2009 Football League Trophy final

2009 Football League Trophy Final
A scene of unmitigated jubilation. Viewed from the right, a crowd of men in a varying assortment of grey suits, navy tracksuits and white, orange and navy soccer attire celebrate together on a podium, many of them brandishing potent bottles of champagne. Some of the men wear straw boaters marked with white, orange and navy ribbons. One of the champagne bottles, which apparently was uncorked rather over-enthusiastically, can be seen in mid-air flying off the front of the podium, its contents flowing forth vigorously.
Luton Town staff and players celebrate their victory
Event2008–09 Football League Trophy
Luton Town Scunthorpe United
3 2
after extra time
Date5 April 2009
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchKevin Nicholls (Luton Town)
RefereePhil Crossley (Kent)
Attendance55,378
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The 2009 Football League Trophy Final was the 26th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from Football Leagues One and Two, the Football League Trophy. The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 5 April 2009, the second time that the final had been staged at the stadium since it was rebuilt. The match was contested between Luton Town and Scunthorpe United. Luton won the match 3–2 with Claude Gnakpa scoring the winner five minutes into extra-time.[1]

Luton's victory was a single positive note in an otherwise terrible season for the club. They started the season with a 30-point deduction imposed by the Football League and Football Association for various financial irregularities, despite the fact that these misdemeanours were carried out by the club's previous owners who had not been in charge since January 2008.[2] Despite accumulating enough points to mathematically remain in League Two, they were twelve points from safety when the final was played and were ultimately relegated out of the Football League.[3] They became the first club to win the Football League Trophy and suffer relegation from the Football League in the same season. As the competition is usually only contested by teams from Leagues One and Two, it was uncertain whether Luton could defend their trophy.[4] On 15 June 2009, Luton's request to play in the competition in 2009–10 was denied by the Football League.[5]

  1. ^ "Luton 3–2 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 5 April 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  2. ^ "Luton to face 30-points deduction". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  3. ^ Stafford, Mike (5 April 2009). "Luton get the last laugh with victory in the 'Paint Pot final'". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  4. ^ "Luton hope to defend trophy even if relegated". ESPN Soccernet. ESPN. 6 April 2009. Archived from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2009.
  5. ^ "Luton consider Trophy ban appeal". BBC Sport. 15 June 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2010.