2002–03 Bristol City F.C. season
# 2002–03 Bristol City F.C. season

The 2002–03 season was Bristol City Football Club's 105th season in English football, and their fourth consecutive season in the Second Division. It was Danny Wilson's third year in charge of the club since his arrival in July 2000. A third place saw Bristol City reach the play-offs, but a 1–0 defeat to Cardiff City in the semi-finals, ended their hopes of league promotion. However, the club saw some success, after reaching the final in the Football League Trophy, where they beat Carlisle United 2–0, but failed to repeat this throughout the rest of the season, as they exited in the third round of the FA Cup, losing to Leicester City, and the first round of the League Cup against Oxford United.

The club's leading goalscorer was Scott Murray, with 27 goals in all competitions.

## Player details

### Squad information

| # | Name | Nationality | Date of Birth (Age) | Caps | Goals | League debut |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Goalkeepers |||||||
| 1 | Steve Phillips | England | (1978-05-06)6 May 1978 (aged 24) | 148 | 0 | |
| 14 | Mike Stowell | England | (1965-04-19)19 April 1965 (aged 37) | 25 | 0 | 11 August 2001 vs Northampton Town |
| 21 | Billy Mercer | England | (1969-05-22)22 May 1969 (aged 33) | 25 | 0 | 2 November 1999 vs Gillingham |
| 34 | Boaz Myhill | Wales | (1982-11-09)9 November 1982 (aged 19) | 0 | 0 | |
| Defenders |||||||
| 2 | Louis Carey | Scotland | (1977-01-22)22 January 1977 (aged 25) | 274 | 4 | |
| 3 | Mickey Bell | England | (1971-11-15)15 November 1971 (aged 30) | 234 | 33 | 9 August 1997 vs Grimsby Town |
| 5 | Tony Butler | England | (1972-09-28)28 September 1972 (aged 29) | 40 | 1 | 31 August 2002 vs Tranmere Rovers |
| 6 | Matthew Hill | England | (1981-03-26)26 March 1981 (aged 21) | 135 | 4 | 7 November 1998 vs Wolves |
| Midfielders |||||||
| 4 | Tommy Doherty | Northern Ireland | (1979-03-17)17 March 1979 (aged 23) | 128 | 4 | |
| 7 | Scott Murray | Scotland | (1974-05-26)26 May 1974 (aged 28) | 226 | 46 | 20 December 1997 vs Chesterfield |
| 8 | Joe Burnell | England | (1980-10-10)10 October 1980 (aged 21) | 116 | 0 | 15 January 2000 vs Bournemouth |
| 11 | Brian Tinnion | England | (1968-02-23)23 February 1968 (aged 34) | 395 | 34 | |
| 15 | Robin Hulbert | England | (1980-03-14)14 March 1980 (aged 22) | 39 | 0 | 24 April 2000 vs Oxford United |
| Strikers |||||||
| 9 | Peter Beadle | England | (1972-05-13)13 May 1972 (aged 30) | 83 | 14 | 19 October 1999 vs Colchester United |
| 10 | Lee Peacock | Scotland | (1976-10-09)9 October 1976 (aged 25) | 105 | 40 | 12 August 2000 vs Wrexham |
| 12 | Aaron Brown | England | (1980-03-14)14 March 1980 (aged 22) | 130 | 7 | 12 December 1998 vs Crystal Palace |

## Final league table

| Pos | Team v t e | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Promotion or relegation |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | Wigan Athletic (C, P) | 46 | 29 | 13 | 4 | 68 | 25 | +43 | 100 | Promoted |
| 2 | Crewe Alexandra (P) | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 76 | 40 | +36 | 86 | Promoted |
| 3 | Bristol City | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 79 | 48 | +31 | 83 | Participated in play-offs |
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 45 | +24 | 83 | Participated in play-offs |
| 5 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 82 | Participated in play-offs |

## Matches

### Pre-season

Pre-season match details :

