Auto Windscreens Shield - 1995/96

Participating teams

48: 24 each from the Second and Third Divisions. 24 teams in each area group.
North: Blackpool, Bradford, Burnley, Bury, Carlisle, Chester, Chesterfield, Crewe, Darlington, Doncaster, Hartlepool, Hull, Lincoln, Mansfield, Notts County, Preston, Rochdale, Rotherham, Scarborough, Scunthorpe, Stockport, Wigan, Wrexham, York.
South: Barnet, Bournemouth, Brentford, Brighton, Bristol City, Bristol Rovers, Cambridge, Cardiff, Colchester, Exeter, Fulham, Gillingham, Hereford, Leyton Orient, Northampton, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Shrewsbury, Swansea, Swindon, Torquay, Walsall, Wycombe.

Format

First round: 8 groups of 3 in each area. Winners and runners-up advance to the second round.
Second round: 8 single-game ties in each area. Winners advance to the area quarter-finals.
Area quarter-finals: 4 single-game ties in each area. Winners advance to the area semi-finals.
Area semi-finals: 2 single-game ties in each area. Winners advance to the area finals.
Area finals: 1 two-legged tie in each area. Winners advance to the national final.
Final: a single game, played at Wembley.

First round

North

Group 1

26 Sep Blackpool 1 - 0 Crewe
17 Oct Crewe 8 - 0 Hartlepool
7 Nov Hartlepool 3 - 2 Blackpool

P W D L F A Pts
1 Crewe 2 1 0 1 8 1 3
2 Blackpool 2 1 0 1 3 3 3
3 Hartlepool 2 1 0 1 3 10 3

Group 2

26 Sep Chester 0 - 1 Rotherham
17 Oct Rotherham 1 - 1 Burnley
7 Nov Burnley 1 - 1 Chester

P W D L F A Pts
1 Rotherham 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
2 Burnley 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
3 Chester 2 0 1 1 1 2 1

Group 3

26 Sep Stockport 1 - 1 Chesterfield
17 Oct Chesterfield 2 - 1 Notts County
7 Nov Notts County 1 - 0 Stockport

P W D L F A Pts
1 Chesterfield 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
2 Notts County 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
3 Stockport 2 0 1 1 1 2 1

Group 4

26 Sep Lincoln 4 - 3 Rochdale
24 Oct Rochdale 5 - 2 Darlington
7 Nov Darlington 0 - 1 Lincoln

P W D L F A Pts
1 Lincoln 2 2 0 0 5 3 6
2 Rochdale 2 1 0 1 8 6 3
3 Darlington 2 0 0 2 2 6 0

Group 5

26 Sep Wigan 1 - 1 Scunthorpe
17 Oct Scunthorpe 4 - 0 Bury
14 Nov Bury 0 - 0 Wigan

P W D L F A Pts
1 Scunthorpe 2 1 1 0 5 1 4
2 Wigan 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
3 Bury 2 0 1 1 0 4 1

Group 6

26 Sep Mansfield 2 - 2 Wrexham
17 Oct Wrexham 1 - 0 York
7 Nov York 1 - 0 Mansfield

P W D L F A Pts
1 Wrexham 2 1 1 0 3 2 4
2 York 2 1 0 1 1 1 3
3 Mansfield 2 0 1 1 2 3 1

Group 7

26 Sep Scarborough 0 - 2 Hull
17 Oct Hull 1 - 0 Preston
7 Nov Preston 2 - 1 Scarborough

P W D L F A Pts
1 Hull 2 2 0 0 3 0 6
2 Preston 2 1 0 1 2 2 3
3 Scarborough 2 0 0 2 1 4 0

Group 8

25 Sep Doncaster 1 - 1 Bradford
17 Oct Bradford 1 - 1 Carlisle
7 Nov Carlisle 1 - 1 Doncaster

P W D L F A Pts
1 Doncaster 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
2 Carlisle 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
3 Bradford 2 0 2 0 2 2 2
The placings in this group were decided by drawing lots.

