Stockport County reached the Vertu Trophy final for the first time since 1993, as they overcame Doncaster Rovers at the Eco-Power Stadium.
Ollie Norwood’s free kick after 11 minutes was the difference between the two sides, but did we learn from this semi final?
Grant McCann overhauled his side following their 0-4 loss to League One leaders Cardiff.
The Rovers manager made nine changes from that defeat, including dropping key players Luke Molyneux and Owen Bailey.
McCann was perhaps keeping the faith in the players who had got the South Yorkshire side to the last four.
However, his side were outfought and outrun by Stockport, especially in the first period, meaning questions will be asked of McCann as to whether he should have made so many changes.
Rovers mustered just two shots in the first half compared to County’s 12, and were lucky to be just one down at the interval.
After four changes made by McCann at half time, including Molyneux and Bailey, Rovers looked brighter, but couldn’t carve out the equaliser, leaving the Rovers boss scratching his head.
Goalscorer Ollie Norwood was named Man of the Match by Sky Sports, and it was a justified pick, as his quality shone through to get Stockport over the line.
His early free kick dipped up and over the Doncaster wall into the bottom corner for the only goal of the game on 11 minutes.
He could have added a second soon after, but his effort was tipped over by Rovers keeper Zander Clark, as it searched for the top corner.
Norwood has proved to be an important presence for Stockport all season.
When he was missing, particularly in November, Stockport struggled.
County won just one in five league games in that month whilst Norwood was injured, which saw them fall from the top of the league, to sixth.
Since the turn of the year, Stockport have lost just four of their 12 league games coinciding with Norwood’s return, as they look to cement their playoff position.
His calming presence in the middle of the park helped County play easily around a ragged Doncaster midfield last night, and book a spot at Wembley.
One of the nine changes made by Doncaster Rovers last night was the return of Hearts loanee Zander Clark between the sticks.
The Scotsman returned to action after he got injured in the warm up ahead of Rovers 1-2 win vs Burton on February 3.
In his absence, another loanee, Thimothee Lo-Tutala has filled his position.
Lo-Tutala was named player of the round in the quarter final, after he saved three penalties vs Huddersfield, as well as six saves in normal time.
Despite the eyebrows raised at the selection, Zander Clark justified his pick, as he kept Rovers in the tie, making nine saves in the 90 minutes to keep Stockport at just one goal.
This will now leave McCann wondering who to play on the weekend vs Plymouth, as Rovers look to plug their leaky defence in their bid to stay up.
Another talking point for the semi final concerned the attendance numbers.
Inside Doncaster Rovers’ 15,000 seater stadium, just 5,418 were there to watch their side be 90 minutes away from Wembley.
Throughout the tournament, the numbers inside stadiums have been very low.
A question as to whether the tournament needs a revamp to help attendances remains.
Since the addition of Premier League U21 clubs, many fans believe it has undermined the competition and made it lose its value over the last few years.
For example, Doncaster’s last EFL Trophy semi final vs Crewe in 2007, saw them rake in a 12,561 attendance, nearly 7,000 more than last nights game.
Despite both sides being just 90 minutes from Wembley, the numbers did not back it up and it can come with risks such as sponsorships, who are the ones to provide valuable income to the teams.
