Football League Two play-offs

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The Football League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches, contested by the teams finishing from 4th to 7th in the Coca Cola Football League Two table to determine the fourth spot for promotion to the third tier of English football, League One.

The last final was played in May 2008, Stockport County defeating their local rivals Rochdale 3-2 in front of 35,715. The highest crowd for a league 2 play off final was when Bristol Rovers beat Shrewsbury Town 3-1 at a newly-renovated Wembley in front of a massive crowd of 61,589 of which there were approximately 38,000 Bristol Rovers and 24,000 Shrewsbury Town fans.

Contents

[edit] Format

Name changes
1987 - 1992 Football League Fourth Division play-offs
1993 - 2004 Football League Third Division play-offs
2005 - 0000 Football League Two play-offs

The current system of the League Two play-offs has uses two semi-finals are played over two legs, with 7th playing 4th and 6th playing 5th, with the return fixtures following. For the two-legged semi-finals, there is no away goals advantage such as those in the knock-out rounds of European competition. The Final is played at Wembley, although from 2001 to 2006, it was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff while Wembley was being rebuilt.

Aside from the branding changes which affected English football in 1992 and 2004, the League Two play-offs have also changed in format. When they started in 1987, the play-offs originally featured a third-tier team and three fourth-tier clubs. This format was continued for 1988, but discontinued afterwards. The final changed from two-legged to a one-bout affair beginning in 1990.

[edit] Results

[edit] 1987

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
5th Colchester United 0-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers 4th 0-2 0-0
6th Aldershot 3-2 Bolton Wanderers 21st Div 3 1-0 2-2 aet
Final
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
Aldershot 3-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 0-1

[edit] 1988

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
5th Torquay United 3-2 Scunthorpe United 4th 2-1 1-1
6th Swansea City 2-1 Rotherham United 21st Div 3 1-0 1-1
Final
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
Swansea City 5-4 Torquay United 2-1 3-3

[edit] 1989

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Wrexham 5-1 Scunthorpe United 4th 3-1 2-0
6th Leyton Orient 2-1 Scarborough 5th 2-0 0-1
Final
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
Wrexham 1-2 Leyton Orient 0-0 1-2

[edit] 1990

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Chesterfield 6-0 Stockport County 4th 4-0 2-0
6th Cambridge United 3-1 Maidstone United 5th 1-1 2-0
Final
26 May 1990 Cambridge United 1 - 0 Chesterfield Wembley
Attendance: 26,404
Dion Dublin

[edit] 1991

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
8th Scunthorpe United 2-3 Blackpool 5th 1-1 1-2
7th Torquay United 2-1 Burnley 6th 2-0 1-0
Final
31 May 1991 Torquay United 2 - 2 aet
5 - 4 pens		 Blackpool Wembley
Attendance: 21,615
Wes Saunders
Dean Edwards		 Paul Groves
Curran

[edit] 1992

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Barnet 1-2 Blackpool 4th 1-0 0-2
6th Crewe Alexandra 2-4 Scunthorpe United 5th 2-2 2-0
Final
23 May 1992 Blackpool 1 - 1 aet
4 - 3 pens		 Scunthorpe United Wembley
Attendance: 22,741
Dave Bamber Tony Daws

[edit] 1993

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Bury 0-1 York City 4th 0-0 0-1
6th Crewe Alexandra 9-3 Walsall 5th 5-1 4-2
Final
29 May 1993 York City 1 - 1 aet
5 - 3 pens		 Crewe Alexandra Wembley
Attendance: 22,416
Gary Swann Dave McKearney

[edit] 1994

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Carlisle United 1-4 Wycombe Wanderers 4th 0-2 1-2
6th Torquay United 3-4 Preston North End 5th 2-0 1-4
Final
28 May 1994 Wycombe Wanderers 4 - 2 Preston North End Wembley
Attendance: 40,109
Steven Thompson
Simon Garner
Dave Caroll		 Ian Bryson
Paul Raynor

[edit] 1995

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Preston North End 0-2 Bury 4th 0-1 0-1
6th Mansfield Town 3-6 Chesterfield 5th 1-1 2-5 aet
Final
27 May 1995 Chesterfield 2 - 0 Bury Wembley
Attendance: 22,814
Tony Lormor
Phil Robinson

[edit] 1996

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Colchester United 2-3 Plymouth Argyle 4th 1-0 3-1
6th Hereford United 2-4 Darlington 5th 1-2 1-2
Final
25 May 1996 Plymouth Argyle 1 - 0 Darlington Wembley
Attendance: 43,431
Ronnie Mauge

[edit] 1997

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Cardiff City 2-4 Northampton Town 4th 0-1 2-3
6th Chester City 0-3 Swansea City 5th 0-0 0-3
Final
24 May 1997 Northampton Town 1 - 0 Swansea City Wembley
Attendance: 46,804
John Frain 90' Report

