2023 EFL Trophy final

The 2023 EFL Trophy, known as the Papa Johns Trophy for sponsorship reasons, the 40th season in the history of the competition, is a knock-out tournament for clubs in EFL League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of the English football league system, as well as the "Academy teams" of 16 Premier League clubs with Category One status.^[1] With a crowd of 79,389, the Final was the highest attended match in Europe that week.^[2] Bolton defeated Plymouth 4–0, it was the biggest ever win in an EFL Trophy Final.^[3][4][5]

2023 EFL Trophy Final

Event	2022–23 EFL Trophy
Bolton Wanderers Plymouth Argyle 4 0
Date	2 April 2023
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Ben Toner
Attendance	79,389
← 2022 2024 →

Route to the final

Bolton Wanderers

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Bolton Wanderers	3	2	0	1	0	9	3	+6	7	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Tranmere Rovers	3	1	1	0	1	6	7	−1	5
3	ACA	Leeds United U21	3	1	0	1	1	5	6	−1	4
4	L2	Crewe Alexandra	3	0	1	0	2	1	5	−4	2

Source: EFL.com

Bolton Wanderers v Crewe Alexandra

30 August 2022 Group Stage	Bolton Wanderers	4–1	Crewe Alexandra	Bolton
19:00	Bakayoko 5' Charles 78', 89' Sadlier 86'		Baker-Richardson 16'	Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 2,115 Referee: Scott Oldham

Tranmere Rovers v Bolton Wanderers

20 September 2022 Group Stage	Tranmere Rovers	2–2 (5–4 p)	Bolton Wanderers	Tranmere
19:00	Morris 21' Lewis 40'		Sadlier 72' Carty 90+1'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 1,779 Referee: Martin Coy
	Penalties
	Hemmings Hughes McAlear Merrie Burton		Morley Afolayan Isgrove Sadlier Sheehan

Bolton Wanderers v Leeds United U21

18 October 2022 Group Stage	Bolton Wanderers	3–0	Leeds United U21	Bolton
19:00	Böðvarsson 14' Bakayoko 78' Sadlier 89'			Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 2,936 Referee: Peter Wright

Bolton Wanderers v Barrow

22 November 2022 Round of 32	Bolton Wanderers	3–2	Barrow	Bolton
19:45 GMT	Afolayan 23' Böðvarsson 38' Kachunga 69'	Report	Kay 42' Canavan 56'	Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 2,381 Referee: Rebecca Welch

Bolton Wanderers v Manchester United U21

13 December 2022 Round of 16	Bolton Wanderers	4–0	Manchester United U21	Bolton
19:45 GMT	Afolayan 68' Morley 76' Bakayoko 90+3' Bradley 90+5'	Report		Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 4,735 Referee: Martin Coy

Bolton Wanderers v Portsmouth

10 January 2023 Quarter-Final	Bolton Wanderers	1–0	Portsmouth	Bolton
19:45 GMT	Böðvarsson 17'	Report		Stadium: University of Bolton Stadium Attendance: 4,413 (304 Away) Referee: Bobby Madden

Accrington Stanley v Bolton Wanderers

22 February 2023 Semi-Final	Accrington Stanley	0–2	Bolton Wanderers	Accrington
20:00 GMT		Report	Kachunga 82' Morley 84'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 4,874 (2,625 Away) Referee: Samuel Barrott

Plymouth Argyle

Pos	Div	Team v t e	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Plymouth Argyle	3	2	1	0	0	5	2	+3	8	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Bristol Rovers	3	2	0	1	0	6	1	+5	7
3	ACA	Crystal Palace U21	3	1	0	0	2	2	3	−1	3
4	L2	Swindon Town	3	0	0	0	3	1	8	−7	0

Source: EFL.com

Plymouth Argyle v Bristol Rovers

30 August 2022 Group Stage	Plymouth Argyle	1–1 (4–3 p)	Bristol Rovers	Plymouth
19:00	Hardie 58' (pen.)		Loft 50'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 2,298 Referee: Carl Brook
	Penalties
	Azaz Randell Gillesphey Houghton Ennis		Collins Evans Greenslade McCormick Jones

