| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country |  England Wales |
| Teams | 48 |
| Defending champions | Luton Town |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Southampton |
| Runner-up | Carlisle United |
The 2009–10 Football League Trophy, known as the 2009–10 Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 27th Football League Trophy, a knockout competition for English football clubs in Leagues One and Two, the third and fourth tiers of English football.
The format is similar to that which has been used since 1996, with four first round regions; North-West, North-East, South-West and South-East; which were used for the first time in the second region, before a two-region format from the area quarter-finals (3rd round); North and South. The resulting regional winners then meet in the final.
Luton Town were the defending champions, but were not allowed to defend the trophy due to relegation to the Conference in the same season.
First round
Sixteen teams were granted byes to the Second Round, which were drawn on 3 August, while the remaining teams were drawn for the First Round ties on Soccer AM on 15 August 2009. As part of new rules enforced this season, teams who received byes the previous season were not allowed to receive byes this season. The First Round matches were played in the week commencing 31 August 2009.
Northern Section
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Southern Section
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First round byes
Northern sectionGrimsby Town, Hartlepool United, Leeds United, Macclesfield Town, |
Southern sectionAldershot Town, Brighton & Hove Albion, Charlton Athletic, Exeter City,
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Second round
The Second Round draw took place on 5 September 2009, with matches to be played in the week commencing 5 October 2009.
Northern Section
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Southern Section
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Area-quarter-finals
The draw for the area quarter-finals took place on 10 October 2009. The matches were played in the week commencing 9 November 2009.
Northern Section
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Southern Section
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Area semi-finals
The draw for the area semi-finals took place on 14 November 2009. The matches were played in the week commencing 14 December 2009.
Northern Section
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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.
Northern Section
| 19 January 2010 | Leeds United | 1–2 | Carlisle United | Elland Road, Leeds |
| 19:45 | Crowe  56' |
Report | Kavanagh 21' Anyinsah 84' |
Attendance: 13,011 Referee: Andy Penn |
| 9 February 2010 | Carlisle United | 2–3 (6–5 p) | Leeds United | Brunton Park, Carlisle |
| 19:00 | Clayton 33' Hurst 72' |
Report | Snodgrass 46' Crowe 80'Grella 86' |
Attendance: 9,430 Referee: Hall |
| Penalties | ||||
Harte  Hurst Madine Keogh  Clayton Horwood Robson |
Johnson Snodgrass McSheffrey Grella Gradel Kilkenny Lowry |
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Carlisle United 4–4 Leeds United on aggregate. Carlisle United won 6–5 on penalties.
Southern Section
| 20 January 2010 | Milton Keynes Dons | 0–1 | Southampton | Stadium:mk, Milton Keynes |
| 19:00 | Report | Antonio 26' |
Attendance: 7,918 Referee: Jonathan Moss |
| 9 February 2010 | Southampton | 3–1 | Milton Keynes Dons | St Mary's, Southampton |
| 19:45 | Lambert 15' Woodards 30' (o.g.)Lallana 87' |
Report | Randall 44' |
Attendance: 29,901 Referee: Grant Hegley |
Southampton won 4–1 on aggregate
Final
| 28 March 2010 | Carlisle United | 1–4 | Southampton | Wembley Stadium, London |
| 13:30 BST | Madine 84' |
Lambert 15' (pen.) Lallana 44'Waigo 50'Antonio 60' |
Attendance: 73,476 Referee: Scott Mathieson |
Top scorers
Football League Trophy