1988 Associate Members' Cup final

The 1988 Associate Members' Cup Final, known as the Sherpa Van Trophy Final for sponsorship reasons, was the 5th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from the Third and Fourth Divisions.

1988 Associate Members' Cup Final

Event	1987–88 Associate Members' Cup
Burnley Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 2
Date	29 May 1988
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match	Floyd Streete (Wolves)
Referee	Roger Milford (Somerset)
Attendance	80,841

The final was played at Wembley Stadium in London on 29 May 1988, The game was contested by Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers before a crowd of 80,841, a then record for the trophy, which was not bettered until the 2019 final between Sunderland and Portsmouth. Wolves won the match 2–0 thanks to goals in either half by Andy Mutch and Robbie Dennison.

Background

The match took place three weeks after the end of the domestic league programme. Wolves had already won the Fourth Division title in their second ever season at that level, and boasted the division's top goalscorer in Steve Bull (34 league goals; 52 in total). Burnley had finished tenth in the division and would take four further seasons before being promoted. Wolves had won both league games between the two clubs that season 3–0.

It was the first time in the cup's history that two previous English champions met in the final, and Wolves were the first of the former champions to have won the trophy.

In a further twist of irony, Burnley and Wolves had contested the English league title between the two of them only twenty-eight years previously, Burnley emerging as champions on the final day of the 1959–60 season by a point (denying Wolves, FA Cup winners that season, the first English League and Cup 'double' of the 20th Century.)

Match details

29 May 1988

15:00 BST

Burnley	0–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers
		Mutch 23' Dennison 51'

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 80,841

Referee: Roger Milford (Somerset)

Burnley

Wolverhampton Wanderers

GK 1 Chris Pearce RB 2 Peter Daniel LB 3 Ray Deakin (c) CM 4 Ian Britton CB 5 Steve Davis CB 6 Steve Gardner RM 7 Andy Farrell CF 8 George Oghani CF 9 Steve Taylor CM 10 Paul Comstive LM 11 Shaun McGrory  61' Substitutes: DF 12 Ashley Hoskin MF 14 Leighton James  61' Manager: Brian Miller

GK 1 Mark Kendall RB 2 Gary Bellamy LB 3 Andy Thompson CB 4 Floyd Streete CB 5 Ally Robertson (c)  47' CM 6 Phil Robinson RM 7 Robbie Dennison CM 8 Keith Downing CF 9 Steve Bull CF 10 Andy Mutch LM 11 Micky Holmes  45' Substitutes: MF 12 Nigel Vaughan  45' FW 14 Jackie Gallagher  47' Manager: Graham Turner

MATCH OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Dennis Palmer (Avon) Graham Butland (Chelmsford) Reserve referee: Michael Peck (Kendal)

MATCH RULES 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Two named substitutes Maximum of two substitutions.

Road to Wembley

See also: 1987–88 Associate Members' Cup

Burnley

Northern Section Group 1 Tranmere Rovers 1–2 Burnley Northern Section Group 1 Burnley 3–2 Rochdale Northern Section First Round Burnley 1–0 Chester City Northern Section Quarter-finals Bury 0–1 Burnley Northern Section Semi-final Burnley 0–0 Halifax Town   Burnley won 5–3 on Penalties Northern Section Final 1st Leg Burnley 0–0 Preston North End Northern Section Final 2nd Leg Preston North End 1–3 Burnley

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Southern Section Group 1 Swansea City 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Southern Section Group 1 Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–1 Bristol City Southern Section First Round Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–0 Brentford Southern Section Quarter-finals Wolverhampton Wanderers 4–0 Peterborough United Southern Section Semi-final Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–0 Torquay United Southern Section Final 1st Leg Notts County 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers Southern Section Final 2nd Leg Wolverhampton Wanderers 3–0 Notts County

External links

• Official website