Post by QPR Report on Apr 5, 2009 11:24:18 GMT
Luton vs Sc**thorpe
I'd like Kevin Gallen to get a hatrick...
And I think Luton have been savagely dealt with over the past 12 months
Football League Preview
TROPHY FINAL PREVIEW
Posted on: 04.04.2009
TROPHY FINAL PREVIEW
Sc***horpe United and Luton Town go head to head in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley on Sunday, with game providing a welcome distraction from league action.
The two sides have had contrasting fortunes in their league's this season with Sc***horpe currently chasing promotion from League 1, while Luton have faced the uphill task of avoiding relegation from League 2.
Both sides go into the game on the back of a good run with Sc***horpe securing four wins from their last six games, while the Hatters secured four.
Sc***horpe currently occupy the final Play-Off position with 67 points from their 39 games played as they look to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt.
The Iron finished second bottom of the Championship table last season, with 46 points, and this campaign didn't quite get off to the start they hoped, with three defeats on the bounce at the hands of Leeds United, Hartlepool United and Walsall.
Their season eventually kicked off on August 23rd with a 1-0 win over Peterborough, and they went on a 13 game unbeaten run which included 11 wins.
Since then Nigel Adkins' side have kept up the pressure on the league leaders Leicester City and Peterborough and they will remain in the top six whatever happens in League 1 this weekend, with nearest rivals Tranmere Rovers currently sitting four points behind them.
Luton on the other hand know they will have achieved virtually the unachievable if they can remain in the league come the end of the season after starting the season on minus 30 points.
But despite their recent 4-2 defeat against Rotherham they still have a hope of avoiding the drop with 18 points still to play for and just 11 points adrift of safety.
The 2-2 draw with Chester City on January 13th 2009 went down in history as the day Mick Harford's side got back to zero points but things could have been so much better had they not surrendered a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Chris Martin and Lewis Emmanuel to only take a point from the Deva Stadium.
Head to Head
The two teams have only met 12 times in history and it is the Iron who have the slight advantage, having won six times, while Luton have won four and two matches have ended all square.
The last time the two sides met was on 16th February 2002 when Sc***horpe secured a 3-2 win at Kenilworth Road. Peter Beagrie fired them into an early lead before Steve Howard equalised. Wayne Graves then put the visitors back in front before Matt Taylor thought he'd secured a draw for Luton, scoring with just 12 minutes to go but there was still time for Matt Sparrow to bag the winner in the 90th minute.
There result was obviously disappointing for Luton but that was quickly forgotten as they secured second place in the old Second Division to win promotion.
Route to the Final
Sc***horpe
The Iron kicked off their 2008/09 Johnstone's Paint Trophy campaign with a last gasp double-salvo from striker Paul Hayes. Having trailed for over 80 minutes to their opponents Notts County, the 25-year-old stuck two injury time goals to record a deserved, if not slightly nervy, 2-1 home victory.Next up at home were Grimsby Town where two first half goals from Sam Togwell and Ian Morris proved enough to stop the Mariners from progressing any further.
Into the Area Quarter-Finals and the Iron were once again drawn to play at home. A 1-0 win over League 2 side Rochdale was enough to see off the Dale's challenge, Iron defender David Mirfin netting an injury time header.
Glanford Park then played host to Tranmere Rovers in the Area Semi-Finals. The home side once again managing to secure victory with a one goal deficit, Paul Hayes scoring an injury time winner to win the match 2-1 and leave the Iron just two matches away from the final at Wembley.
Rotherham provided the opposition in the Area Final but most of the hard work was done in the first leg, at Glanford Park, as second half goals from Martyn Woolford and Krystian Pearce gave Nigel Adkins side a 2-0 lead.
The return match at the Don Valley stadium looked to be heading towards a goalless draw, which would have been enough to send Sc***horpe to Wembley, but Gary Hooper scored his 21st goal of the season to secure victory and set up Sunday's clash.
Luton Town
The Hatters were given a bye for the first round of the competition, and narrowly avoided defeat in their second round game against Brentford at Kenilworth Road. Like Brighton, Luton were involved in a 2-2 draw, and found enough in the tank to knock the Bees out on penalties.
Into the Quarter-Finals and League 1 side Walsall were next up for the Hatters. Arguably a daunting prospect given the difference in their respective league positions, but Harford's side displayed more passion and hunger on the night, and thanks to Rossi Jarvis's late winner Luton moved into the Area Semi-Finals.
Their next opponents were Colchester United, another League 1 club looking to edge a step closer to April's final at Wembley. However, the Hatters once again surprised a few people by winning 1-0, this time right-back Claude Gnakpa netting the only goal of the game.
Brighton & Hove Albion provided Luton's opposition in Southern Area Section Final and there was little to choose between the two sides.
The first match, at the Withdean Stadium, ended goalless and set up a perfectly balanced second leg at Kenilworth Road.
The match sprung to life after just two minutes, when Tom Craddock fired the home side ahead but the joy was short-lived as Nicky Forster equalised 18 minutes later.
Brighton's task was made more difficult on the stroke of halftime as David Livermore was sent off but the Hatters couldn't break down the 10 men and the game went to penalties, which Luton won 4-3 to earn their place at Wembley.
