| Johnstone's Paint Trophy | |
|---|---|
| Tournament details | |
| Country |  England  Wales | 
| Teams | 48 | 
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Chesterfield | 
| Runner-up | Swindon Town | 
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 49 | 
| Goals scored | 137 (2.8 per match) | 
| Top goal scorer(s) |  Shefki Kuqi  Mike Grella (4 goals each) | 
The 2011–12 Football League Trophy, known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 29th season in the history of the competition. It is a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of English football.
In all, 48 clubs will enter the competition. It is split into two sections, Northern and Southern, with the winners of each section contesting the final at Wembley Stadium. Carlisle United is the defending champion, having beaten Brentford in the previous year's final, 1–0 but were beaten in the Northern Section First round by Accrington Stanley 3–2.
First round
The draw for the first round of the competition took place on 13 August 2011. Sixteen clubs were given a bye into the second round, and the remaining 32 clubs, including the holders, were divided into four geographical regions.
| Northern section
 | Southern section
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- Byes
| Northern section | Southern section | 
Second round
The second round draw took place on 3 September 2011, with matches played in the week commencing 3 October 2011.[1]
| Northern section
 | Southern section
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Area Quarter-finals
The area quarter finals draw took place on 8 October 2011, with matches played in the week commencing 8 November 2011.[2]
| Northern section
 | Southern section
 
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Area Semi-finals
The area semi finals draw took place on 12 November 2011, with matches played in the week commencing 5 December 2011.
| Northern section
 | Southern section
 
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Area finals
The area finals, which serve as the semi-finals for the entire competition, were contested over two legs, home and away. 1st Leg ties due to be played by 18 January 2012. A 2nd Leg tie will be played on Monday 30 January 2012 and another on 7 February 2012
Northern section
| 17 January 2012 | Chesterfield | 2–1 | Oldham Athletic | B2net Stadium, Chesterfield | 
| 19:45 GMT | Boden  49' Whitaker  66' Thompson  52' Hurst  53' Davis  71' Lester  79' | Report | Simpson  57' | Attendance: 5,724 Referee: Phil Gibbs | 
| 30 January 2012 | Oldham Athletic | 0–1 | Chesterfield | Boundary Park, Oldham | 
| 19:45 GMT | Simpson  69' | Report | Lester  89'
Robertson  38' Hurst  62' Davis  76' | Attendance: 5,622 Referee: Roger East | 
Chesterfield won 3–1 on aggregate
Southern section
| 10 January 2012 | Barnet | 1–1 | Swindon Town | Underhill Stadium, London | 
| 19:45 GMT | Hughes  72' Deering  29' | Report | Flint  44' McCormack  77' | Attendance: 3,915 Referee: Nigel Miller | 
| 7 February 2012 | Swindon Town | 1–0 | Barnet | County Ground, Swindon | 
| 19:45 GMT | Connell  17' Kennedy  80' Risser  90' | Hughes  28' Saville  37' Dennehy  63' Taylor  85' Mustoe  90' | Attendance: 10,406 Referee: Darren Deadman | 
Swindon Town won 2–1 on aggregate
Final
| Chesterfield | 2–0 | Swindon Town | 
|---|---|---|
| Risser  47' (o.g.) Westcarr  90+4' | 
References
- ↑ "Trophy Round 2 draw". The Football League. 3 September 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved 2011-09-03.
- ↑ "Trophy Round 3 draw". The Football League. 8 October 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-10-10. Retrieved 2011-10-13.