1984–85 Associate Members' Cup

The 1984–85 Associate Members' Cup, known as the 1984–85 Freight Rover Trophy, was the second staging of the Associate Members' Cup, a knock-out competition for English football clubs in the Third Division and the Fourth Division. The winners were Wigan Athletic and the runners-up were Brentford.

The competition began on 22 January 1985 and ended with the final on 1 June 1985 at Wembley Stadium.

In the first round, there were two sections: North and South. In the following rounds each section gradually eliminates teams in knock-out fashion until each has a winning finalist. At this point, the two winning finalists faced each other in the combined final for the honour of the trophy.

First round

Northern Section Leg Date Home team Score Away team First Leg 22 January Bolton Wanderers 3–2 Crewe Alexandra Second Leg 5 February Crewe Alexandra 0–0 Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers won 3 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Doncaster Rovers 0–0 York City Second Leg 5 February York City 2–0 Doncaster Rovers York City won 2 – 0 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Hull City 2–2 Mansfield Town Second Leg 6 February Mansfield Town 2–1 Hull City Mansfield Town won 4 – 3 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Rotherham United 1–1 Chesterfield Second Leg 5 February Chesterfield 1–0 Rotherham United Chesterfield won 2 – 1 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Scunthorpe United 1–4 Bradford City Second Leg 6 February Bradford City 2–1 Scunthorpe United Bradford City won 6 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 23 January Blackpool 2–1 Tranmere Rovers Second Leg 29 January Tranmere Rovers 4–1 Blackpool Tranmere Rovers won 5 – 3 on aggregate First Leg 23 January Hartlepool United 2–1 Lincoln City Second Leg 6 February Lincoln City 4–0 Hartlepool United Lincoln City won 6 – 1 on aggregate First Leg 29 January Burnley 5–1 Stockport County Second Leg 4 February Stockport County 0–1 Burnley Burnley won 6 – 1 on aggregate First Leg 29 January Wrexham 2–2 Wigan Athletic Second Leg 5 February Wigan Athletic 3–1 Wrexham Wigan Athletic won 5 – 3 on aggregate First Leg 5 February Bury 1–1 Chester City Second Leg 20 February Chester City 1–2 Bury Bury won 3 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 5 February Rochdale 2–2 Preston North End Second Leg 19 February Preston North End 0–1 Rochdale Rochdale won 3 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 14 February Halifax Town 4–1 Darlington Second Leg 3 March Darlington 7–0 Halifax Town Darlington won 8 – 4 on aggregate

Southern Section Leg Date Home team Score Away team First Leg 22 January Leyton Orient 0–0 Aldershot Second Leg 5 February Aldershot 0–1 Leyton Orient Leyton Orient won 1 – 0 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Newport County 3–0 Exeter City Second Leg 6 February Exeter City 1–1 Newport County Newport County won 4 – 1 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Plymouth Argyle 2–1 Bournemouth Second Leg 5 February Bournemouth 2–0 Plymouth Argyle Bournemouth won 3 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Swansea City 2–0 Bristol Rovers Second Leg 19 March Bristol Rovers 0–0 Swansea City Swansea City won 2 – 0 on aggregate First Leg 22 January Torquay United 1–1 Swindon Town Second Leg 6 February Swindon Town 0–0 Torquay United Torquay United won penalties[1] First Leg 23 January Gillingham 2–2 Colchester United Second Leg 5 February Colchester United 2–0 Gillingham Colchester United won 4 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 23 January Peterborough United 2–1 Cambridge United Second Leg 5 February Cambridge United 2–0 Peterborough United Cambridge United won 3 – 2 on aggregate First Leg 29 January Port Vale 1–1 Northampton Town Second Leg 5 February Northampton Town 1–2 Port Vale Port Vale won 3 – 2 on aggregate[1] First Leg 6 February Derby County 1–0 Walsall Second Leg 19 February Walsall 5–3 Derby County Walsall won 5 – 4 on aggregate First Leg 6 February Hereford United 1–1 Bristol City Second Leg 20 February Bristol City 1–0 Hereford United Bristol City won 2 – 1 on aggregate First Leg 6 February Reading 1–3 Brentford Second Leg 26 February Brentford 2–0 Reading Brentford won 5 – 1 on aggregate First Leg 21 February Southend United 0–2 Millwall Second Leg 26 February Millwall 3–1 Southend United Millwall won 5 – 1 on aggregate

Second round

In this round, in each section, the 6 winners and the 2 "lucky losers" progressed to the quarter-finals. Lucky losers are marked with the letters ^LL.

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 19 February Bradford City 1–2 Mansfield Town 12 March Rochdale 0–1 Bolton Wanderers 12 March York City 1–0 Chesterfield 19 March Tranmere Rovers 2–2 Burnley^LL Tranmere Rovers won on penalties[1] 26 March Darlington^LL 1–3 Lincoln City 2 April Bury 0–1 Wigan Athletic

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 19 February Bournemouth 2–1 Torquay United 12 March Walsall 1–0 Colchester United 18 March Bristol City 2–1 Port Vale 19 March Brentford 1–0 Cambridge United 25 March Millwall^LL 2–3 Leyton Orient 4 April Newport County^LL 0–0 Swansea City Swansea City won on penalties[1]

Quarter-finals

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 20 March Mansfield Town 1–1 Burnley Mansfield Town won on penalties[1] 20 March Wigan Athletic 3–1 Tranmere Rovers 20 March Bolton Wanderers 2–1 Darlington 20 March York City 2–3 Lincoln City

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 11 April Swansea City 0–2 Brentford 18 April Bournemouth 2–1 Walsall 23 April Leyton Orient 4–2 Millwall 25 April Bristol City 1–2 Newport County

Area semi-finals

Northern Section Date Home team Score Away team 8 May Bolton Wanderers 1–2 Mansfield Town 8 May Lincoln City 1–3 Wigan Athletic

Southern Section Date Home team Score Away team 30 April Bournemouth 2–3 Brentford 8 May Leyton Orient 1–1 Newport County Newport County won on penalties[1]

Area finals

Northern Area final

20 May 1985

Mansfield Town	(1) 1 – 1 (3)	Wigan Athletic
		win on penalties[1]

Southern Area final

17 May 1985

Brentford	6–0	Newport County

Final

See also: 1985 Associate Members' Cup Final

1 June 1985

Wigan Athletic	3–1	Brentford
Newell  27' Kelly  38' Lowe  55'		Cooke  52'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 39,897

Referee: T.Bune (Newbury)

Notes

General

• statto.com

Specific

1. After extra-time.