2022–23 EFL Trophy

2022–23 EFL Trophy
Papa John's Trophy
Tournament details
Country	England; Wales
Teams	64
Final positions
Champions	Bolton Wanderers (2nd title)
Runner-up	Plymouth Argyle
Tournament statistics
Top goal scorer(s)	Tom Cannon (5 goals)
	← 2021–22 2023–24 ⊟

The 2022–23 EFL Trophy, known as the Papa John's Trophy for sponsorship reasons, the 42nd season in the history of the competition, was 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]

The defending champions were Rotherham United but they were unable to defend their trophy due to their promotion to the EFL Championship.

Bolton Wanderers won the trophy for the second time, defeating Plymouth Argyle 4–0 in the final.^[2]

Participating clubs

48 clubs from League One and League Two.
16 invited Category One Academy teams.

	League One	League Two	Academies
Clubs	Accrington Stanley Barnsley Bolton Wanderers Bristol Rovers Burton Albion Cambridge United Charlton Athletic Cheltenham Town Derby County Exeter City Fleetwood Town Forest Green Rovers Ipswich Town Lincoln City Milton Keynes Dons Morecambe Oxford United Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Portsmouth Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Wycombe Wanderers	AFC Wimbledon Barrow Bradford City Carlisle United Colchester United Crawley Town Crewe Alexandra Doncaster Rovers Gillingham Grimsby Town Harrogate Town Hartlepool United Leyton Orient Mansfield Town Newport County Northampton Town Rochdale Salford City Stevenage Stockport County Sutton United Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall	Arsenal Aston Villa Brighton & Hove Albion Chelsea Crystal Palace Everton Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Newcastle United Southampton Tottenham Hotspur West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Total	24	24	16

Eligibility criteria for players

For EFL clubs^[3]

Minimum of four qualifying outfield players in their starting XI. A qualifying outfield player was one who met any of the following requirements:
- Any player who started the previous or following first-team fixture.
- Any player who is in the top 10 players at the club who has made the most starting appearances in league and domestic cup competitions this season.
- Any player with forty or more first-team starting appearances in their career, including International matches.
- Any player on loan from a Premier League club or any EFL Category One Academy club.
A club can play any eligible goalkeeper in the competition.
Any player out on a long loan term at a National League, National League North, or National League South team can play as long as the loaning team agree to allow the player to return for the match.

For invited teams^[3]

Minimum of six players in the starting line-up who are aged under 21 on 30 June 2022.
Maximum of two players on the team sheet who are aged over 21 and have also made forty or more senior appearances.

Competition format

Group stage

Sixteen groups of four teams will be organised on a regionalised basis.
All groups will include one invited club.
All clubs will play each other once, either home or away (Academies will as always play all group matches away from home).
Clubs will be awarded three points for a win and one point for a draw.
In the event of a drawn game (after 90 minutes), a penalty shoot-out will be held with the winning team earning an additional point.
Clubs expelled from the EFL will be knocked out of the tournament automatically.
The top two teams in each group will progress to the knockout stage.

Knockout stage

Round 2 and 3 of the competition will be drawn on a regionalised basis.
In Round 2, the group winners will be seeded and the group runners-up will be unseeded in the draw.
In Round 2, teams who played in the same group as each other in the group stage will be kept apart.^[4]

Group stage

Northern Section

Group A

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Everton U21	3	1	1	1	0	10	4	6	6	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Morecambe	3	0	2	0	1	4	5	−1	4	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Harrogate Town	3	1	0	1	1	3	4	−1	4
4	L2	Hartlepool United	3	1	0	1	1	2	6	−4	4

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Hartlepool United	2–0	Harrogate Town	Hartlepool
19:00	Ndjoli 17', 33'			Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,500 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

30 August 2022	Morecambe	3–3 (7–6 p)	Everton U21	Morecambe
19:00	Weir 17' Watts 34' Rawson 84'		McAllister 32' Price 48' Cannon 57'	Stadium: Globe Arena Attendance: 912 Referee: Rebecca Welch
	Penalties
	Watts Phillips Cooney Love Connolly Mayor McLoughlin O'Connor		Cannon Okoronkwo Anderson Hunt Warrington Price Kouyate Campbell

20 September 2022	Morecambe	0–0 (4–2 p)	Hartlepool United	Morecambe
19:00				Stadium: Globe Arena Attendance: 934 Referee: Martin Woods
	Penalties
	Weir Stockton Cooney Love		Murray Ferguson Shelton Crawford

4 October 2022	Harrogate Town	1–1 (2–4 p)	Everton U21	Harrogate
19:00	Grant 72'		Mills 10'	Stadium: Wetherby Road Attendance: 832 Referee: Marc Edwards
	Penalties
	Armstrong Pattison Grant Headley		Cannon Okoronkwo Price Mills Quirk

18 October 2022	Harrogate Town	2–1	Morecambe	Harrogate
19:00	O'Boyle 28' Welch-Hayes 90 6'		Mayor 2'	Stadium: Wetherby Road Attendance: 717 Referee: Darren Drysdale

