| Event | 2010–11 FA Trophy | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Afterextra time | |||||||
| Date | 7 May 2011 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Referee | Stuart Attwell | ||||||
| Attendance | 24,668 | ||||||
←2010 2012 → | |||||||
The2011 FA Trophy Final was the 42nd final ofthe Football Association's cup competition for levels 5–8 of theEnglish football league system. The match was contested byMansfield Town andDarlington. Neither team had ever reached the FA trophy final before, and had only recently become eligible for the FA trophy afterMansfield Town were relegated fromLeague Two in2008 andDarlington were relegated fromLeague Two in2010.
Mansfield Town defeatedWorksop Town,Newport County,Alfreton Town,Chasetown, andLuton Town en route to the Final.[1]
Darlington defeatedTamworth,Bath City,A.F.C. Telford United,Salisbury City, andGateshead en route to the final.[2]
Darlington won 1–0 inextra time, after the match had ended in a 0–0draw. The goal was scored by Chris Senior in the 119th minute, seconds before the match was due to end in apenalty shoot-out.
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 14 December 2010First round | Worksop Town | 0–5 | Mansfield Town | New Manor Ground |
| 19:45 | [3] | Parker 17'Briscoe 45'Duffy 51'Grand 65'Medley 90' | Attendance: 682 |
| 15 January 2011Second round | Mansfield Town | 4–2 | Newport County | Field Mill |
| 15:00 | Connor 11',21' Parker 35'Briscoe 82' | [4] | Morgan 60' Matthews 80' | Attendance: 1,137 |
| 5 February 2011Third round | Mansfield Town | 1–1 | Alfreton Town | Field Mill |
| 15:00 | Connor 46' | [5] | Arnold 45+1' | Attendance: 3,408 |
| 8 February 2011Third Round, replay | Alfreton Town | 1–2 | Mansfield Town | Impact Arena |
| 19:45 | Connor 60' Parker 77' | [6] | Wilson 16' | Attendance: 2,131 |
| 1 March 2011Fourth round | Chasetown | 2–2 | Mansfield Town | Scholar's Ground |
| 19:45 | Turner 59' Davies 90' | [7] | Connor 35' Briscoe 74' | Attendance: 2,000 |
| 8 March 2011Fourth Round, replay | Mansfield Town | 3–1 | Chasetown | Field Mill |
| 19:45 | Murray 35' Briscoe 56'Mitchley 75' | [8] | Jevons 52' | Attendance: 2,295 |
| 13 March 2011Semi-final, 1st leg | Mansfield Town | 1–0 | Luton Town | Field Mill |
| 12:00 | Mitchley 62' | [9] | Attendance: 3,208 |
| 19 March 2011Semi-final, 2nd leg | Luton Town | 1–1 Agg. 1–2 | Mansfield Town | Kenilworth Road |
| 15:00 | Owusu 46' | [10] | Briscoe 118' | Attendance: 6,133 |
| Date | Home team | Score | Away team | Venue |
| 14 December 2010First round | Darlington | 3–2 | Tamworth | The Darlington Arena |
| 19:45 | Main 47',67' Verma 79' | [11] | Rodman 58' Sheridan 70' | Attendance: 432 |
| 15 January 2011Second round | Darlington | 4–1 | Bath City | The Darlington Arena |
| 15:00 | Arnison 40',44' Hatch 50'Verma 70' | [12] | Connolly 61' | Attendance: 926 |
| 5 February 2011Third round | A.F.C. Telford United | 0–3 | Darlington | Bucks Head |
| 15:00 | [13] | Smith 2' Verma 73'Modest 90' | Attendance: 1,505 |
| 26 February 2011Fourth round | Darlington | 2–1 | Salisbury | The Darlington Arena |
| 15:00 | Smith 71' Hatch 75' | [14] | Clarke 90' | Attendance: 1,869 |
| 12 March 2011Semi-final, 1st leg | Darlington | 3–2 | Gateshead | The Darlington Arena |
| 15:00 | Bridge-Wilkinson 55' Hatch 76',83' | [15] | Fisher 20' Rundle 44' | Attendance: 4,208 |
| 19 March 2011Semi-final, 2nd leg | Gateshead | 0–0 Agg. 2–3 | Darlington | Gateshead International Stadium |
| 15:00 | [16] | Attendance: 5,156 |
The final was played on 7 May 2011 atLondon'sWembley Stadium.Darlington defeatedMansfield Town 1–0 after extra time, thanks to a goal from striker Chris Senior. This was the first time that Darlington had scored at Wembley in three visits to the national stadium.[17]
The game was a particularly even affair with both sides carving out early chances. Darlington goalkeeperSam Russell had to be alert early on to clear anAdam Murray pass which had sentDuncan Russell clean through on goal. At the other end,Alan Marriott did well to punch away a corner fromAaron Brown beforeLiam Hatch could get his head on it. In the 18th minute, a Mansfield corner was met by the head of former Darlington captainSteve Foster, but the ball sailed well over the bar.[18] On 32 minutes,Gary Smith broke into the Mansfield, where he appeared to be brought down byLouis Briscoe. Referee Stuart Attwell, who was well placed, waved away the penalty appeals.[18] Darlington suffered a blow on 38 minutes when Smith, who had been lively in midfield, limped off to be replaced by Aman Verma. The first half of the match concluded with the score at 0–0.
Despite Darlington dominating the opening exchanges of the second half, Mansfield created an excellent chance when Briscoe took on two players from the right and his cross-shot was deflected just over the bar by his team-matePaul Connor.[17]
After 58 minutes Darlington had an excellent chance to take the lead. John Campbell broke clear down the left hand side of the pitch and crossed low forTommy Wright; the striker took too long, however, and Mansfield were able to clear for a corner.[18] Both sides traded attacks, none of which came to much, before Darlington were awarded an 89th minute free-kick 25 yards out, following an unfair challenge on Verma.Marc Bridge-Wilkinson took the free-kick, which clattered against Marriott's right hand post, with the Mansfield 'keeper well beaten.[17][18]
In the dying seconds of normal time, Bridge-Wilkinson crossed into the box where Wright headed wide with a diving attempt. When the whistle blew for the end of normal time, the match remained at 0–0.
Both teams created chances, during an extra time period marked by both teams increasing fatigue. During extra-time, Darlington replaced Bridge-Wilkinson withPaul Terry, while Mansfield brought onDanny Mitchley for Murray. During a fraught final period of extra time Mansfield threatened whenAshley Cain's cross reached the far post where Connor headed narrowly over the bar. Then, eight minutes from time,Chris Moore forced a Darlington corner. Brown took it and Wright headed against the post, beforeIan Miller forced a fine save from Marriott.
As a penalty shoot-out loomed over the match, Darlington created one last chance. In the 119th minute, an Aaron Brown long throw was flicked on by Miller and found Wright, who got to the ball ahead of Marriott to send a looping header towards the Mansfield goal. The ball hit the bar before falling to Chris Senior who headed into the roof of the net to send the Darlington fans into raptures and secure an FA Trophy final victory for Darlington.[17][18]
| Mansfield Town | 0–1 (a.e.t.) | Darlington |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Senior 119'[19] |
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