Match Officials
Referee: Phil Crossley
Assistants: Dave McCallum and David Unsworth
Fourth Official: Richard Beeby
I'd like Kevin Gallen to get a hatrick...
And I think Luton have been savagely dealt with over the past 12 months
Football League Preview
TROPHY FINAL PREVIEW
Posted on: 04.04.2009
TROPHY FINAL PREVIEW
Sc***horpe United and Luton Town go head to head in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final at Wembley on Sunday, with game providing a welcome distraction from league action.
The two sides have had contrasting fortunes in their league's this season with Sc***horpe currently chasing promotion from League 1, while Luton have faced the uphill task of avoiding relegation from League 2.
Both sides go into the game on the back of a good run with Sc***horpe securing four wins from their last six games, while the Hatters secured four.
Sc***horpe currently occupy the final Play-Off position with 67 points from their 39 games played as they look to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt.
The Iron finished second bottom of the Championship table last season, with 46 points, and this campaign didn't quite get off to the start they hoped, with three defeats on the bounce at the hands of Leeds United, Hartlepool United and Walsall.
Their season eventually kicked off on August 23rd with a 1-0 win over Peterborough, and they went on a 13 game unbeaten run which included 11 wins.
Since then Nigel Adkins' side have kept up the pressure on the league leaders Leicester City and Peterborough and they will remain in the top six whatever happens in League 1 this weekend, with nearest rivals Tranmere Rovers currently sitting four points behind them.
Luton on the other hand know they will have achieved virtually the unachievable if they can remain in the league come the end of the season after starting the season on minus 30 points.
But despite their recent 4-2 defeat against Rotherham they still have a hope of avoiding the drop with 18 points still to play for and just 11 points adrift of safety.
The 2-2 draw with Chester City on January 13th 2009 went down in history as the day Mick Harford's side got back to zero points but things could have been so much better had they not surrendered a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Chris Martin and Lewis Emmanuel to only take a point from the Deva Stadium.
Head to Head
The two teams have only met 12 times in history and it is the Iron who have the slight advantage, having won six times, while Luton have won four and two matches have ended all square.
The last time the two sides met was on 16th February 2002 when Sc***horpe secured a 3-2 win at Kenilworth Road. Peter Beagrie fired them into an early lead before Steve Howard equalised. Wayne Graves then put the visitors back in front before Matt Taylor thought he'd secured a draw for Luton, scoring with just 12 minutes to go but there was still time for Matt Sparrow to bag the winner in the 90th minute.
There result was obviously disappointing for Luton but that was quickly forgotten as they secured second place in the old Second Division to win promotion.
Route to the Final
Sc***horpe
The Iron kicked off their 2008/09 Johnstone's Paint Trophy campaign with a last gasp double-salvo from striker Paul Hayes. Having trailed for over 80 minutes to their opponents Notts County, the 25-year-old stuck two injury time goals to record a deserved, if not slightly nervy, 2-1 home victory.Next up at home were Grimsby Town where two first half goals from Sam Togwell and Ian Morris proved enough to stop the Mariners from progressing any further.
Into the Area Quarter-Finals and the Iron were once again drawn to play at home. A 1-0 win over League 2 side Rochdale was enough to see off the Dale's challenge, Iron defender David Mirfin netting an injury time header.
Glanford Park then played host to Tranmere Rovers in the Area Semi-Finals. The home side once again managing to secure victory with a one goal deficit, Paul Hayes scoring an injury time winner to win the match 2-1 and leave the Iron just two matches away from the final at Wembley.
Rotherham provided the opposition in the Area Final but most of the hard work was done in the first leg, at Glanford Park, as second half goals from Martyn Woolford and Krystian Pearce gave Nigel Adkins side a 2-0 lead.
The return match at the Don Valley stadium looked to be heading towards a goalless draw, which would have been enough to send Sc***horpe to Wembley, but Gary Hooper scored his 21st goal of the season to secure victory and set up Sunday's clash.
Luton Town
The Hatters were given a bye for the first round of the competition, and narrowly avoided defeat in their second round game against Brentford at Kenilworth Road. Like Brighton, Luton were involved in a 2-2 draw, and found enough in the tank to knock the Bees out on penalties.
Into the Quarter-Finals and League 1 side Walsall were next up for the Hatters. Arguably a daunting prospect given the difference in their respective league positions, but Harford's side displayed more passion and hunger on the night, and thanks to Rossi Jarvis's late winner Luton moved into the Area Semi-Finals.
Their next opponents were Colchester United, another League 1 club looking to edge a step closer to April's final at Wembley. However, the Hatters once again surprised a few people by winning 1-0, this time right-back Claude Gnakpa netting the only goal of the game.
Brighton & Hove Albion provided Luton's opposition in Southern Area Section Final and there was little to choose between the two sides.
The first match, at the Withdean Stadium, ended goalless and set up a perfectly balanced second leg at Kenilworth Road.
The match sprung to life after just two minutes, when Tom Craddock fired the home side ahead but the joy was short-lived as Nicky Forster equalised 18 minutes later.
Brighton's task was made more difficult on the stroke of halftime as David Livermore was sent off but the Hatters couldn't break down the 10 men and the game went to penalties, which Luton won 4-3 to earn their place at Wembley.
Match Officials
Referee: Phil Crossley
Assistants: Dave McCallum and David Unsworth
Fourth Official: Richard Beeby