1987–88 Associate Members' Cup

The 1987–88 Associate Members' Cup, known as the 1987–88 Sherpa Van Trophy for sponsorship reasons, was the seventh staging of a secondary football league tournament, and the fifth staging of the Associate Members' Cup, a knockout competition for English football clubs in the Third and Fourth Divisions (now known as League One and Two).

The winners were Wolverhampton Wanderers, who defeated Burnley 2–0 in the final. This marked the first time two former English champions met in the final of the competition. Wolves became the first former champions to win the trophy, followed by Portsmouth in 2019 and Sunderland in 2021.

The competition began on 13 October 1987 and ended with the final on 29 May 1988. The tournament begins with clubs divided into a Northern and a Southern section, and teams entering a preliminary group stage. Each section then gradually eliminates the qualifying teams in knock-out fashion until each has a winning finalist. At this point, the two winning finalists faced each other in the combined final for the honour of the trophy.

Preliminary round

Northern Section

! colspan=4 | Play-off to determine second place:

Southern Section

First round

Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team19 JanuaryBurnley1–0Chester City19 JanuaryBury1–0Bolton Wanderers19 JanuaryHalifax Town2–1Chesterfield19 JanuaryMansfield Town1–0Scunthorpe United19 JanuaryPreston North End3–1Rochdale19 JanuarySunderland1–0Crewe Alexandra26 JanuaryDarlington3–2Rotherham United3 FebruaryCarlisle United0–2Hartlepool United

Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team19 JanuaryAldershot1–0Bristol City19 JanuaryColchester United1–1Leyton OrientColchester United won 4–3 on penalties19 JanuaryNewport County2–3Hereford United19 JanuaryTorquay United1–0Port Vale19 JanuaryWalsall1–2Peterborough United19 JanuaryWolves4–0Brentford20 JanuaryBrighton4–2Southend United20 JanuaryNotts County2–0Cardiff City

Quarter-finals

Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team9 FebruaryBury0–1Burnley9 FebruarySunderland0–1Hartlepool United16 FebruaryPreston North End2–1Mansfield Town18 FebruaryDarlington1–2Halifax Town

Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team9 FebruaryColchester United2–3Notts County9 FebruaryWolves4–0Peterborough United10 FebruaryHereford United0–1Brighton16 FebruaryAldershot0–1Torquay United

Area semi-finals

Northern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team8 MarchBurnley0–0Halifax TownBurnley won 5–3 on penalties8 MarchHartlepool United0–2Preston North End

Southern Section DateHome teamScoreAway team8 MarchWolves1–0Torquay United9 MarchBrighton1–5Notts County

Area finals

Northern Area final

Burnley won 3–1 on aggregate.

Southern Area final

Wolverhampton Wanderers won 4–1 on aggregate.

Final

External links Official website