The Football League play-offs for the 2002-03 season were held in May 2003, with the finals taking place at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. 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.
Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers contested the First Division play-off final, having defeated Nottingham Forest and Reading respectively in the semi-finals. Wolverhampton Wanderers secured promotion to the Premier League with a 3–0 victory, courtesy of goals from Mark Kennedy, Nathan Blake and Kenneth Miller. In the Second Division final, Cardiff City won 1–0 against QPR; Oldham Athletic and Bristol City were the other teams to reach the play-offs. In the Third Division, Bournemouth won their semi-final against Bury and then secured promotion with a 5-2 victory against Lincoln City, who had beaten Scunthorpe 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, Sheffield United, who are aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 1994, finished 12 points behind second placed Leicester City, who in turn finished 6 points behind champions Portsmouth, who returned to the top flight for the first time since 1988. Reading who are aiming for a place in the top flight for the first time in their history, finished in fourth place in the table. Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are aiming to return to the top flight after nearly 20 years outside the top flight, finished in fifth place. Nottingham Forest finished 2 points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers and were looking for a place back in the Premiership for the first time since 1999.
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Sheffield United | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 72 | 52 | +20 | 80 |
| 4 | Reading | 46 | 25 | 4 | 17 | 61 | 46 | +15 | 79 |
| 5 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 81 | 44 | +37 | 76 |
| 6 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 82 | 50 | +32 | 74 |
| 10 May 2003 12:15 |
Nottingham Forest | 1 – 1 | Sheffield United | City Ground, Nottingham Attendance: 29,064 Referee: Mark Clattenburg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnson 55' | Report | Brown 58' (pen.) |
| 10 May 2003 17:30 |
Wolverhampton Wanderers | 2 – 1 | Reading | Molineux, Wolverhampton Attendance: 27,678 Referee: Alan Kaye |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murty 75' (o.g.) Naylor 84' |
Report | Forster 25' |
| 14 May 2003 19:45 |
Reading | 0 – 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Madjeski Stadium, Reading Attendance: 24,060 Referee: Howard Webb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Rae 81' |
Wolverhampton Wanderers won 3–1 on aggregate.
| 15 May 2003 19:45 |
Sheffield United | 4 – 3 (a.e.t.) |
Nottingham Forest | Bramall Lane, Sheffield Attendance: 30,212 Referee: Peter Walton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown 60' Kabba 68' Peschisolido 112' Walker 117' (o.g.) |
Report | Johnson 30' Reid 58' Page 119' (o.g.) |
Sheffield United won 5–4 on aggregate.
| 26 May 2003 15:00 |
Sheffield United | 0 – 3 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 69,473 Referee: Steve Bennett |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Kennedy 6' Blake 22' Miller 45' |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Bristol City | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 79 | 48 | +31 | 83 |
| 4 | Queens Park Rangers | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 45 | +24 | 83 |
| 5 | Oldham Athletic | 46 | 22 | 16 | 8 | 68 | 38 | +30 | 82 |
| 6 | Cardiff City | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 68 | 43 | +25 | 81 |
| 10 May 2003 15:00 |
Cardiff City | 1 – 0 | Bristol City | Ninian Park, Cardiff Attendance: 19,146 Referee: Howard Webb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thorne 74' | Report |
| 10 May 2003 15:00 |
Oldham Athletic | 1 – 1 | Queens Park Rangers | Boundary Park, Oldham Attendance: 12,152 Referee: Steve Bennett |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eyres 28' | Report | Langley 47' |
| 13 May 2003 19:45 |
Bristol City | 0 – 0 | Cardiff City | Ashton Gate, Bristol Attendance: 16,307 Referee: Jeff Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report |
Cardiff City won 1–0 on aggregate.
| 14 May 2003 19:45 |
Queens Park Rangers | 1 – 0 | Oldham Athletic | Loftus Road, London Attendance: 17,201 Referee: Mark Clattenburg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furlong 82' | Report |
Queens Park Rangers won 2–1 on aggregate.
| 25 May 2003 15:00 |
Cardiff City | 1 – 0 (a.e.t.) |
Queens Park Rangers | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 66,096 Referee: Howard Webb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campbell 114' | Report |
| Pos | Club | Pld | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Bournemouth | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 60 | 48 | +12 | 74 |
| 5 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 68 | 49 | +19 | 72 |
| 6 | Lincoln City | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 46 | 37 | +9 | 70 |
| 7 | Bury | 46 | 18 | 16 | 12 | 57 | 56 | +1 | 70 |
| 10 May 2003 15:00 |
Bury | 0 – 0 | Bournemouth | Gigg Lane, Bury Attendance: 5,782 Referee: Jeff Winter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report |
| 10 May 2003 15:00 |
Lincoln City | 5 – 3 | Scunthorpe United | Sincil Bank, Lincoln Attendance: 8,902 Referee: Peter Walton |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weaver 15' Mayo 18' Smith 55' Yeo 82', 90' |
Report | Calvo García 26', 69' Stanton 70' |
| 13 May 2003 19:45 |
Bournemouth | 3 – 1 | Bury | Fitness First Stadium, Bournemouth Attendance: 7,945 Referee: Mick Fletcher |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Connor 21' Hayter 38', 60' |
Report | Preece 67' |
Bournemouth won 3–1 on aggregate.
| 14 May 2003 19:45 |
Scunthorpe United | 0 – 1 | Lincoln City | Glanford Park, Scunthorpe Attendance: 8,295 Referee: Steve Bennett |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Yeo 88' |
Lincoln City won 6–3 on aggregate.
| 24 May 2003 15:00 |
Bournemouth | 5 – 2 | Lincoln City | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 32,148 Referee: Alan Kaye |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fletcher 29', 45', 77' Purches 56' O'Connor 60' |
Report | Futcher 35' Bailey 75' |
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||