title: 2012–13 Football League Trophy
text: # 2012–13 Football League Trophy
  
  The 2012–13 Football League Trophy, known as the Johnstone's Paint Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is the 30th season in the history of the competition. It is a knock-out tournament for English football clubs in League One and League Two, the third and fourth tiers of English football.
  
  In all, 48 clubs will enter the competition. It is split into two sections, Northern and Southern, with the winners of each section contesting the final at Wembley Stadium. Chesterfield are the defending champions, having beaten Swindon Town in the previous year's final, 2–0.
  
  ## First round
  
  The draw for the first round of the competition took place on 18 August 2012. Sixteen clubs were given a bye into the second round, and the remaining 32 clubs, including the holders, were divided into four geographical regions.
  
  ## Second round
  
  The draw for the second round of the competition took place on 8 September 2012, with matches played in the week commencing 8 October 2012.
  
  ## Area Quarter-finals
  
  The draw for the Area Quarter-finals was made on 13 October 2012, and the matches will be played in the week commencing 3 December 2012.
  
  ## Area Semi-finals
  
  The draw for the Area Semi-finals was made on 8 December 2012, and the matches were played in the week commencing 7 January 2013.
  
  ## 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
  
  Crewe Alexandra won 3–2 on aggregate.
  
  ### Southern section
  
  Southend United won 3–2 on aggregate.
  
  