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 23 July 2002 | Yeovil Town | Away | L | 0–1 | | 927 |
| 27 July 2002 | Ipswich Town | Home | L | 0–3 | | 5,017 |
| 30 July 2002 | Exeter City | Away | W | 1–0 | Murray 63' | 1,253 |
| 31 July 2002 | Tiverton Town | Away | D | 1–1 | Roberts 15' | 430 |
| 3 August 2002 | Hereford United | Away | W | 5–0 | Goodison 16', Roberts 45', Lita (2) 82', 90', Woodman 85' | 961 |

### Second Division

Second Division match details :

| Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 10 August 2002 | Blackpool | Home | W | 2–0 | Peacock 77', Murray 90' | 11,891 |
| 13 August 2002 | Brentford | Away | L | 0–1 | | 7,130 |
| 17 August 2002 | Wigan Athletic | Away | L | 0–2 | | 6,548 |
| 24 August 2002 | Wycombe Wanderers | Home | W | 3–0 | Bell 38', Murray 52', Roberts 72' | 9,597 |
| 26 August 2002 | Plymouth Argyle | Away | L | 0–2 | | 11,922 |
| 31 August 2002 | Tranmere Rovers | Home | W | 2–0 | Tinnion 70' pen., Murray 74' | 9,849 |
| 6 September 2002 | Northampton Town | Home | W | 3–0 | Peacock (2) 7', 76', Clist 87' | 11,104 |
| 14 September 2002 | Cheltenham Town | Away | W | 3–2 | Murray 3', Coles 43', Matthews 53' | 5,895 |
| 17 September 2002 | Oldham Athletic | Away | L | 0–1 | | 5,583 |
| 21 September 2002 | Queens Park Rangers | Home | L | 1–3 | Murray 11' | 12,221 |
| 28 September 2002 | Port Vale | Away | W | 3–2 | Beadle 18', Murray 40', Lita 90' | 4,286 |
| 5 October 2002 | Chesterfield | Home | W | 4–0 | Roberts 26', Hill 63', Murray 90', 90' | 10,107 |
| 12 October 2002 | Barnsley | Away | W | 4–1 | Butler 19', Roberts (3) 28', 58', 73' | 10,495 |
| 19 October 2002 | Swindon Town | Home | W | 2–0 | Murray 12', Tinnion 38' | 13,205 |
| 26 October 2002 | Peterborough United | Away | W | 3–1 | Tinnion 3', Brown 17', Murray 90' | 5,332 |
| 29 October 2002 | Huddersfield Town | Home | W | 1–0 | Hill 38' | 11,494 |
| 9 November 2002 | Colchester United | Away | D | 2–2 | Peacock (2) 42', 58' | 3,398 |
| 23 November 2002 | Mansfield Town | Away | W | 5–4 | Murray 39', Roberts (2) 50', 90', Tinnion 87' pen., Lita 90' | 4,801 |
| 30 November 2002 | Crewe Alexandra | Home | D | 2–2 | Murray 48', Peacock 84' | 12,585 |
| 14 December 2002 | Cardiff City | Away | W | 2–0 | Tinnion 49' pen., Roberts 76' | 15,239 |
| 21 December 2002 | Luton Town | Home | D | 1–1 | Beadle 90' | 14,057 |
| 26 December 2002 | Plymouth Argyle | Home | D | 0–0 | | 18,085 |
| 28 December 2002 | Stockport County | Away | W | 4–1 | Peacock 19', Coles 40', Rosenior 45', Beadle 89' | 5,100 |
| 1 January 2003 | Wycombe Wanderers | Away | L | 1–2 | Tinnion 87' pen. | 6,785 |
| 10 January 2003 | Wigan Athletic | Home | L | 0–1 | | 13,151 |
| 18 January 2003 | Tranmere Rovers | Away | D | 1–1 | Bell 10' | 7,459 |
| 25 January 2003 | Stockport County | Home | D | 1–1 | Roberts 50' | 10,831 |
| 1 February 2003 | Blackpool | Away | D | 0–0 | | 7,290 |
| 8 February 2003 | Colchester United | Home | L | 1–2 | Fagan 51' | 11,107 |
| 11 February 2003 | Brentford | Home | D | 0–0 | | 9,084 |
| 15 February 2003 | Notts County | Away | L | 0–2 | | 7,048 |
| 22 February 2003 | Northampton Town | Away | W | 2–1 | Robins 12', Tinnion 35' | 4,688 |
| 1 March 2003 | Cheltenham Town | Home | W | 3–1 | Robins 2', Brown 20', Rosenior 90' | 11,711 |
| 4 March 2003 | Oldham Athletic | Home | W | 2–0 | Murray 54', Roberts 90' | 11,194 |
| 8 March 2003 | Queens Park Rangers | Away | L | 0–1 | | 14,681 |
| 15 March 2003 | Peterborough United | Home | W | 1–0 | Robins 12' | 11,231 |
| 19 March 2003 | Swindon Town | Away | D | 1–1 | Robins 48' | 8,629 |
| 22 March 2003 | Huddersfield Town | Away | W | 2–1 | Hill 17', Peacock 36' | 9,477 |
| 29 March 2003 | Barnsley | Home | W | 2–0 | Murray 6', Roberts 63' | 10,232 |
| 12 April 2003 | Mansfield Town | Home | W | 5–2 | Peacock 13', Murray (3) 32', 51', 80', Carey 70' | 12,013 |
| 15 April 2003 | Crewe Alexandra | Away | D | 1–1 | Roberts 62' | 7,901 |
| 19 April 2003 | Luton Town | Away | D | 2–2 | Tinnion 66' pen., Peacock 75' | 6,381 |
| 22 April 2003 | Cardiff City | Home | W | 2–0 | Tinnion 55' pen., Roberts 73' | 15,615 |
| 26 April 2003 | Chesterfield | Away | L | 0–2 | | 4,770 |
| 3 May 2003 | Port Vale | Home | W | 2–0 | Murray 31', Peacock 43' | 12,410 |