18 October 2022	Hartlepool United	0–6	Everton U21	Hartlepool
19:00			Cannon 9', 45 4' Hunt 20' Mills 28', 53' Whitaker 71'	Stadium: Victoria Park Attendance: 1,247 Referee: Adam Herczeg

Group B

Pos	Div	Team	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	Advance to Round 2
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

30 August 2022	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

20 September 2022	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

4 October 2022	Tranmere Rovers	3–5	Leeds United U21	Tranmere
19:00	Lewis 12' Hughes 19' Byrne 45 3'		Perkins 26' Gelhardt 28', 31' Joseph 56' Drameh 64'	Stadium: Prenton Park Attendance: 816 Referee: Martin Woods

18 October 2022	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

18 October 2022	Crewe Alexandra	0–1	Tranmere Rovers	Crewe
19:00			Nevitt 71'	Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 888 Referee: Daniel Middleton

1 November 2022	Crewe Alexandra	0–0 (2–1 p)	Leeds United U21	Crewe
19:00				Stadium: Gresty Road Attendance: 1,236 Referee: Ben Toner
	Penalties
	Agyei Uwakwe Finney Sambou Griffiths		Klich Firpo Joseph Perkins Gyabi

Group C

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Port Vale	3	3	0	7	0	7	9	Advance to Round 2
2	ACA	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	3	2	1	4	4	0	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Stockport County	3	1	2	2	3	−1	3
4	L1	Shrewsbury Town	3	0	3	1	7	−6	0

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Shrewsbury Town	1–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Shrewsbury
19:00	Hernes 76'		Hodge 79', 90 3'	Stadium: New Meadow Attendance: 1,413 Referee: Ollie Yates

30 August 2022	Port Vale	1–0	Stockport County	Stoke-on-Trent
19:00	Hussey 64'			Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 1,980 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

20 September 2022	Shrewsbury Town	0–4	Port Vale	Shrewsbury
19:00			Politic 15', 56', 57' Walker 74'	Stadium: New Meadow Attendance: 1,635 Referee: Ben Toner

20 September 2022	Stockport County	1–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Stockport
19:30	Jennings 90 3'		Harkin 20' Roberts 71'	Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,398 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

18 October 2022	Port Vale	2–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	Stoke-on-Trent
19:00	Benning 80' Odubeko 87'			Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 1,090 Referee: Scott Oldham

18 October 2022	Stockport County	1–0	Shrewsbury Town	Stockport
19:30	Johnson 2'			Stadium: Edgeley Park Attendance: 1,054 Referee: Lewis Smith

Group D

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Salford City	3	1	2	0	0	4	3	1	7	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Accrington Stanley	3	1	1	1	0	6	5	1	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Rochdale	3	1	0	2	0	6	5	1	5
4	ACA	Liverpool U21	3	0	0	0	3	3	6	−3	0

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Salford City	2–1	Liverpool U21	Salford
19:30	Berkoe 45' Jenkins 59'		Stewart 88'	Stadium: Moor Lane Attendance: 773 Referee: Andy Haines

30 August 2022	Accrington Stanley	3–3 (4–3 p)	Rochdale	Accrington
19:45	McConville 51' Lowe 56' Sinclair 90 4' (o.g.)		Ball 65' Henderson 67' Brierley 72'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 1,130 Referee: Peter Wright
	Penalties
	Savin McConville Leigh Woods		Henderson Brierley Sinclair Kelly White

20 September 2022	Rochdale	1–0	Liverpool U21	Rochdale
19:00	Campbell 82'			Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,006 Referee: Darren Handley

20 September 2022	Salford City	0–0 (4–2 p)	Accrington Stanley	Salford
19:00				Stadium: Moor Lane Attendance: 722 Referee: Thomas Kirk
	Penalties
	Smith Hendry Tolaj Galbraith		Savin McConville Coyle Martin

18 October 2022	Rochdale	2–2 (2–4 p)	Salford City	Rochdale
19:30	Henderson 42' Kelly 90 4'		Simões 69' Hendry 71'	Stadium: Spotland Stadium Attendance: 1,203 Referee: Anthony Backhouse
	Penalties
	Henderson Keohane Brierley Kelly		Hendry Watt Watson Bailey

18 October 2022	Accrington Stanley	3–2	Liverpool U21	Accrington
19:45	Leigh 12', 46' Astley 70'		Ramsey 90 1' Doak 90 3'	Stadium: Crown Ground Attendance: 865 Referee: Andrew Kitchen

Group E

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Lincoln City	3	2	0	0	1	6	2	4	6	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Barnsley	3	2	0	0	1	6	5	1	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Doncaster Rovers	3	1	1	0	1	4	5	−1	5
4	ACA	Newcastle United U21	3	0	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Doncaster Rovers	0–0 (4–2 p)	Newcastle United U21	Doncaster
19:00				Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Attendance: 1,685 Referee: James Oldham
	Penalties
	Hurst Seaman Long Agard		Savage Crossley Turner-Cook Murphy

30 August 2022	Barnsley	0–3	Lincoln City	Barnsley
19:45			Bishop 15', 17' Makama 90 3'	Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 3,121 Referee: Martin Woods

