25/04 - 20:00
26/04 - 20:00
On the afternoon of Sunday 2nd April, Plymouth Argyle take on Bolton Wanderers at Wembley Stadium in the EFL Trophy final. For both clubs, winning the cup competition will mean a lot – but maybe for different reasons.
It is set to be Argyle’s third trip to the national stadium and, as of yet, the Devon club are yet to add a cup trophy to their cabinet, alongside several promotions in the third and fourth tier. The fans are eyeing up a potential double with the League One title a real possibility and that would, potentially, signal the greatest season in the club’s history.
Bolton Wanderers, on the other hand, are heading to Wembley for the 14th time; only nine teams have been for a ‘neutral’ game more frequently. Yet, given their turbulent recent past, it is a significant marker on what their supporters believe to be ‘the way back’. They, too, are in a promotion race in League One as they seek a top six finish and playoff football.
ROUTE TO THE FINAL
Plymouth Argyle have reached the 2022/23 EFL Trophy final with some fairly dramatic matches in the knockout stages. They waltzed through the group with eight points from three games thanks to a penalty shootout victory over Bristol Rovers in the opening match. Penalty shootout wins against Gloucestershire opposition would prove to be a good omen later in the campaign.
Their second round tie saw them come from behind to defeat Charlton Athletic at Home Park before a dramatic third round encounter. At half-time, Argyle trailed League Two AFC Wimbledon by three goals to nil before a second-half Sam Cosgrove hat-trick set up another win on penalties. They cruised past Bristol Rovers in the quarters before defeating Cheltenham Town, once again on penalties, in the semi-final. They fell behind in that game, too.
Bolton Wanderers have scored 52 and conceded 31 goals in League One this season. Those 83 goals mean there is an average of 2.18 goals per game in Trotters’ league games this year. In their first five EFL Trophy matches this season, though, there was an average of 4.2 goals per game before back-to-back clean sheet victories in the quarters and semis.
Wanderers’ route to Wembley has been a lot more straight-forward than their opponents with only one game requiring a penalty shootout and that coming in the group stages against Tranmere Rovers. Aside from Rovers, they have seen off Crewe, Leeds, Manchester United U21’s, Portsmouth and Accrington.
SEASON SO FAR
Under the management of Steven Schumacher, Plymouth missed out on a playoff berth on the final day of last season in League One. This time around, though, The Pilgrims sit at the top-of-the-table with eight games of the 2022/23 campaign to go. They are five points clear of third-place Ipswich Town, albeit The Tractor Boys do have a game in hand.
Their home form has been absolutely exceptional so far this season with 17 victories and a draw in their 19 games so far. They have eight more points than the next best home team this season. Despite being league leaders, though, only eight teams have conceded more goals away from home in League One.
That statistic, as well as an injury to goalkeeper Michael Cooper, who could and should be described as, quite simply, a Premier League player playing in League One, should give Bolton Wanderers, the clear underdogs, some hope of springing a Wembley surprise.
The Trotters head into the final on the back of just one victory in their last six League One games but, despite not playing any league football for three weeks by the time they play Exeter on Good Friday, they look set to remain in the top six and the playoff places, just about.
Earlier on in the season, Argyle defeated Bolton by two goals to nil at Home Park in August before the two sides shared a goalless draw in early January.
WHAT IT MEANS
The League One league leaders have only played at Wembley Stadium twice before. Once in their 2015/16 League Two playoff final defeat to AFC Wimbledon and the other in 1996, when they defeated Darlington in old Third Division playoff final.
The club, founded in 1886, have been promoted into the second-tier as champions on four occasions but have never been promoted into the top-flight. They have also never managed to add a cup trophy alongside promotion so it could well be argued that this next month and a bit represents an opportunity to become Plymouth’s most memorable, or even greatest, season ever.
In the last half a decade or so, they have been one of the most well run and organised clubs in the country, particularly with the intelligence and breadth of their recruitment. Steven Schumacher has overseen an excellent ‘on pitch’ performance this year and outlined his pride after the semi-final victory over Cheltenham:
“It’s only the third time that Argyle have been to Wembley in the club’s history, and to be only the third manager to take the team there is something I’m really proud of.”
Bolton Wanderers, on the other hand, will simply be thankful their club exists after a decade in which they have been on the verge of extinction more than once.
A day out at Wembley Stadium to potentially win a cup is something generations of Trotters’ fans have lived through and seen but, for a long time for many people, it seemed as though those days hadn’t just come to an end but had been ripped from them with an agonising descent.
Many Bolton fans will also wish to distance themselves from potentially a ‘wishy-washy’ nostalgic premise and like to simply acknowledge the miraculous work of being lifted from a League Two relegation battle in February 2021 to a potential playoff/Trophy double in the spring of 2023. As Ian Evatt, who has masterminded the first part of what they see as a journey back to the top, said:
“For the players, I thought they deserved a big day at Wembley. They’re a great group, they’re so together. The injured ones were here, the lads who have joined us on loan.
Most importantly, the fans. They’ve been through so much and now, to have a Wembley cup final is something to be incredibly proud of.”
The final is the beginning of a hectic schedule between now and the end of the season for both sides. Both teams will play eight League One games before Sunday 8th May with The Pilgrims hoping no more games will be required, whilst Wanderers will be desperate to make it ten and then 11 games played by the end of May.
Sunday represents an opportunity for both teams to write a significant and new chapter in their history that contrasts with what has gone before. This could, arguably, become Argyle’s greatest, or at least most memorable campaign in terms of achievement, whilst four-time FA Cup winners Bolton are seeking to create further memories in the wake of some gut-wrenching lows in the 2010s.
With at least 70,000 pushing towards 75,000 spectators expected in attendance for a cup final between two third-tier sides, it is another sign of the depth of the English footballing pyramid.
📈 Most league points won in 2022 (top 4 tiers):
— playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) December 19, 2022
9⃣1⃣: Sheffield Wednesday
8⃣5⃣: Bristol Rovers
8⃣4⃣: Sheffield Utd
8⃣3⃣: Ipswich
8⃣2⃣: Bolton
7⃣9⃣: Mansfield, Northampton
7⃣8⃣: Exeter, Leyton Orient, Swindon
7⃣6⃣: Luton
7⃣5⃣: Man City#swfc #UTG #UTB #pafc #ITFC #BWFC #Stags pic.twitter.com/FFpDKdI905
