2015 Football League Trophy final

Edit links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

2015 Football League Trophy Final
The final took place at Wembley Stadium
Event2014–15 Football League Trophy
Walsall Bristol City
0 2
Date22 March 2015
Venue
2016
→

The 2015

Football League Two
, the respective third and fourth tiers of English football.

The final took place at Wembley Stadium in London on 22 March 2015 with Bristol City winning their third title with a 2–0 win over Walsall, who were making their first appearance at Wembley in their 127-year history.[1][2] The third win made Bristol City the most successful team in the history of the tournament.[3]

The match was refereed by Mick Russell.[4]

Background

At the time of the final, Bristol City were 10 points clear at the top of the League One table, 37 above Walsall. Bristol City had previously played at Wembley in 2008, when they lost the

Hull City.[3]

Route to the final

Main article: 2014–15 Football League Trophy

Walsall

Walsall, of League One, arrived in the final as winners of the Northern section. They were given a bye in the first round, and started in the second round on 7 October 2014 with a 1–0 away win over fellow League One team Rochdale at

Sheffield United and again won by a single goal, from Romaine Sawyers.[6]

On 9 December in the semi-finals, they travelled to

Tranmere Rovers, and trailed 0–2 at half time after conceding from Max Power and Kayode Odejayi. In the second half, they equalised with goals by Anthony Forde and Michael Cain. The score remained the same throughout extra time, and the game went to a penalty shootout, in which the first to miss was Walsall's Ashley Grimes, whose shot was saved by Tranmere's Owain Fôn Williams. However, Tranmere's Liam Ridehalgh hit the crossbar and Marc Laird's attempt was saved by Walsall goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell, then Paul Downing scored to put Walsall through.[7]

In the Northern section final, Walsall played

Deepdale on 7 January 2015, was a 2–0 win for Walsall with late goals by a Forde free kick and Tom Bradshaw intercepting a backwards pass by Scott Wiseman.[8] A goalless draw 20 days later in the second game at the Bescot Stadium confirmed Walsall's place in the final.[9]

Bristol City

Bristol City, also of League One, were also given a bye in the first round of the Southern section, so began on 8 October in the second round away to League Two

Coventry City with a goal in either half from Derrick Williams and Wilbraham.[12]

In the Southern final against Gillingham, Bristol City won the first leg 4–2 at Priestfield Stadium on 6 January 2015: Cody McDonald scored twice for the hosts, but Matt Smith netted four times for the visitors.[13] In the second leg on the 29th, Matt Smith opened the scoring and Jermaine McGlashan equalised in the first half, but Bristol City nonetheless advanced 5–3 on aggregate.[14]

Match

Pre-match

Supporters of Bristol City and their

Bristol Rovers walked 100 miles to the match over four-and-a-half days, to raise money for private surgery for six-year-old mascot Oskar Pycroft. Pycroft has cerebral palsy and surgery could result in him being able to walk.[15]

Synopsis

Bristol City gained the lead after 15 minutes, Aden Flint heading a Marlon Pack corner past Walsall goalkeeper Richard O'Donnell.[16] Walsall then had chances to equalise by

Peterborough United, scored a second after O'Donnell had saved his header. Walsall's Jordan Cook hit the post, and Bristol City's Aaron Wilbraham had a goal disallowed for offside.[3]

Details

15:30 GMT
Walsall0–2Bristol City
Report
Attendance: 72,315
Referee: Mick Russell
Walsall
Bristol City
GK 1 England Richard O'Donnell
RB 2 England Ben Purkiss
CB 15 England James Chambers
CB 6 England Paul Downing
LB 3 England Andy Taylor
DM 7 England Adam Chambers (c)
DM 8 England Sam Mantom
RW 27 Republic of Ireland Anthony Forde downward-facing red arrow 74'
AM 10 Saint Kitts and Nevis Romaine Sawyers Yellow card 38'
LW 21 England Jordan Cook downward-facing red arrow 81'
CF 9
Tom Bradshaw
 downward-facing red arrow 62'
Substitutes:
GK 13 England Craig MacGillivray
DF 4 England James O'Connor
MF 11 England James Baxendale upward-facing green arrow 81'
MF 12 England Michael Cain
MF 17 England Reece Flanagan
FW 24 England Ashley Grimes upward-facing green arrow 74'
FW 30 England Jordy Hiwula upward-facing green arrow 62'
Manager:
England Dean Smith
GK 1 England Frank Fielding
RB 22 England Luke Ayling
CB 4 England Aden Flint
LB 3 Republic of Ireland Derrick Williams
RM 2 England Mark Little
CM 7 England Korey Smith
CM 21 England Marlon Pack
LM 23 England Joe Bryan downward-facing red arrow 87'
AM 15 England Luke Freeman downward-facing red arrow 90'
CF 18 England Aaron Wilbraham
CF 19 England Kieran Agard downward-facing red arrow 89'
Substitutes:
GK 13 Wales Dave Richards
DF 17 Republic of Ireland Greg Cunningham upward-facing green arrow 87'
DF 24 England James Tavernier
MF 8 England Wade Elliott upward-facing green arrow 90'
MF 11 England Scott Wagstaff
MF 12 England George Saville
FW 10
Jay-Emmanuel Thomas
 upward-facing green arrow 89'
Manager:
England Steve Cotterill

Post-match

Bristol City manager Steve Cotterill said that despite the gap between the two teams in the league table, Walsall were a difficult side to beat. He said that for a lot of his players, it would be the start of their careers.[3] His Walsall counterpart Dean Smith expressed disappointment with his team's performance, saying that for reasons of height it was likely that they would concede from a corner. He added that nerves may have played a part in the defeat, as most of his players were young and had never played in front of such a large crowd before.[3]

References

  1. ^ "Bristol City confirm Wembley date". The Football League. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  2. ^ "Walsall's Wembley near-misses". The Football League. 28 January 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d e Chapman, Caroline (22 March 2015). "Bristol City 2–0 Walsall". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  4. ^ "Mick Russell to referee Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final". The Football League. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
  5. ^ "Rochdale 0–1 Walsall". BBC Sport. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Walsall 1–0 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 12 November 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  7. ^ "Walsall book JPT area final spot". Sky Sports. 9 December 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  8. ^ "Preston 0–2 Walsall". BBC Sport. 7 January 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  9. ^ Scott, Ged (27 January 2015). "Walsall 0–0 Preston". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  10. ^ "Cheltenham 1–3 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  11. ^ "Bristol City 2–1 Wimbledon". BBC Sport. 11 November 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  12. ^ "Bristol City 2–0 Coventry". BBC Sport. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Gillingham 2–4 Bristol City". BBC Sport. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  14. ^ Chapman, Caroline (29 January 2015). "Bristol City 1–1 Gillingham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  15. ^ "Bristol City and Rovers fans arrive at Wembley, after walking from Bristol". BBC News. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  16. ^ "Bristol City tick off their first objective with comfortable win over Walsall". The Guardian. 22 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2015_Football_League_Trophy_final&oldid=1151967182"