20 September 2022	Barnsley	2–0	Newcastle United U21	Barnsley
19:00	Butterfill 79' Larkeche 85'			Stadium: Oakwell Attendance: 1,664 Referee: Scott Oldham

20 September 2022	Lincoln City	1–2	Doncaster Rovers	Lincoln
19:00	Vernam 49'		Hurst 72' Long 84'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,338 Referee: Adam Herczeg

11 October 2022	Doncaster Rovers	2–4	Barnsley	Doncaster
19:45	Miller 73', 81'		Martin 11', 34' Jalo 20', 26'	Stadium: Keepmoat Stadium Attendance: 2,479 Referee: Marc Edwards

18 October 2022	Lincoln City	2–0	Newcastle United U21	Lincoln
19:00	Mandroiu 8' Draper 84'			Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 1,693 Referee: Ben Toner

Group F

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Grimsby Town	3	1	1	0	1	4	4	0	5	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Mansfield Town	3	1	1	0	1	4	5	−1	5	Advance to Round 2
3	ACA	Manchester City U21	3	1	0	1	1	6	5	1	4
4	L1	Derby County	3	1	0	1	1	5	5	0	4

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Derby County	3–1	Grimsby Town	Derby
19:00	Mendez-Laing 6' Sibley 42' Bird 45'		Kiernan 88'	Stadium: Pride Park Stadium Attendance: 5,348 Referee: Carl Boyeson

30 August 2022	Mansfield Town	3–2	Manchester City U21	Mansfield
19:00	Akins 16' Gale 50' Lapslie 84'		Borges 29' Dickson 32'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 1,804 Referee: Ross Joyce

20 September 2022	Grimsby Town	2–0	Mansfield Town	Cleethorpes
19:30	Khan 15' Orsi-Dadomo 39'			Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 912 Referee: Bobby Madden

4 October 2022	Mansfield Town	1–1 (6–5 p)	Derby County	Mansfield
19:00	Maris 45 3'		Dobbin 29'	Stadium: Field Mill Attendance: 3,630 Referee: Ben Toner
	Penalties
	Akins Swan Lapslie Hewitt Law Gale Clarke Hawkins		Mendez-Laing Knight Thompson Forsyth Cybulski Roberts Oduroh Stearman

18 October 2022	Derby County	1–3	Manchester City U21	Derby
19:00	McGoldrick 38'		Borges 27', 58' Forsyth 90 1' (o.g.)	Stadium: Pride Park Stadium Attendance: 3,688 Referee: Tom Nield

8 November 2022	Grimsby Town	1–1 (4–2 p)	Manchester City U21	Cleethorpes
19:30	Simmonds 3'		Dickson 7'	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 1,281 Referee: Ben Speedie
	Penalties
	Holohan Clifton Kiernan Pearson		Charles Katongo Bobb Robertson

Group G

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Manchester United U21	3	2	0	1	0	6	4	2	7	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Barrow	3	1	1	0	1	4	3	1	5	Advance to Round 2
3	L1	Fleetwood Town	3	0	1	2	0	4	4	0	4
4	L2	Carlisle United	3	0	1	0	2	2	5	−3	2

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Fleetwood Town	1–1 (3–4 p)	Barrow	Fleetwood
19:00	Sarpong-Wiredu 30'		Rooney 44'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 866 Referee: Thomas Kirk
	Penalties
	Johnston McMillan Omochere Garner Glenfield		Rooney Whitfield Neal Kenlock Gotts

30 August 2022	Carlisle United	1–2	Manchester United U21	Carlisle
19:30	Devitt 66'		McNeill 40' Forson 71'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 3,331 Referee: Ben Toner

20 September 2022	Carlisle United	1–1 (4–2 p)	Fleetwood Town	Carlisle
19:00	Idehen 90'		Garner 46'	Stadium: Brunton Park Attendance: 1,089 Referee: Rebecca Welch
	Penalties
	Gibson Stretton Whelan Mellish Charters		Morton Andrew Batty Vela

4 October 2022	Barrow	1–2	Manchester United U21	Barrow-in-Furness
19:30	Fredricson 51' (o.g.)		McNeill 44' (pen.) Garnacho 90 2'	Stadium: Holker Street Attendance: 2,966 Referee: Geoff Eltringham

18 October 2022	Barrow	2–0	Carlisle United	Barrow-in-Furness
19:00	Kay 69' Foley 80'			Stadium: Holker Street Attendance: 2,281 Referee: Seb Stockbridge

18 October 2022	Fleetwood Town	2–2 (5–4 p)	Manchester United U21	Fleetwood
19:45	Mendes Gomes 63' Garner 67'		McNeill 21' (pen.) Shoretire 90 2'	Stadium: Highbury Stadium Attendance: 2,287 Referee: Andy Haines
	Penalties
	Johnston Garner Rooney Lane Mendes Gomes Hayes		Jurado Mainoo Huddlestone Hugill Mengi Shoretire

