Carlisle v Brentford In JPT Final

The build up is now on for this weekends Johnstone Paint Trophy which seed Carlisle United make the return trip, having lost to Southampton in last years final. This time they will start as slight favourites despite their recent defeat to their challengers Brentford, who have lost both their previous appearances in the final.

Carlisle have been in the final on 5 previous occasions, winning in 1997 and losing the other four, however apart from last years thrashing they have normally given a good account of themselves.

Whoever wins the clubs will at least have gained a welcome financial windfall, and Carlise, who despite dwindling crowds recently reported a £110,000 half year profit, expect to generate an additional £250,000 in revenue from the game. This sum would only be enough to pay a top Premier League players wage for a couple of weeks, however for League One clubs this can make the difference between success and administration.

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Carlisle United Hold On For Wembley Trip

Carlisle made hard work of reaching Wembley yet again in the JPT losing their second leg at Huddersfield Town 3-0, but held on for a 4-3 aggregate win.

Huddersfield took the lead after 30 minutes, but despite having the better of the play they couldn’t add a second until the 70th minute when Alan Lee scored the first of his double. His second in the 81st minute led to a nervous finale but overall Carlisle who did have a few chances of their own just about deserved their overall win.

Now Carlisle, who reached last year’s final only to lose heavily to Southampton, will now meet Brentford who overcame Exeter in the Sourhern Area Final.

The final will be played at at Wembley on Sunday, 3 April 2011.

Official attendance 6,528

2011 FA Vase 5th Round Draw

The draw for the FA Vase 5th Round has given Whitley Bay a home tie with Dunstable, which will be welcome following their 700+ mile round trip in the previous round.

One of the favourites Spennymoor Town from County Durham, have a tricky  match against Poole not helped by Dorset being around 350 miles away. Still it could have been worse as fellow  Northern League Division One rivals Billingham Synthonia will testify. They have an even more gruelling trip to Cornwall to face South West Peninsula League side Torpoint Athletic.

There are still two ties to play but the latest draw is below and the winners will collect a chq for £1,300 and gain a place in the Quarter Finals.

FA Vase 5th Round Draw

Whitley Bay v Dunstable Town

Coalville Town v Holbrook Sports or Lancing

Torpoint Athletic v Billingham Synthonia

Poole Town v Spennymoor Town

Leverstock Green v Rye United

Leiston v Long Buckby

Kings Lynn Town v Gresley or St Neots Town

Stansted v Dunston UTS

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Carlisle Close in on Wembley Visit With 4-0 Win

Welcome sign at Brunton Park, home of Carlisle...
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Carlisle United took a massive step towards another Wembley appearance last night taking a 4-0 lead in the first leg of the JPT Northern Final last night at Brunton Park. Although Carlisle only managed 6 shots on goal their finishing was clinical and when Tom Taiwo added their second goal after 23 minutes the game was effectively over given Huddersfield lack of attacking ambition. A repeat trip to Wembley will give Carlisle the chance to exorcise the memory of last seasons final which ended in a 4-1 humiliation against Southampton.

Should they progress they will face either Exeter or Brentford who drew 1-1 in the 1st leg of the Southern area final.

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Sheffield Wednesday Ease The Pressure With JPT Win

Badge of Sheffield Wednesday
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Sheffield Wednesday has a comfortable 4-1 win over Hartlepool in the Johnstone Paint Trophy last night to move into the Northern Semi Final leaving them two games away from a lucrative Wembley final which would be a big help as the club fights to stave off administration.

The star of the show was Neil Mellor who hit a hat trick in front of a fairly impressive 10,909 crowd.  They will now join Carlisle,Tranmere and Huddersfield in the Semi Finals.

Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Other Results

Northern Area
Bury 0-1 Tranmere
Carlisle 3-1 Crewe
Rotherham 2-5 Huddersfield

Southern Area

Plymouth 1-2 Exeter
Southend 0-1 Charlton
Swindon 1-1 Brentford (Brentford won 4-2 on penalties)
Wycombe 3-6 Bristol Rovers

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Sheffield Wednesday Ease Through To JPT Second Round

League One high flyers Sheffield Wednesday eased through in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy thanks to two early goals from James O’Connor.

Notts County pulled a goal back mid way through the 1st half but rarely looked like getting back on level terms.

The impressive crowd of 10,551 probably reflects Wednesdays good start to the League One season more than the importance they place on this trophy, however I am sure that a trip to Wembley will be welcomed by their fans should it occur.

In the nights other game Leyton Orient had a good 2-0 win at Brighton although if Brighton had been a bit sharper in front of goal the result could have been closer. Only 3124 turned up to this one.

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Great Win For Shrewsbury In Jothstone Paint Trophy

Johnstone's Paint Trophy
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Shrewsbury Town continued their good form of late when beating League One high flyers Oldham Athletic 1-0 in the Football League Trophy last night.

Oldham are hard to beat at Boundry Park and to be fair they had the bulk of the possession and chances however Shrewsbury did hit the woodwork twice before Steve Leslie grabbed the winner with 7 minutes to go.

Other good wins were Torquay’s Battling win at Bournmouth who couldn’t find the net missing a lot of chances in the game and all their penalty attempts, and Accrington who won another penalty shoot out at League One Tranmere

In the nights big match managerless Southampton’s woes continued as the current holders crashed out 3-0 at home to Swindon. Still they did pull in the nights biggest crowd of 8,333.

The nights biggest disappointment must have came at Walsall who not only crashed out to lower league Chesterfield, but they also attracted the lowest ever crowd at the Bescot Stadium with only 1,793 fans bothering to turn up.

Johnstone’s Paint Trophy 1st Round Results
Aldershot 2-0 Oxford Utd
Bournemouth 0-0 Torquay (Torquay won 3-0 on penalties)
Charlton 1-0 Dag & Red
Hartlepool 4-0 Northampton
Macclesfield 1-0 Morecambe
Oldham 0-1 Shrewsbury
Port Vale 2-1 Rochdale
Rotherham 1-0 Lincoln City
Southampton 0-3 Swindon
Southend 0-0 Gillingham (Southend won 4-3 on penalties)
Stevenage 0-1 Brentford
Tranmere 1-1 Accrington Stanley (Accrington won 5-3 on penalties)
Walsall 1-2 Chesterfield
Yeovil 1-3 Exeter

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What A Difference A Year Makes For Southampton FC

Southampton F.C.
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Just over a year ago Southampton Football Club and its fans were in varying states of despair as they plunged into administration leaving it with an uncertain future. Having started the 2009-10 season in League 1 with a 10 point deduction I would imagine they would have no real expectations for the season bar avoiding relegation and it was a humbling decline for a club who were in Premier league in 2005.

Sunday gave the whole of Southampton something to shout about as they gained their 1st Silverware since winning the FA Cup way back in 1976 with a display fitting of the occasion.

The 4-1 scoreline in no way flattered them and in Adam Lallanathey have a star of the future. Carlisle were no match for Southampton on the day and looked a little overawed by the occasion and suffered their fourth defeat in this final in five visits.

Southampton still have an outside chance of making the playoffs and if they are still in League 1 next season they will be a short priced favourite for the title.

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Carlsle v Southampton in the JP Trophy Today

Johnstone's Paint Trophy
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Carlisle will make their 5th appearance in the Johnstone Paint Trophy final today at Wembley where they will face an in form Southampton side who will start as favourites. For those not familiar with the competition it is the Football League Trophy which was introduced to allow League 1 and 2 sides a chance to play at Wembley and has had various sponsors over the years.

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