Jump to content

EFL League Two play-offs: Difference between revisions

Edit links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
Line 370: Line 370:
* Lowest attendance: 3,606 – [[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]] vs [[Cheltenham Town F.C.|Cheltenham Town]] (Semi-final, 2012)
* Lowest attendance: 3,606 – [[Torquay United F.C.|Torquay United]] vs [[Cheltenham Town F.C.|Cheltenham Town]] (Semi-final, 2012)


==Notes==
{{notelist}}
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

Revision as of 10:53, 8 May 2021

The EFL League Two play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from fourth to seventh in the EFL League Two table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. As of 2021, the play-offs comprise two semi-finals, where the team finishing fourth plays the team finishing seventh, and the team finishing fifth plays the team finishing sixth, each conducted as a two-legged tie. The winners of the semi-finals progress to the final which is contested at Wembley Stadium.

For the first three years, the play-off final took place over two legs, played at both side's grounds. Aldershot won the first League One play-off final in 1987, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–1 on aggregate. From 1990, the play-off final was a one-off match, hosted at the original Wembley Stadium, while from 2001 to 2006, the final was played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff as Wembley was being rebuilt. Since 2007, the match has been hosted at Wembley Stadium except for the 2011 final which took place at Old Trafford to avoid a clash with the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final.

When the fourth tier play-offs were first contested in 1987, they were known as the Football League Fourth Division play-offs. From 1993 to 2004, following the creation of the FA Premier League as a breakaway from the Football League, the competition became known as the Third Division play-offs, and since 2005 has taken its current name as the League Two play-offs following a rebranding of the remaining three divisions of the Football League.

Format

Play-off bracket format from 2000
An example of the play-off format, from the 2000 Second Division play-offs

As of 2021, the League Two play-offs involve the four teams that finish directly below the automatic promotion places in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. These teams meet in a series of play-off matches to determine the final team that will be promoted to the EFL Championship. The team finishing in fourth place plays the seventh-placed team in a two-legged tie, while the team in fifth plays the sixth-placed team over two legs, referred to as the "play-off semi-finals". The first match of the semi-finals is played at the side with the lower league position's home ground while the second match takes place at the higher-ranking side's ground. According to the EFL, "this is designed to give the highest finishing team an advantage".[1]

The winner of each semi-final is determined by the aggregate score across the two legs, with the number of goals scored in each match of the tie being added together. The team with the higher aggregate score qualifies for the final. If, at the end of regular 90 minutes of the second leg, the aggregate score is level then the match goes into extra time where two 15-minute halves are played. If the score remains level at the end of extra time, the tie is decided by a penalty shootout. The away goals rule does not apply in the play-off semi-finals.[1]

The clubs that win the semi-finals then meet at Wembley Stadium, a neutral venue, for a one-off match referred to as the "play-off final". If required, extra time and a penalty shootout can be employed in the same manner as for the semi-finals to determine the winner. The runner-up and losing semi-finalists remain in League Two while the winning side are promoted.[1] The match, along with the finals of the Championship and League One play-offs, usually takes place over the long weekend of the second bank holiday in May.[2]

Background

Main article: English Football League play-offs

The mid-1980s saw a decline in attendances at football matches and public disenchantment with English football. A number of instances of violence and tragedy struck the game. In March 1985 at the semi-final of the 1984–85 Football League Cup between Chelsea and Sunderland where more than 100 people were arrested after various invasions of the Stamford Bridge pitch and more than 40 people, including 20 policemen, were injured.[3] Nine days later, violence flared at the FA Cup match between Millwall and Luton Town: seats were used as missiles against the police and resulted in Luton Town banning away supporters.[4] On 11 May, 56 people were killed and 265 injured in the Bradford City stadium fire and less than three weeks later, 39 supporters died and more than 600 were injured in the Heysel Stadium disaster where Liverpool were playing Juventus in the European Cup final.[5]

Initially the Play-Offs would operate for two years, but if they proved popular with spectators they could become a permanent part of the calendar.

Heathrow Agreement[6]

In an attempt to persuade fans to return to the stadia, the Football League had rejected a £19 million television deal to broadcast matches live on the BBC and ITV before the 1985–86 Football League season with League president Jack Dunnett suggesting that "football is prepared to have a year or two with no television".[7] In December 1985, the "Heathrow Agreement" was agreed which aimed to revitalise the financial affairs of the league. It was a ten-point plan which included a structural reorganisation of the league, reducing the top tier from 22 clubs to 20, and the introduction of play-offs to facilitate the change.[8] The play-offs were introduced to the end of the 1986–87 Football League season.[9] They were initially introduced for two years but with the proviso that if they were successful with the general public, they would be retained permanently.[6]

History

EFL League Two play-off nomenclature
Years Name
1987–1992 Football League Fourth Division play-offs
1993–2004 Football League Third Division play-offs
2005–2015 Football League Two play-offs
2016–present EFL League Two play-offs

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 were introduced for the 1986–87 season, the play-offs originally featured a third-tier club as well as the three fourth-tier clubs. The first winners were Aldershot, who won promotion in impressive style by beating their illustrious opponents Bolton Wanderers in the semi-finals (condemning the four-times FA Cup winners to relegation) and then defeated a Wolverhampton Wanderers side with nine major trophies to their name in the two-legged final. A year later, Swansea City won promotion at the expense of Rotherham United.