Group H

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Burton Albion	3	3	0	0	0	11	4	7	9	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Bradford City	3	1	0	1	1	5	7	−2	4	Advance to Round 2
3	L1	Sheffield Wednesday	3	1	0	0	2	5	6	−1	3
4	ACA	Leicester City U21	3	0	1	0	2	4	8	−4	2

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Burton Albion	4–2	Leicester City U21	Burton upon Trent
19:00	Ahadme 4', 7' Adeboyejo 9' Powell 12'		Maswanhise 38' Fitzhugh 39'	Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 475 Referee: Adam Herczeg

30 August 2022	Bradford City	3–1	Sheffield Wednesday	Bradford
19:30	Young 36', 75' Harratt 83'		Smith 38' (pen.)	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 6,092 Referee: Samuel Barrott

20 September 2022	Sheffield Wednesday	2–3	Burton Albion	Sheffield
19:00	Wilks 32' Paterson 34'		Winnall 8' Smith 17' Keillor-Dunn 51' (pen.)	Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 4,577 Referee: Thomas Parsons

4 October 2022	Bradford City	2–2 (2–4 p)	Leicester City U21	Bradford
19:30	Oliver 11' Sutton 49'		Alves 62' Maswanhise 66'	Stadium: Valley Parade Attendance: 2,564 Referee: Anthony Backhouse
	Penalties
	Sutton Gilliead Pereira Harratt		Fitzhugh Appiah Braybrooke McAteer

18 October 2022	Burton Albion	4–0	Bradford City	Burton upon Trent
19:00	Powell 10' Adeboyejo 20' Oshilaja 57' Carayol 69'			Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 549 Referee: Ollie Yates

18 October 2022	Sheffield Wednesday	2–0	Leicester City U21	Sheffield
19:00	Paterson 8' Trueman 52'			Stadium: Hillsborough Stadium Attendance: 3,173 Referee: Marc Edwards

Southern Section

Group A

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Colchester United	3	2	0	1	0	5	3	2	7	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Charlton Athletic	3	2	0	0	1	6	3	3	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Gillingham	3	1	1	0	1	4	6	−2	5
4	ACA	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	3	0	0	0	3	4	7	−3	0

Source: EFL.com

31 August 2022	Charlton Athletic	3–0	Gillingham	Charlton
19:00	Walker 15' (o.g.) Henry 52' Leaburn 59'	Report		Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 1,888 Referee: Sunny Gill

6 September 2022	Colchester United	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Colchester
19:45	Nouble 80' Sears 87'		Moran 43'	Stadium: Colchester Community Stadium Attendance: 479 Referee: Alan Young

4 October 2022	Gillingham	3–2	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Gillingham
19:00	Walker 19', 71' Wright 76'		Ferguson 31' Miller 63'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 838 Referee: Sam Purkiss

4 October 2022	Colchester United	2–1	Charlton Athletic	Colchester
19:45	Eastman 86' Akinde 90 1'		Morgan 17'	Stadium: Colchester Community Stadium Attendance: 880 Referee: Lee Swabey

11 October 2022	Gillingham	1–1 (5–4 p)	Colchester United	Gillingham
19:45	Walker 43'		Akinde 45'	Stadium: Priestfield Stadium Attendance: 828 Referee: Sam Allison
	Penalties
	Walker Adelakun Wright Kashket Chambers Green		Longstaff Nouble Newby Tchamadeu Chilvers Marshall-Miranda

2 November 2022	Charlton Athletic	2–1	Brighton & Hove Albion U21	Charlton
19:00	Lavelle 45' Payne 90 2'		Miller 54'	Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 662 Referee: Paul Howard

Group B

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	AFC Wimbledon	3	2	0	1	0	6	4	2	7	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Portsmouth	3	1	1	1	0	8	3	5	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L2	Crawley Town	3	1	1	0	1	9	7	2	5
4	ACA	Aston Villa U21	3	0	0	0	3	3	12	−9	0

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	AFC Wimbledon	2–1	Aston Villa U21	Wimbledon
19:00	Kalambayi 12' Davison 52'		Jay-Hart 29'	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 1,088 Referee: Will Finnie

30 August 2022	Crawley Town	2–2 (6–5 p)	Portsmouth	Crawley
19:45	Telford 8' (pen.) Bremang 90 5' (pen.)		Robertson 74' Scarlett 81'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 2,314 Referee: Sam Allison
	Penalties
	Powell Bremang Craig Tilley Nadesan Ogungbo Khaleel		Scarlett Hackett-Fairchild Dale Lowery Pigott Robertson Freeman

20 September 2022	AFC Wimbledon	3–2	Crawley Town	Wimbledon
19:00	Hudlin 29' (pen.) Assal 75' Frimpong 78'		Powell 59' Frimpong 90 6' (o.g.)	Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 903 Referee: Sam Purkiss

4 October 2022	Portsmouth	5–0	Aston Villa U21	Portsmouth
19:45	Curtis 2' Jacobs 7' Koroma 53', 63' Hackett-Fairchild 69'			Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 2,805 Referee: Alan Young

18 October 2022	Crawley Town	5–2	Aston Villa U21	Crawley
19:45	Davis 28' Oteh 40', 52' Marshall 83' Telford 90 4' (pen.)		Revan 13' Lutz 82'	Stadium: Broadfield Stadium Attendance: 896 Referee: Charles Breakspear

