Scunthorpe feature as a Championship side knowing that by next week at this time the season will be over and they will be a League One side again. City appear at the end of a season that promised so much, and until the arrival of PeterJackson delivered very little. Both sides know next year they'll be expected to compete again, and a county cup in the trophy cabinet would be a nice springboard.
The Imps have won the competition 37 times since its inception in 1884, making it older than some other famous footballing trophies. Scunthorpe have triumphed by comparison a paltry 14 times. The Imps are leading the way with the most wins, followed closely by Grimsby Town on 36. Scunthorpe have won it the third most times, followed by Gainsborough Trinity who have won it 10 times.
The Imps reached the final thanks to a 1-0 win over Grimsby Town courtesy of a Jamie Forrester goal, whilst Scunthorpe over came Boston Utd 2-1. Both semi finals took place in August, so the sides have had plenty of time to prepare for the final!!!
Scunthorpe were runners up to City last year, and have indeed been runners up now three season on the bounce. They last won the trophy in 2004.
History
The Lincolnshire Senior County Cup is a competition for senior football clubs in Lincolnshire organised solely by the Lincolnshire FA. The competition can be traced back to the formation of the Lincolnshire FA at a meeting held at the Queens Hotel in Lincoln on Saturday 17th September 1881 with sixteen teams entered the inaugural Lincolnshire Cup competition. Spilsby were the first winners in 1881-82. Spilsby would go on to win the first three competitions and retained the original trophy.
When the competition first started it was treated as seriously as the FA Cup and there was a desperate need for a Lincoln team to be successful in the competition following the initial victories by Spilsby. They had defeated three Lincoln based teams - Lincoln Rovers, Lincoln Lindum and Lincoln Albion - in the 1883-84 competition, and that actually led to the formation of The Mighty Imp on 26 June 1884.
The elevation of Grimsby and The Imps to the League in 1892 and Gainsborough Trinity in 1896 saw the importance of the competition decline over time. The format has undergone a number of changes as has the actual trophy, and nowadays the tournament is no more than a friendly competition taking place before the end and at the beginning of a new season, widely used as an opportunity to look at fringe players and younger talent.
The competition now has the formal title "The Lincolnshire Football Association Ltd Senior County Cup Competition" and was competed annually by the four senior clubs of the county: Boston United, Grimsby Town, Lincoln and Scunthorpe. However with Boston relegation it remains to be seen what format next years competition will take as Gainsborough Trinity and Grantham Town may well stake a claim for a place.