The format was then but discontinued afterwards to include only the four teams who finished behind the team or teams winning automatic promotion. As before, the semi-final and final were both two-legged, and this time were won by a Leyton Orient side who memorably climbed into the top seven of the Fourth Division after being in the bottom half of the table with two months of the league season remaining.

Since the 1989–90 season, the final has been a single game, contested between the winners of the semi-finals (which remain two-legged), held at either Wembley Stadium or the Millennium Stadium. The first winners of the final in this format were Cambridge United, whose victory marked the beginning of an excellent three-season run for the East Anglian club, being followed by the Third Division title a year later and then a playoff appearance in the Second Division in 1992, where a semi-final defeat ended their hopes of playing in the new FA Premier League and becoming the first Football League team to win three consecutive promotions.

Winners and semi-finalists

Key to list of winners and semi-finalists
Year Link to play-off article for specified year
Venue Location(s) of the final match(es)
Winner (X) Team that won play-off final, (X) indicates cumulative number of play-off final victories
Final Link to play-off final article for the specified match
^ Final played over two legs
R Final decided by a replay
† Final decided in extra time
‡ Final decided by a penalty shootout
Runner-up Team that lost play-off final
Semi-finalists Two teams that lost in play-off semi-finals
Original Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium hosted the fourth-tier play-off final between 1990 and 2000.
Millennium Stadium
The final was held at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff between 2001 and 2006 while Wembley was being redeveloped.
Wembley Stadium
The redeveloped Wembley Stadium has been host to the League Two play-off final every year since 2007 except in 2011.
Bristol Rovers playing Shrewsbury Town at Wembley
Bristol Rovers playing Shrewsbury Town in the 2007 Football League Two play-off Final.
In 2011, Old Trafford was used for the final to avoid a clash with the Champions League final.
Wembley Stadium before the 2018 EFL League Two play-off Final
Wembley Stadium before the 2018 EFL League Two play-off Final
Winners of the EFL League Two play-offs along with runners-up and semi-finalists
Year Venue Winner Final Runner-up Semi-finalists Ref.
1987 Recreation Ground/Molineux ^ Aldershot (1) 3–0 Wolverhampton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers
Colchester United 		[10]
1988 Vetch Field/Plainmoor ^ Swansea City (1) 5–4 Torquay United Rotherham United
Scunthorpe United 		[11]
1989 Racecourse Ground/Brisbane Road ^ Leyton Orient (1) 2–1 Wrexham Scarborough
Scunthorpe United 		[12]
1990 Wembley Stadium (original) Cambridge United (1) 1–0 Chesterfield Maidstone United
Stockport County 		[13]
1991 Torquay United (1) 2–2 ‡[a] Blackpool Burnley
Scunthorpe United 		[14]
1992 Blackpool (1) 1–1 ‡[b] Scunthorpe United Barnet
Crewe Alexandra 		[15]
1993 York City (1) 1–1 ‡[c] Crewe Alexandra Bury
Walsall 		[16]
1994 Wycombe Wanderers (1) 4–2 Preston North End Carlisle United
Torquay United 		[17]
1995 Chesterfield (1) 2–0 Bury Mansfield Town
Preston North End 		[18]
1996 Plymouth Argyle (1) 1–0 Darlington Colchester United
Hereford United 		[19]
1997 Northampton Town (1) 1–0 Swansea City Cardiff City
Chester City 		[20]
1998 Colchester United (1) 1–0 Torquay United Barnet
Scarborough 		[21]
1999 Scunthorpe United (1) 1–0 Leyton Orient Rotherham United
Swansea City 		[22]
2000 Peterborough United (1) 1–0 Darlington Barnet
Hartlepool United 		[23]
2001 Millennium Stadium Blackpool (2) 4–2 Leyton Orient Hartlepool United
Hull City 		[24]
2002 Cheltenham Town (1) 3–1 Rushden & Diamonds Hartlepool United
Rochdale 		[25]
2003 Bournemouth (1) 5–2 Lincoln City Bury
Scunthorpe United 		[26]
2004 Huddersfield Town (1) 0–0 ‡[d] Mansfield Town Lincoln City
Northampton Town 		[27]
2005 Southend United (1) 2–0 † Lincoln City Macclesfield Town
Northampton Town 		[28]
2006 Cheltenham Town (2) 1–0 Grimsby Town Lincoln City
Wycombe Wanderers 		[29]
2007 Wembley Stadium Bristol Rovers (1) 3–1 Shrewsbury Town Lincoln City
Milton Keynes Dons 		[30]
2008 Stockport County (1) 3–2 Rochdale Darlington
Wycombe Wanderers 		[31]
2009 Gillingham (1) 1–0 Shrewsbury Town Bury
Rochdale 		[32]
2010 Dagenham & Redbridge (1) 3–2 Rotherham United Aldershot Town
Morecambe 		[33]
2011 Old Trafford Stevenage (1) 1–0 Torquay United Accrington Stanley
Shrewsbury Town 		[34]
2012 Wembley Stadium Crewe Alexandra (1) 2–0 Cheltenham Town Southend United
Torquay United 		[35]
2013 Bradford City (1) 3–0 Northampton Town Burton Albion
Cheltenham Town 		[36]
2014 Fleetwood Town (1) 1–0 Burton Albion Southend United
York City 		[37]
2015 Southend United (2) 1–1 ‡[e] Wycombe Wanderers Plymouth Argyle
Stevenage 		[38]
2016 AFC Wimbledon (1) 2–0 Plymouth Argyle Accrington Stanley
Portsmouth 		[39]
2017 Blackpool (3) 2–1 Exeter City Carlisle United
Luton Town 		[40]
2018 Coventry City (1) 3–1 Exeter City Lincoln City
Notts County 		[41]
2019 Tranmere Rovers (1) 1–0 † Newport County Forest Green Rovers
Mansfield Town 		[42]
2020 Northampton Town (2) 4–0 Exeter City Cheltenham Town
Colchester United 		[43]

