2000 Football League Trophy final

The 2000 Football League Trophy Final (known as the Auto Windscreens Shield for sponsorship reasons) was the 17th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from the Second and Third Division of the Football League. The match was played at Wembley on 16 April 2000, and was the last Football League Trophy final to be played there before the stadium closed for redevelopment. The match was contested by Bristol City and Stoke City. The match was won by Stoke City, with Graham Kavanagh and Peter Thorne scoring in the 2–1 victory.[1][2]

2000 Football League Trophy Final
Event1999–2000 Football League Trophy
Date16 April 2000
VenueWembley, London
RefereeK.M.Lynch (Kirk Hammerton)
Attendance75,057
1999
2001

Background

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The 1999–2000 season saw both Bristol City and Stoke City involved in the race for promotion to the First Division. Stoke had been in the top six for most of the campaign whilst Bristol battled with city rivals Bristol Rovers to gain a play-off spot. The two sides had played each other twice before the final.[2] Firstly on 14 November 1999 at Stoke's Britannia Stadium the score ending 1–1 with goals from Nicky Mohan and Brian Tinnion. The second match at Ashton Gate also ended in a draw this time 2–2 with goals from Kyle Lightbourne, Graham Kavanagh and a brace from Tony Thorpe.[2]

Route to the final

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Both sides had a fairly easy route to the final, Bristol City were handed a first round bye whilst Stoke over came Darlington 3–2 thanks to a Kyle Lightbourne golden goal. Bristol City beat Cheltenham Town 3–1 in the second round and Stoke overcame Oldham Athletic again via a golden goal.[2] In the quarters Bristol City eased past Bournemouth on penalties as Stoke beat Blackpool 2–1. The semi-finals saw Bristol City cruise past Reading 4–0 whilst Stoke needed a late goal from James O'Connor to progress. In the area finals Bristol City beat Exeter City 5–1 over two legs and Stoke won equality as easily beating Rochdale 4–1.[2]

Bristol City

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First round: Bye

Second round: Bristol City 3–1 Cheltenham Town

Quarter final: Bristol City 1–1 (4–1 pens) Bournemouth

Semi final: Bristol City 4–0 Reading

Southern area final 1st leg: Bristol City 4–0 Exeter City

Southern area final 2nd leg: Exeter City 1–1 Bristol City

Stoke City

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First round: Stoke City 3–2 Darlington

Second round: Oldham Athletic 0–1 Stoke City

Quarter final: Blackpool 1–2 Stoke City

Semi final: Chesterfield 0–1 Stoke City

Northern area final 1st leg: Rochdale 1–3 Stoke City

Northern area final 2nd leg: Stoke City 1–0 Rochdale

Match review

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Over 75,000 fans packed into Wembley to see Bristol City take on Stoke City in the Football League Trophy final for which Stoke fans dedicated to Stanley Matthews who had died in February 2000.[2] Stoke made the bright start of the two sides enjoying a decent amount of possession and took the lead through Graham Kavanagh after 32 minutes after his shot beat the Robins 'keeper Billy Mercer at his near post. Leading 1–0 Stoke dropped deeper in the second half as they looked to cancel out the threat from the dangerous Scott Murray and Tony Thorpe. It looked to be working but with 15 minutes left Paul Holland headed in a corner to make the scores 1–1.[2] However it was Stoke who had the final say, a counterattack by Stoke was halted when Bjarni Guðjónsson was fouled by Louis Carey to conceded a free-kick. Whilst Bristol complied about the awarding of the free-kick, Guðjónsson played a quick pass to Kavanagh who crossed in to Peter Thorne to earn Stoke their third win at Wembley.[2]

Match details

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Bristol City1–2Stoke City
Holland   74' Kavanagh   32'
Thorne   82'
Attendance: 75,057
Referee: K.M.Lynch
 
 
 
 
 
Bristol City
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Stoke City
GK 2   Billy Mercer
DF 6   Louis Carey   87'
DF 27   Andy Jordan
DF 46   Keith Millen
DF 3   Michael Bell
MF 17   Aaron Brown   68'
MF 26   Scott Murray  
MF 10   Paul Holland
MF 11   Brian Tinnion
FW 20   Peter Beadle
FW 21   Tony Thorpe
Substitutes:
GK 15   Steve Phillips
DF 43   Kevin Amankwaah   87'
DF 32   Matt Hill
MF 33   Joe Burnell
FW 34   Damian Spencer   68'
Manager:
  David Burnside
GK 1   Gavin Ward
DF 5   Nicky Mohan
DF 15   Mikael Hansson
DF 22   Clive Clarke
MF 2   Brynjar Gunnarsson
MF 8   Graham Kavanagh
MF 17   James O'Connor  
MF 25   Bjarni Guðjónsson
MF 36   Arnar Gunnlaugsson     62'
FW 9   Peter Thorne
FW 12   Kyle Lightbourne   89'
Substitutes:
GK 14   Carl Muggleton
DF 32   Anders Jacobsen
DF 34   Richard Dryden   62'
MF 35   Steve Melton
FW 31   Chris Iwelumo   89'
Manager:
  Guðjón Þórðarson

MATCH RULES

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

References

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  1. ^ "Wembley glory for Stoke City". BBC Sport. 29 June 2000. Retrieved 14 March 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Stoke honour Sir Stan with Wembley win". The Sentinel. 5 May 2013.
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