[edit] 1998

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Barnet 2-3 Colchester United 4th 1-0 1-3
6th Scarborough 2-7 Torquay United 5th 1-3 1-4
Final
24 May 1998 Colchester United 1 - 0 Torquay United Wembley
Attendance: 19,486
Referee: M. Fletcher (Worcestershire)
David Gregory 22' pen Report

[edit] 1999

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Swansea City 2-3 Scunthorpe United 4th 1-1 0-1
6th Leyton Orient 0-0 (4-2 pens) Rotherham United 5th 0-0 0-0 aet
Final
29 May 1999 Scunthorpe United 1 - 0 Leyton Orient Wembley
Attendance: 36,985
Referee: Clive Wilkes (Gloucestershire)
Alex Calvo-Garcia 6' Report

[edit] 2000

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Hartlepool United 0-3 Darlington 4th 0-2 0-1
6th Barnet 1-5 Peterborough United 5th 1-2 0-3
Final
26 May 2000 Peterborough United 1 - 0 Darlington Wembley
Attendance: 33,383
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
Andy Clarke 74' Report

[edit] 2001

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Blackpool 5-1 Hartlepool United 4th 2-0 3-1
6th Hull City 1-2 Leyton Orient 5th 1-0 0-2
Final
26 May 2001 Blackpool 4 - 2 Leyton Orient Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 23,600
Referee: D. Pugh (Wirral)
Ian Hughes 35'
Brian Reid 45'
Paul Simpson 77'
Brett Ormerod 88'		 Report Chris Tate 1'
Scott Houghton 37'

[edit] 2002

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Hartlepool United 2-2 (4-5 pens) Cheltenham Town 4th 1-1 1-1 aet
6th Rushden & Diamonds 2-3 Rochdale 5th 2-2 1-2
Final
6 May 2002 Cheltenham Town 3 - 1 Rushden & Diamonds Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 24,368
Referee: Anthony Leake (Lancashire)
Martin Devaney 27'
Julian Alsop 49'
John Finnigan 80'		 Report Paul Hall 28'

[edit] 2003

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Bury 1-3 A.F.C. Bournemouth 4th 0-0 3-1
6th Lincoln City 6-3 Scunthorpe Utd 5th 5-3 0-1
Final
24 May 2003 A.F.C. Bournemouth 5 - 2 Lincoln City Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 32, 148
Referee: Alan Kaye (West Yorkshire)
Steve Fletcher 29'
Carl Fletcher 45', 77'
Stephen Purches 56'
Garreth O'Connor 60'		 Report Ben Futcher 35'
Mark Bailey 75'

[edit] 2004

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Lincoln City 3-4 Huddersfield Town 4th 1-2 2-2
6th Northampton Town 3-3 (4-5 pens) Mansfield Town 5th 0-2 3-1 aet
Final
31 May 2004 Huddersfield Town 0 - 0 aet
4 - 1 pens		 Mansfield Town Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 37,298
Referee: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear)
Report

[edit] 2005

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Northampton Town 0-1 Southend United 4th 0-0 0-1
6th Lincoln City 2-1 Macclesfield Town 5th 1-0 1-1
Final
28 May 2005 Southend United 2 - 0 aet Lincoln City Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 19,653
Referee: M. Atkinson (West Yorkshire)
Freddy Eastwood 105'
Duncan Jupp 110'		 Report

[edit] 2006

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Lincoln City 1-3 Grimsby Town 4th 0-1 1-2
6th Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Cheltenham Town 5th 1-2 0-0
Final
28 May 2006 Cheltenham Town 1 - 0 Grimsby Town Millennium Stadium
Attendance: 29,196
Referee: P. Taylor (Hertfordshire)
Steve Guinan 63' Report

[edit] 2007

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Shrewsbury Town 2-1 MK Dons 4th 0-0 2-1
6th Bristol Rovers 7-4 Lincoln City 5th 2-1 5-3
Final
26 May 2007 Bristol Rovers 3 - 1 Shrewsbury Town Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 61,589
Referee: M. J. Jones (Chester)
Richard Walker 21', 35'
Sammy Igoe 90'		 Report Stewart Drummond 3'

[edit] 2008

Semi-finals
Team #1   Agg.   Team #2   1st leg     2nd leg  
7th Wycombe Wanderers 1-2 Stockport County 4th 1-1 0-1
6th Darlington 3-3 (4-5 pens) Rochdale 5th 2-1 1-2 aet
Final
26 May 2008 Rochdale 2 - 3 Stockport County Wembley Stadium
Attendance: 35,715
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
Rory McArdle Scored after 24 minutes 24'
Adam Rundle Scored after 77 minutes 77'		 Report Nathan Stanton Scored after 34 minutes 34' (o.g.)
Anthony Pilkington Scored after 49 minutes 49'
Liam Dickinson Scored after 67 minutes 67'

[edit] References