1 November 2022	Portsmouth	1–1 (3–1 p)	AFC Wimbledon	Portsmouth
19:45	Curtis 15'		Assal 50'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 2,545 Referee: Craig Hicks
	Penalties
	Koroma Hackett-Fairchild Scarlett		Hudlin Frimpong Senior Sasu

Group C

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Milton Keynes Dons	3	2	1	5	2	3	6	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Cheltenham Town	3	2	1	5	4	1	6	Advance to Round 2
3	ACA	West Ham United U21	3	2	1	3	3	0	6
4	L2	Walsall	3	0	3	1	5	−4	0

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Milton Keynes Dons	1–2	Cheltenham Town	Milton Keynes
19:00	Jules 43'		May 8' (pen.) Brown 54'	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 1,626 Referee: Lee Swabey

30 August 2022	Walsall	0–1	West Ham United U21	Walsall
19:00			Simon-Swyer 57'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 1,582 Referee: Simon Mather

20 September 2022	Cheltenham Town	2–1	Walsall	Cheltenham
19:00	Nlundulu 38' Sercombe 43'		Johnson 86'	Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 1,275 Referee: Tom Reeves

4 October 2022	Milton Keynes Dons	2–0	West Ham United U21	Milton Keynes
19:00	Dennis 63', 75' (pen.)			Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 854 Referee: Craig Hicks

18 October 2022	Cheltenham Town	1–2	West Ham United U21	Cheltenham
19:00	Brown 16'		Greenidge 34' Potts 49'	Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 1,526 Referee: Thomas Kirk

18 October 2022	Walsall	0–2	Milton Keynes Dons	Walsall
19:00			Lawrence 62' Holland 90 3'	Stadium: Bescot Stadium Attendance: 1,070 Referee: Scott Tallis

Group D

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	PW	PL	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L2	Stevenage	3	3	0	0	0	6	1	5	9	Advance to Round 2
2	L1	Peterborough United	3	1	0	1	1	5	3	2	4	Advance to Round 2
3	L1	Wycombe Wanderers	3	0	2	0	1	1	4	−3	4
4	ACA	Tottenham Hotspur U21	3	0	0	1	2	0	4	−4	1

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Wycombe Wanderers	0–0 (4–3 p)	Tottenham Hotspur U21	High Wycombe
19:00				Stadium: Adams Park Attendance: 1,015 Referee: Christopher Pollard
	Penalties
	Al-Hamadi Horgan McCarthy Wakely Young		Donley John Cesay Alonso Mathurin

30 August 2022	Peterborough United	1–2	Stevenage	Peterborough
19:30	Jones 9'		Taylor 18' Piergianni 84'	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 2,420 Referee: Robert Lewis

20 September 2022	Stevenage	3–0	Wycombe Wanderers	Stevenage
19:30	Rose 4', 56' Vancooten 81'			Stadium: Broadhall Way Attendance: 717 Referee: Sunny Gill

20 September 2022	Peterborough United	3–0	Tottenham Hotspur U21	Peterborough
19:30	Knight 19' Jones 32' Marriott 51'			Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 1,898 Referee: Darren Drysdale

18 October 2022	Stevenage	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur U21	Stevenage
19:00	Roberts 23'		John 48' 84'	Stadium: Broadhall Way Attendance: 1,449 Referee: Samuel Barrott

18 October 2022	Wycombe Wanderers	1–1 (4–3 p)	Peterborough United	High Wycombe
19:00	Horgan 60'		Clarke-Harris 83'	Stadium: Adams Park Attendance: 567 Referee: Paul Howard
	Penalties
	Horgan Wakely Obita Kaikai Wing Freeman		Clarke-Harris Watts Tomlinson Burrows Ward Edwards

Group E

Pos	Div	Team	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	Advance to Round 2
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

30 August 2022	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

30 August 2022	Swindon Town	0–2	Crystal Palace U21	Swindon
19:00			Gordon 71', 86'	Stadium: County Ground Attendance: 2,021 Referee: Ben Speedie

20 September 2022	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

4 October 2022	Bristol Rovers	2–0	Crystal Palace U21	Bristol
19:00	Kilgour 45 2' Clarke 73'			Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 1,058 Referee: James Oldham

18 October 2022	Bristol Rovers	3–0	Swindon Town	Bristol
19:00	Loft 63' Anderson 76' McCormick 83'			Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 1,700 Referee: David Rock

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

Group F

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Forest Green Rovers	3	3	0	9	3	6	9	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Newport County	3	2	1	5	4	1	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L1	Exeter City	3	1	2	4	7	−3	3
4	ACA	Southampton U21	3	0	3	3	7	−4	0

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Exeter City	1–2	Newport County	Exeter
19:00	Chauke 52'		Zimba 57' Bogle 82'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 1,902 Referee: Darren Drysdale

30 August 2022	Forest Green Rovers	3–1	Southampton U21	Nailsworth
19:00	Cargill 37' Bernard 45 3' Casey 59'		Lancashire 32'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 726 Referee: Charles Breakspear

