Brentford 0-1 Carlisle
Carlisle United have their redemption. A year after being humbled by Southampton in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy final the team from Cumbria made the long journey back to Wembley to triumph with a display that was as restricted in the second half as it had been rampant in the first. The loss of control mattered little, however, given that Brentford's eventual domination failed to yield a single shot on target.
Such a lack of potency will haunt the Londoners as they reflect on defeat but should not concern Carlisle as they revel in overcoming their own bad luck in this competition. After all, this was a record sixth appearance in the final for Carlisle but only their second triumph, after the previous win in 1997. Victory was also a source of personal atonement within the Carlisle ranks. Their winning goal was scored by the centre-back Peter Murphy, who has featured in three of the club's final defeats and was directly at fault for Southampton's opener 12 months ago. The 30-year-old went from villain to hero and sent the 14,000 supporters gathered in blue into raptures with a strike of eye-catching quality.
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