Johnstone's Paint Trophy Final 2015: TV Schedule, Live Stream and Preview
Bristol City and Walsall will battle it out for the coveted Johnstone’s Paint trophy under the iconic Wembley arch, with each club looking to give their respective campaigns a timely boost with some mid-season silverware.
The competition is seen as a hindrance by a lot of clubs in the lower reaches of the football league, as the fixtures merely congest further an already convoluted calendar. But you can bet that after getting so far in the competition, both of these sides will be desperate to sample glory at the home of football.
Wembley finals are always enthralling spectacles and with a chance to check out some of the brightest talent in the lower divisions, this will be an intriguing watch. Here’s a closer look at the two teams on the cusp of the tournament climax and all the information you need on where to catch the game on the box and via an online stream.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
Date: Sunday, Mar. 22
Time: 3:30 p.m. (GMT)
TV Info: Sky Sports 3 (UK)
Live Stream: Sky Go (UK)
Bristol City Searching for Double Success
A magnificent league campaign has seen City move 11 points clear at the summit of League 1, and promotion to the second tier looks inevitable for Steve Cotterill and his team. They’ve been playing with a real swagger of late too, winning six of their last seven league games.
As noted by commentator Ian Darke, they could be the first team in English football to have promotion confirmed:
Their stunning form also means they can concentrate fully on this Wembley showdown with Walsall. This team showed their class with a 4-2 aggregate win over Gillingham in the area final and they can complete one half of a potentially illustrious double should they triumph under the arch before going on to lift the title in the third tier.
Naturally, the club’s supporters are looking forward to their day out, per the competition’s official Twitter account:
In comparison, Walsall are having a much more difficult season, currently languishing down in 15th place. The Saddlers aren’t completely out of the woods in terms of avoiding relegation—they’re six points clear of the drop zone with nine games to play—but will feel as though they have the requisite buffer to go all out for victory in the upcoming final.
Manager Dean Smith has insisted these players will not get many better opportunities to sample victory at Wembley, per BBC Sport:
"For me, football's about winning things.
You don't very often get a chance to win a trophy and this is our best chance of getting to Wembley and winning a competition.
"
Indeed, it’ll be the first time ever that the club has played at the national stadium, but they did savour success in the third-tier playoff final back in 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Vital Walsall has implored the current crop to etch their name into the club’s history along with those heroes from 14 years ago:
But it’s tough to see how Walsall will get the better of this rampant Bristol City side. While the likely return of top scorer Tom Bradshaw and midfield general Sam Mantom will give this Saddlers team a boost, Cotterill’s men look a stronger outfit in every single facet of the field.
Watch out for the dynamic attacking duo of Kieran Agard and Aaron Wilbraham leading the line for the League 1 leaders, with the pair plundering nine and 14 goals this season respectively, per WhoScored.com. They’ll be too hot to handle for the Walsall back line and will fire City to a memorable victory.
Prediction: Bristol City 2-1 Walsall