Swindon Town v Plymouth Argyle

20 September 2022 Group Stage	Swindon Town	1–3	Plymouth Argyle	Swindon
19:00	Hepburn-Murphy 90+1'		Jenkins-Davies 28' Halls 30' Hardie 88'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,026 Referee: David Rock

Plymouth Argyle v Crystal Palace U21

18 October 2022 Group Stage	Plymouth Argyle	1–0	Crystal Palace U21	Plymouth
19:00	Ennis 90+1'			Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 1,918 Referee: Ben Speedie

Plymouth Argyle v Charlton Athletic

22 November 2022 Round of 32	Plymouth Argyle	3–2	Charlton Athletic	Plymouth
19:00 GMT	Cosgrove 13' Ennis 15' Roberts 46'	Report	Kanu 8' Anderson 90+2'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 1,394 Referee: Robert Lewis

Plymouth Argyle v AFC Wimbledon

21 December 2022 Round of 16	Plymouth Argyle	3–3 (a.e.t.) (4–3 p)	AFC Wimbledon	Plymouth
19:00 GMT	Cosgrove 61', 72', 76'		Hudlin 10', 17' Assal 45+1'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 1,747 Referee: Samuel Barrott
	Penalties
	Hardie Cosgrove Houghton Whittaker Mumba		Hudlin Towler Assal Fisher Chislett

Bristol Rovers v Plymouth Argyle

10 January 2023 Quarter-Final	Bristol Rovers	0–2	Plymouth Argyle	Bristol
19:45 GMT		Report	Waine 24' Hardie 32'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,742 Referee: Darren Drysdale

Plymouth Argyle v Cheltenham Town

21 February 2023 Semi-Final	Plymouth Argyle	1–1 (3–2 p)	Cheltenham Town	Plymouth
20:00 GMT	Hardie 63'	Report	May 49'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 12,047 Referee: Robert Lewis
	Penalties
	Hardie Cosgrove Azaz Gillesphey Houghton		Sercombe Brown Broom Bonds May

Match

Bolton Wanderers	4–0	Plymouth Argyle
Dempsey 4' Charles 10' Kachunga 49' Jones 62'	Report

2 April 2023

15:00 BST

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 79,389

Referee: Ben Toner

Bolton Wanderers

Plymouth Argyle

GK 19 James Trafford CB 2 Gethin Jones CB 5 Ricardo Santos (c) CB 18 Eoin Toal  86' RWB 21 Conor Bradley CM 16 Aaron Morley  82' CM 8 Josh Sheehan  82' LWB 3 Declan John AM 22 Kyle Dempsey  74' CF 10 Dion Charles  73' CF 24 Elias Kachunga Substitutions: GK 12 Joel Dixon DF 6 George Johnston  86' DF 27 Randell Williams MF 4 MJ Williams  82' MF 20 Kieran Lee  74' MF 25 George Thomason  82' FW 35 Cameron Jerome  73' Manager: Ian Evatt

GK 25 Callum Burton CB 5 James Wilson CB 6 Dan Scarr  51' CB 3 Macaulay Gillesphey  66' RWB 8 Joe Edwards (c) CM 4 Jordan Houghton CM 28 Jay Matete  45' LWB 17 Bali Mumba  73' AM 26 Callum Wright  54' AM 10 Danny Mayor  40'  45' CF 9 Ryan Hardie Substitutions: GK 32 Adam Parkes DF 21 Nigel Lonwijk DF 22 Brendan Galloway  66' MF 7 Matt Butcher  45' MF 18 Finn Azaz  54' FW 14 Mickel Miller  73' FW 16 Sam Cosgrove  45'  84' Manager: Steven Schumacher

References

1. "About The Competition". EFL.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
2. "Papa Johns Trophy Final highest attended match in Europe this weekend". EFL. 2 April 2023.
3. "Papa Johns Trophy final: Bolton Wanderers 4-0 Plymouth Argyle - Trotters thrash Pilgrims". BBC Sport. 1 April 2023.
4. "Bolton 4-0 Plymouth: Bolton reign at Wembley in one-sided Papa John's Trophy final". Sky Sports. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
5. "Bolton win EFL Trophy final after smashing four past Plymouth". Guardian. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.