Vertu Trophy To Crown New Winners As Holders Bow Out

A new name will appear on the Vertu Trophy at the end of the season after Peterborough United bowed out of the 2025/26 competition in the Round of 32.

An action-packed evening of games in the competition also saw the four highest ranked teams knocked out whilst the lowest ranked side moved a step closer to a Wembley final.

Northern Section:

Bolton Wanderers are the highest-placed side to have confirmed a spot in the Round of 16 after a night of surprises, with Ibrahim Cissoko hitting a double in a 3-0 victory against Bradford City at the Toughsheet Stadium.

Doncaster Rovers enjoyed a straightforward win against League Two Chesterfield with veteran Billy Sharp amongst the scorers, whilst there was also big wins for Rotherham United – who hit seven goals away at Salford City – and for League One strugglers Port Vale, who scored twice in the opening ten minutes before going on to beat Barnsley 5-0.

Huddersfield Town saw off the challenge of Lincoln City at Sincil whilst three second half goals allowed Fleetwood Town to see off Tranmere Rovers in an all-League Two affair.

One of the surprises of the evening rounded out the Northern Section games, with Harrogate Town making light of their position in the bottom two of League Two to beat Blackpool.

Harrogate had raced into a 3-0 lead within the first 20 minutes before Blackpool threatened a dramatic comeback, only for a late strike from Jack Muldoon – his second of the game – to seal the deal.

The tie between Crewe Alexandra and Stockport County takes place this evening.

Southern Section:

Having won the competition for the past two seasons, Peterborough United’s quest to secure a third win in a row came to an end against Swindon Town, with Ollie Clarke bagging the winning goal with just minutes of the game remaining.

The top two teams in League one also bowed out, with a young Cardiff City side being thrashed 5-1 at home by AFC Wimbledon – who saw Aron Sasu score four times.

Stevenage meanwhile were also beaten at home despite taking the lead against Walsall, with Rico Richards netting twice to put the League Two leaders through to the next round.

Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle – two sides relegated from the Championship last season – made it to the Round of 16 with victories against Exeter City and Leyton Orient respectively, with Northampton Town beating 2024 finalists Wycombe Wanderers.

Bristol Rovers against Cambridge United was the only tie to go to penalties, with the visitors coming back from 2-0 down to equalise through a Sullay Kaikai penalty deep into stoppage time.

However, Kaikai was amongst those to miss in the shootout as Bristol Rovers progressed 4-2.

Colchester United and West Ham United U21 will play their Round of 32 tie on 9 December.

Bold denotes League One side