**Play-offs**

Cardiff City won 1–0 on aggregate.

### FA Cup

FA Cup match details :

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 16 November 2002 | Heybridge Swifts | Away | W | 7–0 | Roberts (2) 16', 40', Tinnion 40' pen., Murray (2) 45', 61', Lita (2) 66', 82' | 2,046 |
| Second round | 8 December 2002 | Harrogate Railway Athletic | Away | W | 3–1 | Walker 20' o.g., Murray 53', Roberts 90' | 3,500 |
| Third round | 4 January 2003 | Leicester City | Away | L | 0–2 | | 25,868 |

### League Cup

Bristol City entered the first round of the League Cup, where they were drawn against Oxford United.

Football League Cup match details :

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance | Ref. |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 10 September 2002 | Oxford United | Away | L | 0–1 | | 4,065 | |

### Football League Trophy

Football League Trophy match details :

| Round | Date | Opponents | Venue | Result | Score F–A | Scorers | Attendance |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| First round | 22 October 2002 | Queens Park Rangers | Away | W | 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p) | | 4,722 |
| Second round | 12 November 2002 | Boston United | Away | W | 2–1 Golden goal | Murray 33', Coles 111' | 1,408 |
| Third round | 11 December 2002 | Wycombe Wanderers | Home | W | 3–0 | Murray 41', Peacock (2) 64', 71' | 3,506 |
| Fourth round | 21 January 2003 | Bournemouth | Away | W | 3–1 | Bell (2) 68', 77', Murray 90' | 5,125 |
| Semi-finals, First leg | 18 February 2003 | Cambridge United | Home | W | 4–2 | Doherty 21', Burnell 64', Murray 67', Robins 77' | 7,173 |
| Semi-finals, Second leg | 25 February 2003 | Cambridge United | Away | W | 3–0 7–2 agg. | Carey 11', Murray 45', Roberts 80' | 3,956 |
| Final | 6 April 2003 | Carlisle United | Neutral | W | 2–0 | Peacock 78', Rosenior 89' | 50,913 |
