Groupings for first round announced
AFC Wimbledon will be drawn against one of seven teams in the first round of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy after regional groupings were announced by the Football League.
The draw will be made on Saturday, 16 August, with 16 clubs awarded byes into round two as in previous seasons.
League 1 sides Gillingham, Leyton Orient, Crawley Town and Peterborough are among the sides Wimbledon could draw and a list of possible opponents is published below.
The Football League also announced that it will trial the use of vanishing spray, used by match officials at the World Cup, in the first round.
It will also give us the ability to gauge the opinions of players, managers, referees and fans.” Football League Chief Executive, Shaun Harvey, said: “Having seen it used in the recent World Cup, the introduction of vanishing spray into the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy will give us the opportunity to observe its use in domestic football so that we can better understand its effect on the flow of the game.
The League will not be using vanishing spray in any matches played in the Sky Bet Football League or Capital One Cup during 2014/15, but will consider its introduction at the end of the current campaign.
AFC Wimbledon were involved in a thrilling first round Johnstone’s Paint Trophy match last season at Griffin Park as the Dons were defeated 5-3 by Brentford. George Francomb (pictured getting the better of Brentford's defenders) provided the highlight when he finished off a superb team move, which Neal Ardley selected as his goal of 2013.
Below shows the regional groupings for the first round of the JPT:
Northern Section – West Accrington Stanley Carlisle United Crewe Alexandra Fleetwood Town Morecambe Preston North End Rochdale Shrewsbury Town | Northern Section – East Barnsley Bradford City Chesterfield Mansfield Town Notts County Oldham Athletic Scunthorpe United York City |
Southern Section – West Cheltenham Town Coventry City Newport County Oxford United Portsmouth Swindon Town Wycombe Wanderers Yeovil Town | Southern Section – East AFC Wimbledon Cambridge United Crawley Town Gillingham Leyton Orient Peterborough United Southend United Stevenage |
The following clubs will receive byes:
Northern Section Bury Port Vale Tranmere Rovers Walsall Burton Albion Doncaster Rovers Hartlepool United Sheffield United | Southern Section Bristol City Exeter City Northampton Town Plymouth Argyle Colchester United Dagenham & Redbridge Luton Town Milton Keynes |