1987–88 Football League Trophy
The Football League Trophy 1987–88, known as the Sherpa Van Trophy 1987–88 for sponsorship reasons (although the competition began under its previous title of the Freight Rover Trophy), was the 5th staging of the Football League Trophy, a knockout competition for English football clubs in the Third and Fourth Divisions (now known as League One and Two).
The winners were Wolverhampton Wanderers, who defeated Burnley 2–0 in the final. This marked the only time two previous English champions have met in the final of this competition, and made Wolves the only former champions to have won the trophy.
The competition began on 13 October 1987 and ended with the final on 29 May 1988. The tournament begins with clubs divided into a Northern and a Southern section, and teams entering a preliminary group stage. Each section then gradually eliminates the qualifying 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.
Group 1
Oct 13Rochdale 0–0 Tranmere Rovers
Oct 27Tranmere Rovers 1–2 Burnley
Nov 24Burnley 3–2 Rochdale
Group 4
Oct 13Wigan Athletic 2–2 Crewe Alexandra
Nov 24Bury 5–2 Wigan Athletic
Dec 04Crewe Alexandra 0–0 Bury
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