20 September 2022	Newport County	1–2	Forest Green Rovers	Newport
19:45	Evans 90 2'		Stevenson 69' Fiabema 79'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 946 Referee: Lee Swabey

4 October 2022	Exeter City	2–1	Southampton U21	Exeter
19:00	Jay 40' Chauke 45 3'		Ballard 18'	Stadium: St James Park Attendance: 1,074 Referee: Sunny Gill

18 October 2022	Forest Green Rovers	4–1	Exeter City	Nailsworth
19:45	Matt 12' Peart-Harris 51' (pen.) Billington 54' (o.g.) O'Keeffe 63'		Jay 41'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 729 Referee: Sam Allison

18 October 2022	Newport County	2–1	Southampton U21	Newport
19:45	Bogle 11' (pen.) Waite 60'		Bellis 76'	Stadium: Rodney Parade Attendance: 705 Referee: Darren Handley

Group G

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	ACA	Chelsea U21	3	2	1	5	4	1	6	Advance to Round 2
2	L2	Sutton United	3	2	1	4	3	1	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L1	Oxford United	3	1	2	6	4	2	3
4	L2	Leyton Orient	3	1	2	5	9	−4	3

Source: EFL.com

30 August 2022	Oxford United	5–0	Leyton Orient	Oxford
19:45	Mousinho 4' Brannagan 45 3' Joseph 57' Findlay 66' Taylor 84'			Stadium: Kassam Stadium Attendance: 1,373 Referee: Tom Nield

31 August 2022	Sutton United	1–0	Chelsea U21	Sutton
19:45	Fadahunsi 5'			Stadium: Gander Green Lane Attendance: 2,189 Referee: Alan Young

20 September 2022	Leyton Orient	3–1	Sutton United	Leyton
19:45	Wareham 5', 10' James 90 1'		Kouassi 12'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 1,073 Referee: Sam Allison

4 October 2022	Oxford United	1–2	Chelsea U21	Oxford
19:45	Taylor 10'		Burstow 78' Hall 82'	Stadium: Kassam Stadium Attendance: 1,354 Referee: Neil Hair

18 October 2022	Leyton Orient	2–3	Chelsea U21	Leyton
19:00	Williams 71' (o.g.) Drinan 77' (pen.)		Hutchinson 54' Mothersille 89', 90 3'	Stadium: Brisbane Road Attendance: 1,117 Referee: Lee Swabey

18 October 2022	Sutton United	2–0	Oxford United	Sutton
19:45	Rowe 48' Kouassi 64' (pen.)			Stadium: Gander Green Lane Attendance: 971 Referee: Sunny Gill

Group H

Pos	Div	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	L1	Ipswich Town	3	2	1	8	1	7	6	Advance to Round 2
2	ACA	Arsenal U21	3	2	1	5	3	2	6	Advance to Round 2
3	L1	Cambridge United	3	2	1	3	2	1	6
4	L2	Northampton Town	3	0	3	1	11	−10	0

Source: EFL.com

^[5]

30 August 2022	Cambridge United	0–2	Arsenal U21	Cambridge
19:00			Butler-Oyedeji 26', 57'	Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 1,952 Referee: Neil Hair

30 August 2022	Ipswich Town	6–0	Northampton Town	Ipswich
19:45	Harness 11', 16' Leigh 26' Burgess 58' Edmundson 83' Ladapo 90 1'			Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 5,342 Referee: Tom Reeves

20 September 2022	Northampton Town	0–2	Cambridge United	Northampton
19:00			Okenabirhie 68', 77'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 1,230 Referee: Craig Hicks

20 September 2022	Ipswich Town	2–0	Arsenal U21	Ipswich
19:45	Ball 3' Ladapo 85'			Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 5,236 Referee: James Oldham

18 October 2022	Cambridge United	1–0	Ipswich Town	Cambridge
19:00	Simper 79'			Stadium: Abbey Stadium Attendance: 2,548 Referee: Thomas Parsons

18 October 2022	Northampton Town	1–3	Arsenal U21	Northampton
19:00	Tomlinson 8'		Awe 56' Cozier-Duberry 74' Butler-Oyedeji 90 5'	Stadium: Sixfields Stadium Attendance: 3,037 Referee: Carl Brook

Round of 32

The draw for the Round of 32 was made on Friday 11 November 2022, with ties scheduled to take place on the week commencing 21 November.^[6] Despite finishing top of their group, Chelsea U21's match with Peterborough United was moved to London Road Stadium.^[7] However, Everton U21 were kept as the home team in their tie against Mansfield Town, which was scheduled to take place at Goodison Park.^[8] This round also saw two U21 teams, Manchester United U21 and Wolverhampton Wanderers U21, drawn together. In this case, after a consulation between both clubs and the EFL it was decided that the game would be played at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux Stadium, despite Manchester United U21 finishing first in their group.^[9]

