[Lord Snooty]

Big game tonight. Harrogate need a point to win the group. Newcastle win and that's us finishing top with a home draw in round 2.

[Lord Snooty]

The Vertu Round of 32 draw will take place live on Sky Sports News on Thursday, 13 November at 2.30pm.

Sky Sports’ Will Perry will host the draw alongside former Ipswich Town captain, Luke Chambers and former Jamaican international, Jobi McAnuff.

[theo_luddite]

The Prince formerly known as Andrew and his former missus aren't available then? They could do with the appearance money, apparently.

[Lord Snooty]

Half time at Wetherby Road. One all.

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The Sulphurics are back in the lead. 2-1.

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3-1 now. I think we're going to have settle for runners up.

[Lord Snooty]

We're in Pot A of the draw and will be away to either Salford, Tranmere, Doncaster or Lincoln.

[theo_luddite]

images edited out

[Lord Snooty]

It's Lincoln away.

[Lord Snooty]

Northern Section
Lincoln City v Huddersfield Town
Doncaster Rovers v Chesterfield
Tranmere Rovers v Fleetwood Town
Salford City v Rotherham United
Port Vale v Barnsley
Harrogate Town v Blackpool
Bolton Wanderers v Bradford City
Crewe Alexandra v Stockport County

Southern Section
Bristol Rovers v Cambridge United
Swindon Town v Peterborough United
Cardiff City v AFC Wimbledon
Northampton Town v Wycombe Wanderers
Colchester United v West Ham United U21
Luton Town v Exeter City
Stevenage v Walsall
Leyton Orient v Plymouth Argyle

[Lord Snooty]

Huddersfield Town travel to Lincolnshire to play Lincoln City at the LNER Stadium on Tuesday night for the 2nd round of this season's Vertu Trophy. It's an early kick off. Sevon o'clock, so don't be late.

The big question about the team selection will be surrounding the goalkeeping position. Fans have been very critical of the manager and his insistence of playing the erratic Owen Goodman ahead of the safe pair of hands of Lee Nicholls. Whichever one of them played in the group games, didn't play in the following league match, so a lot of people will be hoping Goodman gets the nod in this one.

It's understandable why the fans are frustrated. Despite being the slowest goalie we've ever had when it comes to getting things going, Nicholls is very popular with supporters. From his debut when he won us a penalty shoot out in the League Cup at Hillsborough, to winning the Player of the Season in 2022, to this season winning us another couple of penalty shoot outs, his ratings are growing even higher with every mistake that Goodman makes. He's getting more popular by doing nothing.

So what about the rest of the line up? Surely Alfie May and Joe Taylor will be getting a start after suspension and lack of form, with Bojan Radulovic and Dion Charles rested for the big one on Saturday down in Cardiff.

Radinio Balker will more than likely sit this one out as well, with Murray Wallace due a start after being out injured for a few weeks. But the rest of the team is anybody's guess. Do you have any opinions on team selection, dear reader?


Tickets:

Adults - £12
Concessions (65s and Over/ 18-21-year-olds) - £7
Under 18s - £2



Lincoln City in the EFL Trophy: The Imps have started this season's competition like the England men's national football team in World Cup qualification, by winning every game without conceding. Only three matches, but still impressive, beating Notts County and the Manchester United under 21s both by three goals to nil at home, before ending the group stage by winning 2-0 away at Barnsley. Eight goals, none conceded and seven different scorers. Just James Collins scoring twice.

Back in time to the 1982/83 season, they got to the Final of the competition that was the fore runner to the Football League Trophy, the Football League Group Trophy. Not sure why this isn't counted in the competition's statistics as it seems exactly the same criteria for what it became in the next season. Anyway, they played Millwall in that Final and got beat 3-2.

In the second season of the official competition, calling itself at this stage, the Associate Members Cup, they reached the Northern semi final, losing that to Wigan Athletic.

They were relegated in 1987 to the Conference League and so missed out on participating in this fabulous competition, but that was just for one season as they bounced straight back up again. They had no success though, getting knocked out in the first round for the next five seasons, before reaching the Northern semi final again in 93/94. They were beaten this time by Carlisle United, who in turn were beaten in the Northern Final by Huddersfield Town.

The following season, they made it through the group stage to be drawn to play away against Huddersfield Town at the McAlpine Stadium. A famous match in the history of football in that it was the first ever game to be decided by the Golden Goal rule. After 90 minutes play, with the teams locked at two goals each, the match went to extra time. And in front of a massive crowd of 5,738 (massive by today's Trophy standards), it was Iain Dunn who scored the goal to end the match before the thirty minutes had been completed.

They reached the Northern semis again two years later, getting beaten by Wrexham this time, but went one better two years after that by reaching the Northern Final in 2001. This was played over two legs, but after a disappointing 2-0 defeat at home to Port Vale, they couldn't get it back in the second leg and went out 2-0 on aggregate.

They were relegated to the Conference again in 2011 and so missed six years of entries to the finest Football League Trophy competition in the world. But when they did get back up into the EFL, under the leadership of Danny and Nicky Cowley, they only went and won it at the first attempt. It was known as the Checkatrade Trophy by this time and they won all three matches in the group stage against Mansfield Town, Notts County and the Everton u21s.

They then beat Accrington Stanley at home and Rochdale away to set up a semi final meeting with Chelsea's under 21s. Chelsea had some familiar names in their line up. Youngsters like Ethan Ampadu, Dujon Sterling and Callum Hudson-Odoi, as well as future Huddersfield Town and England star, Trevoh Chalobah lined up for the match at Sincil Bank.

Luke Waterfall scored for the Imps in the second half, but Daishawn Redan equalised soon after and so after a drawn 90 minutes the match went straight to a penalty shoot out. Not a straight forward shoot out though. This was played under the experimental ABBA system. Lincoln missed first, then Chelsea scored and missed. Lincoln then scored the next two, followed by a success and a failure for Chelsea. Keeping up? It's now 2-2 but the Imps will be taking the next two shots. They scored them both and won the shoot out 4-2.

Do I think they did the right thing dropping ABBA? I do, I do, I do, I do, I do.

(Please feel free to post your own ABBA puns)

So Lincoln went to Wembley for the first time in their history, to play Shrewsbury Town, who had current England goalkeeper, Dean Henderson between the sticks. It didn't help them as Elliott Whitehouse scored the only goal of the game to bring the Trophy home to Lincoln.

A couple of seasons later, after a 1-0 EFL Cup victory at the John Smith's Stadium, the Cowley brothers left Lincoln to manage Huddersfield Town. The Imps almost got back to Wembley. Almost. They drew 1-1 with Sunderland in the semi finals, but lost 5-3 on pens, behind closed doors at the Stadium of Light.

Last season, they reached the third round, where they did the same as us, getting knocked out by Bolton Wanderers.




Northern Group D:
Sep 2: Lincoln 3-0 Notts Co
Sep 30: Lincoln 3-0 Man Utd u21s
Nov 11: Barnsley 0-2 Lincoln


Northern Group F:
Sep 2: Town 6-2 Newcastle u21
Sep 30 Harrogate 1-0 Town
Nov 4: Town 3-1 Mansfield

[theo_luddite]

The Shrews have had a few "England keepers to be on loan" or permanent over the years, including Joe Hart, though he was also born in the town. Then again, England used to train at all levels at Lilleshall, about 30-40 minutes down the road, so it wasn't too hard to go talent spotting.

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What has that to do with the Imps? Bugger all. Henderson? Maybe.