF 2 John McDermott Yellow card
DF 3 Tony Gallimore downward-facing red arrow 55'
DF 4 Peter Handyside
DF 5 Mark Lever
MF 6 Wayne Burnett Yellow card
MF 7 Kevin Donovan
MF 8 David Smith Yellow card
FW 9 Daryl Clare downward-facing red arrow 55'
FW 10 Lee Nogan downward-facing red arrow 93'
MF 11 Paul Groves (c)
Substitute:
FW 12 Steve Livingstone Yellow card upward-facing green arrow 55'
MF 13 Kingsley Black upward-facing green arrow 55'
MF 14 Kevin Jobling upward-facing green arrow 93'
Manager:
Alan Buckley

Match rules

  • 90 minutes
  • 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary
  • Golden goal in extra time
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level
  • Maximum of three substitutions

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e after extra time