Northern Section

22 November 2022	Burton Albion	1–1 (5–4 p)	Tranmere Rovers	Burton upon Trent
19:00 GMT	Carayol 90 2'	Report	Turnbull 7'	Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 591 Referee: Thomas Parsons
	Penalties
	Winnall Taylor Oshilaja Dodoo Butcher Hamer Kamwa		Hemmings Hughes Merrie Lewis Hawkes O'Connor Dacres-Cogley

22 November 2022	Lincoln City	1–1 (4–3 p)	Morecambe	Lincoln
19:00 GMT	Hopper 53'	Report	Stockton 67'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 1,445 Referee: Carl Boyeson
	Penalties
	Diamond Bishop Sanders Poole		Weir Stockton Cooney Love Shaw

22 November 2022	Wolverhampton Wanderers U21	0–0 (1–4 p)	Manchester United U21	Wolverhampton
19:00 GMT		Report		Stadium: Molineux Stadium Attendance: 1,150 Referee: Ben Toner
	Penalties
	Hodge Birtwistle Campbell		Jurado McNeill Norkett Mainoo

22 November 2022	Grimsby Town	0–1	Accrington Stanley	Cleethorpes
19:30 GMT		Report	Leigh 66' (pen.)	Stadium: Blundell Park Attendance: 703 Referee: Martin Coy

22 November 2022	Salford City	1–0	Bradford City	Salford
19:30 GMT	Tolaj 35'	Report		Stadium: Moor Lane Attendance: 578 Referee: Tom Reeves

22 November 2022	Bolton Wanderers	3–2	Barrow	Horwich
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

23 November 2022	Port Vale	2–1	Barnsley	Stoke-on-Trent
19:30 GMT	Politic 14' Worrall 27'	Report	Edwards 73'	Stadium: Vale Park Attendance: 1,306 Referee: Lewis Smith

30 November 2022	Everton U21	2–1	Mansfield Town	Liverpool
19:00 GMT	Higgins 90 1' Cannon 90 4'	Report	Oates 6'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 779 Referee: Adam Herczeg

Southern Section

22 November 2022	Forest Green Rovers	1–1 (3–4 p)	Cheltenham Town	Nailsworth
19:00 GMT	March 24'	Report	Broom 69'	Stadium: The New Lawn Attendance: 1,425 Referee: Sunny Gill
	Penalties
	Peart-Harris Wickham O'Keeffe Bunker March		Sercombe Bonds Brown Broom

22 November 2022	Milton Keynes Dons	3–1	Newport County	Milton Keynes
19:00 GMT	Burns 27' Dennis 59' Grigg 77'	Report	Tucker 85' (o.g.)	Stadium: Stadium MK Attendance: 635 Referee: Carl Brook

22 November 2022	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

22 November 2022	Stevenage	3–2	Arsenal U21	Stevenage
19:00 GMT	Amoo 51' Sweeney 69' Read 75'	Report	Butler-Oyedeji 6' Cozier-Duberry 74'	Stadium: Broadhall Way Attendance: 2,236 Referee: Craig Hicks

22 November 2022	Peterborough United	2–4	Chelsea U21	Peterborough
19:30 GMT	Clarke-Harris 26' Taylor 61'	Report	Mothersille 18', 45 1' Casadei 23' Elliott 75'	Stadium: London Road Stadium Attendance: 1,523 Referee: Christopher Pollard

22 November 2022	AFC Wimbledon	1–0	Sutton United	Wimbledon
19:45 GMT	Hudlin 17'	Report		Stadium: Plough Lane Attendance: 1,854^[10] Referee: Sam Purkiss

22 November 2022	Ipswich Town	0–2	Portsmouth	Ipswich
19:45 GMT		Report	Scarlett 43' Swanson 90 4'	Stadium: Portman Road Attendance: 5,686 Referee: Tom Nield

23 November 2022	Colchester United	1–2	Bristol Rovers	Colchester
19:30 GMT	Sears 83'	Report	Connolly 53' Saunders 90 5'	Stadium: Colchester Community Stadium Attendance: 669 Referee: Thomas Kirk

Round of 16

The draw for the round of 16 was held on 24 November 2022. ^[11] The matches for this round took place on 13 December 2022^[12] except for two ties postponed due to frozen pitches.^[13]

Northern Section

13 December 2022	Burton Albion	2–4	Accrington Stanley	Burton upon Trent
19:00 GMT	Oshilaja 7' Tharme 23' (o.g.)	Report	Rodgers 20', 68' Pritchard 41' Leigh 45 5'	Stadium: Pirelli Stadium Attendance: 390 Referee: Scott Oldham

13 December 2022	Lincoln City	4–2	Everton U21	Lincoln
19:00 GMT	Poole 33' Diamond 54' (pen.), 90 8' Roughan 72'	Report	Okoronkwo 48' Cannon 50'	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 1,306 Referee: Andrew Kitchin

13 December 2022	Bolton Wanderers	4–0	Manchester United U21	Horwich
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

20 December 2022	Salford City	1–0	Port Vale	Salford
19:30 GMT	Smith 10'	Report		Stadium: Moor Lane Attendance: 743 Referee: Anthony Backhouse

