Bristol City and Walsall will compete in the first all-League 1 Football League Trophy Final in four years, at Wembley on Sunday.
When Bristol City and Walsall kick-off on Sunday afternoon, they will, perhaps surprisingly, contest just the third Football League Trophy Final in 14 seasons featuring two teams from the third tier, and the first for four years.Here, we take a look back at the three recent all-League 1 finals in the competition.
Port Vale 2-1 Brentford - 2000/01
When Port Vale and Brentford booked their place at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium in 2001, they had confirmed the competition’s fourth successive all-third tier final.
The run stretched across the 20th and 21st centuries, having been started by Grimsby and Bournemouth back in 1999 at the old Wembley.
In the 2001 final, the Bees took the lead in just the third minute through Michael Dobson, but a Marc Bridge-Wilkinson penalty and Steve Brooker goal within the final 15 minutes handed the trophy to Vale.
And it would be Brian Horton’s men who had the league bragging rights too, albeit only by three points as they finished 11th compared to Brentford’s 14th.
Southampton 4-1 Carlisle United – 2009/10
The nine-year absence without both teams coming from League 1 was ended when Southampton and Carlisle did battle at Wembley in 2010.
The Saints had been relegated from the Championship the season before and found their form in the Trophy, going all the way.
Current England players Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana scored the first of four goals for Southampton, with Gary Madine only able to grab a late consolation for the Cumbrians in a 4-1 scoreline.
The Saints were unable to make it a Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and promotion double, though, finishing the season just outside the Play-Off positions.
Brentford 0-1 Carlisle United - 2010/11
Like buses, having waited ages for one all-League 1 Trophy final, a second came at the next possible opportunity. Admittedly, you wouldn’t have to wait nine years for a bus, unless you were incredibly unfortunate.
Brentford and Carlisle were the teams involved in what is the most recent Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Final to feature two teams from the third tier, with the Cumbrians ending their heartache from 12 months previously.
A first-half Peter Murphy goal proved the difference although, in the smallest of consolations, the Bees did end the League 1 season one place and two points higher than their final opponents.