South

Group 1

26 Sep Shrewsbury 1 - 1 Swansea
17 Oct Swansea 0 - 0 Leyton Orient
7 Nov Leyton Orient 1 - 3 Shrewsbury

P W D L F A Pts
1 Shrewsbury 2 1 1 0 4 2 4
2 Swansea 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
3 Leyton Orient 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Group 2

26 Sep Hereford 3 - 3 Cardiff
17 Oct Cardiff 3 - 2 Gillingham
7 Nov Gillingham 2 - 2 Hereford

P W D L F A Pts
1 Cardiff 2 1 1 0 6 5 4
2 Hereford 2 0 2 0 5 5 2
3 Gillingham 2 0 1 1 4 5 1

Group 3

26 Sep Plymouth 0 - 3 Peterborough
16 Oct Peterborough 0 - 0 Northampton
7 Nov Northampton 1 - 0 Plymouth

P W D L F A Pts
1 Peterborough 2 1 1 0 3 0 4
2 Northampton 2 1 1 0 1 0 4
3 Plymouth 2 0 0 2 0 4 0

Group 4

10 Oct Wycombe 1 - 1 Fulham
17 Oct Fulham 2 - 5 Walsall
7 Nov Walsall 5 - 0 Wycombe

P W D L F A Pts
1 Walsall 2 2 0 0 10 2 6
2 Fulham 2 0 1 1 3 6 1
3 Wycombe 2 0 1 1 1 6 1

Group 5

27 Sep Bournemouth 0 - 1 Brentford
17 Oct Brentford 1 - 1 Exeter
7 Nov Exeter 0 - 2 Bournemouth

P W D L F A Pts
1 Brentford 2 1 1 0 2 1 4
2 Bournemouth 2 1 0 1 2 1 3
3 Exeter 2 0 1 1 1 3 1

Group 6

26 Sep Cambridge 1 - 4 Brighton
17 Oct Brighton 0 - 2 Bristol Rovers
7 Nov Bristol Rovers 3 - 0 Cambridge

P W D L F A Pts
1 Bristol Rovers 2 2 0 0 5 0 6
2 Brighton 2 1 0 1 4 3 3
3 Cambridge 2 0 0 2 1 7 0

Group 7

26 Sep Oxford 3 - 0 Bristol City
17 Oct Bristol City 2 - 0 Barnet
7 Nov Barnet 2 - 3 Oxford

P W D L F A Pts
1 Oxford 2 2 0 0 6 2 6
2 Bristol City 2 1 0 1 2 3 3
3 Barnet 2 0 0 2 2 5 0

Group 8

26 Sep Colchester 5 - 2 Torquay
17 Oct Torquay 1 - 1 Swindon
8 Nov Swindon 2 - 0 Colchester

P W D L F A Pts
1 Swindon 2 1 1 0 3 1 4
2 Colchester 2 1 0 1 5 4 3
3 Torquay 2 0 1 1 3 6 1

Second round

North

27 Nov Doncaster 1 - 3 Notts County
28 Nov Chesterfield 2 - 1 Rochdale
Hull 1 - 2 Blackpool
Lincoln 2 - 1 Preston
Rotherham 0 - 0 Wigan (aet)
(Rotherham won on penalties)
Scunthorpe 0 - 3 York
Wrexham 1 - 2 Carlisle
29 Nov Crewe 0 - 1 Burnley (aet)

South

28 Nov Brentford 0 - 1 Fulham
Bristol Rovers 2 - 1 Bournemouth
Cardiff 1 - 2 Northampton
Oxford 1 - 2 Colchester
Peterborough 1 - 0 Swansea (aet)
Shrewsbury 0 - 0 Bristol City (aet)
(Shrewsbury won on penalties)
Walsall 1 - 2 Brighton
29 Nov Swindon 0 - 1 Hereford

Area quarter-finals

North

6 Jan Carlisle 5 - 0 Burnley
9 Jan Blackpool 0 - 1 Chesterfield
Rotherham 3 - 1 Lincoln
York 1 - 0 Notts County

South

9 Jan Fulham 1 - 2 Bristol Rovers (aet)
Hereford 1 - 0 Northampton
Peterborough 3 - 2 Colchester
Shrewsbury 4 - 2 Brighton

Area semi-finals

North

30 Jan Carlisle 1 - 0 Chesterfield
13 Feb Rotherham 4 - 1 York

South

31 Jan Shrewsbury 4 - 1 Hereford
13 Feb Peterborough 0 - 1 Bristol Rovers

Area finals

North

5 Mar Rotherham 2 - 0 Carlisle
12 Mar Carlisle 0 - 2 Rotherham
(Rotherham won 4-0 on aggregate)

South

5 Mar Shrewsbury 1 - 1 Bristol Rovers
12 Mar Bristol Rovers 0 - 1 Shrewsbury
(Shrewsbury won 2-1 on aggregate)

Final

Sunday 14th April 1996, at Wembley

Rotherham United 2 - 1 Shrewsbury Town