Football tournament season
1997–98 Football League Trophy Country England Wales Teams 48 Champions Grimsby Town Runners-up AFC Bournemouth Matches played 49
The Football League Trophy 1997–98 , known as the Auto Windscreens Shield 1997–98 for sponsorship reasons, was the 15th 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 [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
6 December
Shrewsbury Town
1–2
Hartlepool United
9 December
Carlisle United
1 – 0[1]
Oldham Athletic
9 December
Chesterfield
0–1
Grimsby Town
9 December
Doncaster Rovers
0–1
Rochdale
9 December
Hull City
2–1
Scarborough
9 December
Preston North End
3 – 2[1]
Darlington
9 December
Scunthorpe United
2–1
Chester City
9 December
Wigan Athletic
2–0
Lincoln City
Southern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
8 December
Bristol Rovers
1–0
Cambridge United
9 December
Barnet
1–2
Walsall
9 December
Cardiff City
0–2
Millwall
9 December
Fulham
1–0
Watford
9 December
Gillingham
0–1
Peterborough United
9 December
Leyton Orient
1–0
Colchester United
9 December
Northampton Town
1 – 1[1]
Plymouth Argyle
Northampton Town won 5 – 3 on penalties
9 December
Southend United
0–1
Wycombe Wanderers
Second round [ ]
Northern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
6 January
Blackpool
1 – 1[1]
York City
Blackpool won 10 – 9 on penalties
6 January
Carlisle United
6–1
Rochdale
6 January
Grimsby Town
1–0
Hull City
6 January
Hartlepool United
1–2
Scunthorpe United
7 January
Mansfield Town
1–0
Wrexham
13 January
Macclesfield Town
0–1
Preston North End
20 January
Wigan Athletic
3–0
Rotherham United
27 January
Burnley
2–0
Notts County
Southern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
6 January
AFC Bournemouth
2–0
Leyton Orient
6 January
Bristol City
1–0
Millwall
6 January
Exeter City
1–2
Bristol Rovers
6 January
Swansea City
1–2
Peterborough United
6 January
Walsall
5–0
Brighton & Hove Albion
13 January
Fulham
3–1
Wycombe Wanderers
13 January
Luton Town
2–1
Brentford
13 January
Northampton Town
5–1
Torquay United
Quarter-finals [ ]
Northern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
27 January
Blackpool
1–0
Wigan Athletic
27 January
Preston North End
1–0
Mansfield Town
27 January
Scunthorpe United
0–2
Grimsby Town
3 February
Burnley
4–1
Carlisle United
Southern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
27 January
AFC Bournemouth
1–0
Bristol City
27 January
Fulham
1–2
Luton Town
27 January
Peterborough United
2–1
Northampton Town
28 January
Bristol Rovers
0 – 1[1]
Walsall
Area semi-finals [ ]
Northern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
17 February
Burnley
1–0
Preston North End
17 February
Grimsby Town
1–0
Blackpool
Southern Section [ ]
Date
Home team
Score
Away team
17 February
AFC Bournemouth
1–0
Luton Town
17 February
Peterborough United
1–2
Walsall
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 [ ]
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 [ ]
^ a b c d e after extra time
External links [ ]
Associate Members' Cup, Football League Trophy and EFL Trophy
Associate Members' Cup (1983–1992)
Seasons Finals
EFL Trophy (2016–present)
Seasons Finals
National teams
League competitions
Level 1 Levels 2–4 Level 5 Levels 6–7 Levels 8–9
Isthmian League (Two , Three )
Combined Counties League (level 8 only )
Eastern Counties League (Premier , One )
Essex Senior League (level 8 only )
Hellenic League (Premier , One )
Kent League (level 8 only )
Midland Alliance (level 8 only )
Midland Football Combination (level 9 only )
North West Counties League (One , Two )
Northern Counties East League (Premier , One )
Northern League (One , Two )
Spartan South Midlands League (Premier North , Premier South , Senior )
Sussex County League (One , Two )
United Counties League (Premier , One )
Wessex League (level 8 only )
West Midlands (Regional) League (level 9 only )
Western League (Premier , One )
Cup competitions
FA cups Football League cups
European competitions