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.
Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team6 DecemberShrewsbury Town1–2Hartlepool United9 DecemberCarlisle United1 – 0after extra timeOldham Athletic9 DecemberChesterfield0–1Grimsby Town9 DecemberDoncaster Rovers0–1Rochdale9 DecemberHull City2–1Scarborough9 DecemberPreston North End3 – 2Darlington9 DecemberScunthorpe United2–1Chester City9 DecemberWigan Athletic2–0Lincoln City
Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team8 DecemberBristol Rovers1–0Cambridge United9 DecemberBarnet1–2Walsall9 DecemberCardiff City0–2Millwall9 DecemberFulham1–0Watford9 DecemberGillingham0–1Peterborough United9 DecemberLeyton Orient1–0Colchester United9 DecemberNorthampton Town1 – 1Plymouth ArgyleNorthampton Town won 5 – 3 on penalties9 DecemberSouthend United0–1Wycombe Wanderers
Second round
Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team6 JanuaryBlackpool1 – 1York CityBlackpool won 10 – 9 on penalties6 JanuaryCarlisle United6–1Rochdale6 JanuaryGrimsby Town1–0Hull City6 JanuaryHartlepool United1–2Scunthorpe United7 JanuaryMansfield Town1–0Wrexham13 JanuaryMacclesfield Town 0–1Preston North End20 JanuaryWigan Athletic 3–0Rotherham United27 JanuaryBurnley 2–0Notts County
Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team6 JanuaryAFC Bournemouth2–0Leyton Orient6 JanuaryBristol City1–0Millwall6 JanuaryExeter City1–2Bristol Rovers6 JanuarySwansea City1–2Peterborough United6 JanuaryWalsall5–0Brighton & Hove Albion13 JanuaryFulham3–1Wycombe Wanderers13 JanuaryLuton Town2–1Brentford13 JanuaryNorthampton Town5–1Torquay United
Quarter-finals
Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team27 JanuaryBlackpool1–0Wigan Athletic27 JanuaryPreston North End1–0Mansfield Town27 JanuaryScunthorpe United0–2Grimsby Town3 FebruaryBurnley4–1Carlisle United
Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team27 JanuaryAFC Bournemouth1–0Bristol City27 JanuaryFulham1–2Luton Town27 JanuaryPeterborough United2–1Northampton Town28 JanuaryBristol Rovers0 – 1Walsall
Area semi-finals
Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team17 FebruaryBurnley1–0Preston North End17 FebruaryGrimsby Town1–0Blackpool
Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team17 FebruaryAFC Bournemouth1–0Luton Town17 FebruaryPeterborough United1–2Walsall
Area finals
Northern Area final
Grimsby Town beat Burnley 3–1 on aggregate.
Southern Area final
AFC Bournemouth beat Walsall 4–3 on aggregate.
Final
GK 1 Jimmy GlassDF 2 Neil YoungDF 3 Jamie VincentDF 4 Eddie Howe DF 5 Ian CoxMF 6 John Bailey MF 7 Russell Beardsmore MF 8 Steve RobinsonFW 9 Mark SteinFW 10Steve FletcherMF 11Christer Warren Substitutes:DF Franck RollingMF Jason Brissett MF John O'Neil Manager:Mel Machin GK 1 Aidan DavisonDF 2 John McDermott DF 3 Tony Gallimore DF 4 Peter HandysideDF 5 Mark LeverMF 6 Wayne Burnett MF 7 Kevin DonovanMF 8 David Smith FW 9 Daryl Clare FW 10Lee Nogan MF 11Paul Groves (c) Substitute:FW 12Steve Livingstone MF 13Kingsley Black MF 14Kevin Jobling 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
External links Official website