Southern Section

13 December 2022	Cheltenham Town	4–0	Chelsea U21	Cheltenham
19:00 GMT	Brown 4', 90' Sercombe 87' Broom 90 4'	Report		Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 1,058 Referee: Simon Mather

13 December 2022	Portsmouth	3–0	Stevenage	Portsmouth
19:00 GMT	Mingi 37' Koroma 59' Pigott 90 4'	Report		Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 2,162 Referee: Neil Hair

13 December 2022	Bristol Rovers	4–1	Milton Keynes Dons	Bristol
19:30 GMT	Hoole 33' Marquis 54', 66' Saunders 71'	Report	Eisa 79' (pen.)	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 864 Referee: Declan Bourne

21 December 2022	Plymouth Argyle	3–3 (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

Quarter-finals

The draw for the Quarter-finals was held on 15 December 2022, with the teams no longer being separated geographically in the draw. The matches are scheduled for the week beginning 9 January 2023.^[14]

10 January 2023	Lincoln City	2–2 (1–3 p)	Accrington Stanley	Lincoln
19:00 GMT	Hopper 7', 80'	Report 1 Report 2	Pressley 36', 73' (pen.)	Stadium: Sincil Bank Attendance: 2,304 (61 away) Referee: Simon Mather
	Penalties
	Diamond Mandroiu Sanders Poole		Pressley Coyle Whalley McConville

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

10 January 2023	Bristol Rovers	0–2	Plymouth Argyle	Bristol
19:45 GMT		Report 1, Report 2	Waine 24' Hardie 32'	Stadium: Memorial Stadium Attendance: 3,742 (678 Away) Referee: Darren Drysdale

10 January 2023	Cheltenham Town	3–1	Salford City	Cheltenham
19:45 GMT	Broom 45' Sercombe 65' Goodwin 66'	Report 1, Report 2	Hendry 13'	Stadium: Whaddon Road Attendance: 1,874 (71 away) Referee: Carl Brook

Semi-finals

The draw for the Semi-finals was held on 14 January 2023.^[15]

21 February 2023	Plymouth Argyle	1–1 (3–2 p)	Cheltenham Town	Plymouth
20:00 GMT	Hardie 63'	Report 1 Report 2	May 49'	Stadium: Home Park Attendance: 12,047 (236 Away) Referee: Robert Lewis
	Penalties
	Hardie Cosgrove Azaz Gillesphey Houghton		Sercombe Brown Broom Bonds May

22 February 2023	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

Final

2 April 2023

15:00 BST

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

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 79,389

Referee: Ben Toner

External links

EFL Trophy section of official English Football League website

References

^ "About The Competition". EFL.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
^ "Bolton win EFL Trophy final after smashing four past Plymouth". Guardian. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
^ ^a ^b EFL: "EFL Trophy Rules Season 2021/22"
^ "EFL Trophy explained". Premier League. Retrieved 1 September 2020.
^ Group Stage Draw
^ "Papa Johns Trophy: Round of 32 draw confirmed". www.efl.com. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-15.
^ "Peterborough United vs Chelsea U21". www.theposh.com. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
^ "Everton U21s to play Mansfield Town at Goodison Park". www.toffeeweb.com. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
^ "Details confirmed for Wolves v United cup tie". www.manutd.com. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-19.
^ "Match report for AFC Wimbledon 1 Sutton United 0". Sutton United.
^ "Round of 16 Draw on Thursday". EFL.
^ "Papa Johns Trophy: Round of 16 draw confirmed". EFL.
^ "Matches called off because of frozen pitches". BBC Sport. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
^ "Papa Johns Trophy: Quarter-Final draw confirmed". www.efl.com. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-15.
^ "The Semi-Final Draw!". Papa Johns Trophy on Twitter. Retrieved 2023-01-14.

[1] "About The Competition". EFL.com. Retrieved 1 September 2020.

[2] "Bolton win EFL Trophy final after smashing four past Plymouth". Guardian. 2 April 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.

[rules-3] EFL: "EFL Trophy Rules Season 2021/22"

[4] "EFL Trophy explained". Premier League. Retrieved 1 September 2020.

[5] Group Stage Draw

[6] "Papa Johns Trophy: Round of 32 draw confirmed". www.efl.com. 11 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-15.

[7] "Peterborough United vs Chelsea U21". www.theposh.com. Retrieved 2022-11-19.

[8] "Everton U21s to play Mansfield Town at Goodison Park". www.toffeeweb.com. Retrieved 2022-11-19.

[9] "Details confirmed for Wolves v United cup tie". www.manutd.com. 15 November 2022. Retrieved 2022-11-19.

[10] "Match report for AFC Wimbledon 1 Sutton United 0". Sutton United.

[11] "Round of 16 Draw on Thursday". EFL.

[12] "Papa Johns Trophy: Round of 16 draw confirmed". EFL.

[13] "Matches called off because of frozen pitches". BBC Sport. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-14.

[14] "Papa Johns Trophy: Quarter-Final draw confirmed". www.efl.com. 15 December 2022. Retrieved 2022-12-15.

[15] "The Semi-Final Draw!". Papa Johns Trophy on Twitter. Retrieved 2023-01-14.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]