The Football League play-offs for the 1999-2000 season were held in May 2000, with the finals taking place at the old Wembley Stadium in London for the final time. The play-off semi-finals will be played over two legs and will be contested by the teams who finish in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League First Division and Football League Second Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division table. The winners of the semi-finals will go through to the finals, with the winner of the matches gaining promotion for the following season.
Ipswich Town and Barnsley contested the First Division play-off final, having defeated Bolton Wanderers and Birmingham City respectively in the semi-finals. Ipswich Town secured promotion to the Premier League with a 4-2 victory. In the Second Division final, Gillingham won 3-2 in extra time against Wigan Athletic; Stoke City and Millwall were the other teams to reach the play-offs. In the Third Division, Peterborough United won their semi-final against Barnet and then secured promotion with a 1-0 victory against Darlington, who had beaten Hartlepool United in their semi-final.
Contents |
The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each division following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing below the automatic promotion places.
In the First Division, Ipswich Town, who are aiming to return to the top flight after 5 years outside the top flight, finished 2 points behind second placed Manchester City, who in turn finished 2 points behind champions Charlton Athletic, who returned to the top flight after being relegated last season. Barnsley who are aiming to return to the top flight after 2 seasons outside the top division, finished in fourth place in the table. Birmingham City, who are aiming to return to the top flight after 14 years outside the top division, finished in fifth place. Bolton Wanderers, who as well as Barnsley are aiming to return to the top flight after relegation 2 seasons ago, finished 1 point behind Birmigham City in sixth place.
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Ipswich Town | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 71 | 42 | +29 | 87 |
| 4 | Barnsley | 46 | 24 | 10 | 12 | 88 | 67 | +21 | 82 |
| 5 | Birmingham City | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 65 | 44 | +21 | 77 |
| 6 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 69 | 50 | +19 | 76 |
| 13 May 2000 15:00 |
Birmingham City | 0 – 4 | Barnsley | St Andrew's, Birmingham Attendance: 26,492 Referee: Mark Halsey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Shipperley 12' Dyer 48', 60' Hignett 84' |
| 14 May 2000 13:00 |
Bolton Wanderers | 2 – 2 | Ipswich Town | Reebok Stadium, Bolton Attendance: 18,814 Referee: Rob Styles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holdsworth 5' Guðjohnsen 26' |
Report | Stewart 36', 65' |
| 17 May 2000 19:45 |
Ipswich Town | 5 – 3 (a.e.t.) |
Bolton Wanderers | Portman Road, Ipswich Attendance: 21,543 Referee: Barry Knight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magilton 18' (pen.)', 49', 90' Clapham 94' (pen.) Reuser 119' |
Report | Holdsworth 6', 39' Johnston 50' |
Ipswich Town won 7–5 on aggregate.
| 18 May 2000 19:45 |
Barnsley | 1 – 2 | Birmingham City | Oakwell, Barnsley Attendance: 19,050 Referee: Mike Dean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dyer 54' | Report | Rowett 33' Marcelo 75' |
Barnsley won 5–2 on aggregate.
| 29 May 2000 15:00 |
Barnsley | 2 – 4 | Ipswich Town | Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 73,427 Referee: Terry Heilbron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright 6' (o.g.) Hignett 78' (pen.) |
Report | Mowbray 28' Naylor 52' Stewart 58' Reuser 90' |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Gillingham | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 79 | 48 | +31 | 85 |
| 4 | Wigan Athletic | 46 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 72 | 38 | +34 | 83 |
| 5 | Millwall | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 76 | 50 | +26 | 82 |
| 6 | Stoke City | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 68 | 42 | +26 | 82 |
| 13 May 2000 15:00 |
Stoke City | 3 – 2 | Gillingham | Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent Attendance: 22,124 Referee: Mike Dean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gunnlaugsson 1' Lightbourne 8' Thorne 67' |
Report | Gooden 18' Hassenthaler 90' |
| 13 May 2000 15:00 |
Millwall | 0 – 0 | Wigan Athletic | The New Den, London Attendance: 14,091 Referee: Terry Heilbron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report |
| 17 May 2000 19:45 |
Gillingham | 3 – 0 (a.e.t.) |
Stoke City | Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham Attendance: 10,386 Referee: Rob Styles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ashby 55' Onuora 102' Smith 118' |
Report |
Gillingham won 5–3 on aggregate.
| 17 May 2000 19:45 |
Wigan Athletic | 1 – 0 | Millwall | JJB Stadium, Wigan Attendance: 10,642 Referee: David Laws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan 61' | Statistics |
Wigan Athletic won 1–0 on aggregate.
| 28 May 2000 15:00 |
Wigan Athletic | 2 – 3 (a.e.t.) |
Gillingham | Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 53,764 Referee: Rob Styles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haworth 59' Barlow 99' (pen.) |
Report | McGibbon 35' (o.g.) Butler 114' Thomson 118' |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Darlington | 46 | 21 | 16 | 9 | 66 | 36 | +30 | 79 |
| 5 | Peterborough United | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 63 | 54 | +9 | 78 |
| 6 | Barnet | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 59 | 53 | +6 | 75 |
| 7 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 60 | 49 | +11 | 72 |
| 13 May 2000 15:00 |
Hartlepool United | 0 – 2 | Darlington | Victoria Park, Hartlepool Attendance: 6,995 Referee: Barry Knight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statistics | Liddle 35' Gabbiadini 76' (pen.) |
| 13 May 2000 15:00 |
Barnet | 1 – 2 | Peterborough United | Underhill, London Attendance: 4,535 Referee: David Laws |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arber 22' | Statistics | Lee 5' Clarke 68' |
| 17 May 2000 19:45 |
Darlington | 1 – 0 | Hartlepool United | Feethams, Darlington Attendance: 8,238 Referee: Mark Halsey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strodder 9' (o.g.) | Statistics |
Darlington won 3–0 on aggregate.
| 17 May 2000 19:45 |
Peterborough United | 3 – 0 | Barnet | London Road, Peterborough Attendance: 10,515 Referee: Terry Heilbron |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Farrell 28', 70', 89' | Statistics |
Peterborough United won 5–1 on aggregate.
| 26 May 2000 19:45 |
Peterborough United | 1 – 0 | Darlington | Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 33,383 Referee: Mike Dean |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clarke 74' | Report |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||