2001 Football League Trophy final
football competition
The 2001 Football League Trophy final was a football match between Port Vale and Brentford on 22 April 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. It was the final match of the 2000–01 Football League Trophy, which was in its 18th season, a cup competition for teams from the Second Division and Third Division of the Football League (the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system). The match was played at the Millennium Stadium, due to the ongoing reconstruction of its usual venue, Wembley Stadium. Each club had one previous appearance in the final of the Football League Trophy, Port Vale winning the competition in 1993 and Brentford beaten finalists in 1985.
Both clubs had to survive five knock-out rounds to reach the final, Port Vale making it through the northern section and Brentford the only team remaining from the southern section. Port Vale easily advanced past Notts County, Chester City and Darlington, before overcoming Potteries derby rivals Stoke City 2–1 with a golden goal at the Britannia Stadium in the area semi-finals, and then beating Lincoln City 2–0 on aggregate in the two legged area finals. Meanwhile, Brentford easily beat Oxford United, before relying on penalties to overcome Brighton & Hove Albion and then beating Barnet, Swansea City and finally Southend United (4–2 on aggregate). The two teams had finished within three places on each other in the Second Division and had drawn both their league matches 1–1.
Brentford took the lead through Michael Dobson on three minutes and it took until 76 minutes for Vale to equalise, when Marc Bridge-Wilkinson converted a penalty which was awarded following a foul from Darren Powell on Tony Naylor. Steve Brooker then put the Vale into the lead seven minutes later and they went on to win the match 2–1.
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