Ten minutes into the second half, George Thomas made it 2–0 to Coventry with a low volley from the edge of the penalty area.

The tournament originally used a straight knockout format, but was modified in 2016–17 to incorporate an initial group stage,[4] in which a team is awarded three points for a win and zero for a defeat.

Coventry were making their first appearance in a League Trophy final while for Oxford it was their second, following a 3–2 defeat to Barnsley in the previous season's match.

[10] The return fixture at the Kassam Stadium a month later was won by Oxford with Kane Hemmings, Jamie Sterry, Chris Maguire and Alex MacDonald all scoring as the match finished 4–1.

[12] West Ham were one of 16 academy teams from Premier League and EFL Championship clubs appearing following the tournament revamp in the summer of 2016.

The hosts took a 2–0 lead through Stephen McGinn and Scott Kashket but a brace from Ryan Haynes and a George Thomas tap-in, all in the space of nine-second-half minutes, turned the match around.

The match came amid a poor run of form for City,[18] and the crowd of 1,338 represented the third time the stadium's low attendance record for a first-team game had been broken in the 2016–17 competition.

With a line-up significantly changed from their regular league team, they played what journalists Alan Poole and Andy Turner of the Coventry Telegraph described as "one of their most rounded displays of the season".

Coventry then equalised close to the end of normal time through an own goal by Adnan Marić, as he fought for a header with Willis in the penalty area.

Thomas, Burundian international Gaël Bigirimana, Kyel Reid and Lameiras all scored their kicks while goalkeeper Reice Charles-Cook saved penalties by Swansea's Botti Biabi and George Byers.

Goals from Matt Jay and Liam McAlinden drew the Devon side level, but strikes from Ryan Taylor and Alex MacDonald in the final 20 minutes sealed a 4–2 win for United.

United needed just one point to secure qualification, while their hosts were already eliminated following two defeats, but it was Chelsea who scored first through Josimar Quintero, shortly before half time.

The young Chelsea team appeared to be on the verge of their first ever win in the tournament until Kane Hemmings scored an equaliser for Oxford in injury time at the end of the game.

Once again Oxford relied on Eastwood for crucial saves early in the game, but they then took the lead as Phil Edwards fired in while sitting on the ground, after a mis-hit shot by Liam Sercombe.

They doubled their lead after 69 minutes through Johnson and appeared to be heading for a comfortable win until Luton retaliated with two goals of their own, from Isaac Vassell and Danny Hylton.

Oxford clinched the match shortly after the equaliser, however, Johnson scoring with an 18-metre (20 yd) left-footed shot to book his team's place in the final.

[32] With Coventry at the bottom of League One and Oxford challenging for a play-off place, City manager Mark Robins was pragmatic about his team's prospects of victory.

In his place, the club selected coach and former goalkeeper Steve Ogrizovic, who had played in the FA Cup winning team 30 years earlier.

All we can promise as a club and as a team is that we'll be going all out to try and win the game and bring a bit of silverware back," he commented in an interview with BBC Radio Oxford.

[37] Robins made a number of changes from the side that had beaten Bristol Rovers in the previous league game, including the replacement of Ollie Clarke by Chris Stokes, and Lameiras playing instead of Jones.

[40][41] Oxford named a close to full strength side with midfielder Ryan Ledson returning from international duty with the England under-20 team and Maguire being declared fit to start after injury worries.

[43] Oxford continued to control the game as the half-hour mark approached, with striker Maguire gaining frequent possession of the ball,[48] but Coventry were able to defend and looked threatening themselves when attacking, particularly through Reid.

[49] Oxford appealed for a penalty after 31 minutes, when Haynes made contact with Hemmings, but the referee turned them down and replays suggested it was a legal shoulder-to-shoulder challenge.

Johnson received the ball close to the sideline and fired in a cross for Robert Hall, but the Oxford striker's shot went wide of the goal.

[42] The Coventry Telegraph in its minute-by-minute report urged Robins to tell his players that they "need to start asking Oxford a few more questions rather than being forced to defend what appears to be a fragile lead".

On 55 minutes City finally made the breakthrough: once again it was Thomas who had the chance, receiving a cross from the edge of the area by Reid and firing the resulting volley low into the corner of the goal.

Oxford made a substitution, replacing Ledson with Sercombe, and responded positively once again to conceding but remained unable to penetrate the City defence.

[42] United had a chance to level the game four minutes after scoring, as Hall found himself one-on-one with Burge, but he wasted the opportunity and the City keeper was able to make the save.

A threatened Oxford breakaway on 82 minutes was stopped by a Bigirimana foul; the Coventry player had already been booked and the BBC reporter at the game thought he would be sent off, but the referee decided to punish him only with a free kick.

[57] The Lord Mayor of Coventry had commented before the game that he would be open to the possibility of a parade and civic reception, similar to that after the team's victory in the 1987 FA Cup.