Big day for little clubs

Blackpool's players show how much it means to them

BBC Sport Online's Paul Fletcher argues that the LDV Vans Trophy is genuinely important to lower division clubs.

It is easy to deride a cup final played in front of just 20,287 in a ground that holds 72,500.

After all with the most exciting climax to the Premiership in years unfolding and the World Cup just a matter of weeks away, the LDV Vans Trophy comes way down the pecking order in the average fans' list of footballing priorities.

The people of host city Cardiff did not really seem too bothered either.

Wandering around Cardiff on Saturday evening the talk was of the Wales rugby union team's thrashing at the hands of England at Twickernam.

Only the occasional splash of orange and chant of 'Seasiders' suggested that at a major final was taking place in the city the following day.

Winning the trophy is magnificent and means we can go into the last five games of the season full of confidence

Blackpool boss Steve McMahon

But at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday the domestic football programme's least glamorous final once again proved its worth.

The Blackpool supporters, in their distinctive Tangerine, made up by far the majority of the support.

And their team's emphatic 4-1 victory ensured that the Seasiders went home happy after following up last season's Division Three play-off final triumph with another win at the Millennium Stadium.

"It is special isn't it - and I loved it," said Blackpool manager Steve McMahon after the game.

"I love the scene with all our supporters, it's great when the Tangerines are out in force. You don't focus on the empty seats - you are drawn to the supporters. It was a carnival atmosphere.

"Winning the trophy is magnificent and means we can go into the last five games of the season full of confidence."

In the lead up to the game McMahon described the match as the cup final for the bottom two divisions.

He told his players that they might never play a in a domestic final again and that they should savour the day, ensure that they do themselves justice.

These Blackpool fans certainly enjoyed their day out

And he for one is adamant that the LDV Vans Trophy is a worthwhile competition.

"It is a great competition - and if you win it then it's fantastic.

"The club has made a few quid, the fans have had a great day out and it is a trophy for the club. It is a great achievement.

"I would not knock it at all. It is a cup competition - you enter it at the start, you want to win it and you try as hard as you can."

Cambridge boss John Taylor was desperate for his team to reward the U's loyal fans for sticking with their team through a wretched campaign that will conclude in relegation.

On the day, though, the U's were outplayed and their manager described the second half as a massive disappointment.

Playing in Division Two you don't reach many cup finals

Blackpool's John Hills

But even Taylor was quick to acknowledge the importance his team's cup run has played in giving the club's players and fans something to look forward to.

"It has been a good cup run and a great couple of days," said the U's boss.

"But on the day we didn't perform and looked very, very nervous."

Port Vale manager Brian Horton is another who believes strongly that there is a place for the LDV Vans Trophy in the domestic fixture programme.

His Vale team won last season's final 2-1 in a superb game against Brentford - and Horton won his first medal in 30 years of management.

The glory, albeit modest, that the LDV Vans Trophy can bring to the players, managers and supporters of lower divisions clubs is not something that should be taken for granted by football's elite.

For the honest professionals who ply their trade in the lower divisions it could be their only taste of success in a major final.

"Playing in Division Two you don't reach many cup finals," said Blackpool's John Hills, the game's man of the match.

"So to win a major final is absolutely brilliant and puts a medal in my cabinet."