Records

Note: These are only for play-offs at League Two level, for overall records in the Football League play-offs see here.

Notes

  1. ^ Torquay United won the 1991 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final with a 5–4 penalty shootout victory over Blackpool.[14]
  2. ^ Blackpool won the 1992 Football League Fourth Division play-off Final with a 4–3 penalty shootout victory over Scunthorpe United.[15]
  3. ^ York City won the 1993 Football League Third Division play-off Final with a 5–3 penalty shootout victory over Crewe Alexandra.[16]
  4. ^ Huddersfield Town won the 2004 Football League Third Division play-off Final with a 4–1 penalty shootout victory over Mansfield Town.[27]
  5. ^ Southend United won the 2015 Football League Two play-off Final with a 7–6 penalty shootout victory over Wycombe Wanderers.[38]

References

  1. ^ a b c "About the Play-Offs". English Football League. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  2. ^ Woodcock, Ian; Williams, Adam (22 May 2020). "EFL play-offs: Relive some of the most memorable games". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  3. ^ Foster 2015, p. 12.
  4. ^ Foster 2015, p. 13.
  5. ^ Foster 2015, pp. 14–15.
  6. ^ a b Foster 2015, p. 27.
  7. ^ Foster 2015, p. 19.
  8. ^ Foster 2015, p. 18.
  9. ^ Pye, Steven (22 May 2015). "How Charlton, Swindon and Aldershot triumphed in the first play-offs in 1987". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2021.
  10. ^ Foster 2015, p. 195.
  11. ^ Foster 2015, p. 197.
  12. ^ Foster 2015, p. 199.
  13. ^ Foster 2015, p. 200.
  14. ^ a b Foster 2015, p. 201.
  15. ^ a b Foster 2015, p. 202.
  16. ^ a b Foster 2015, p. 203.
  17. ^ Foster 2015, p. 204.
  18. ^ Foster 2015, p. 205.
  19. ^ Foster 2015, p. 206.
  20. ^ Foster 2015, p. 207.
  21. ^ Foster 2015, p. 208.
  22. ^ Foster 2015, p. 209.
  23. ^ Foster 2015, p. 210.
  24. ^ Foster 2015, p. 211.
  25. ^ Foster 2015, p. 212.
  26. ^ Foster 2015, p. 213.
  27. ^ a b Foster 2015, p. 214.
  28. ^ Foster 2015, p. 215.
  29. ^ Foster 2015, p. 216.
  30. ^ Foster 2015, p. 217.
  31. ^ Foster 2015, p. 218.
  32. ^ Foster 2015, p. 219.
  33. ^ Foster 2015, p. 220.
  34. ^ Foster 2015, p. 221.
  35. ^ Foster 2015, p. 222.
  36. ^ Foster 2015, p. 223.
  37. ^ Foster 2015, p. 224.
  38. ^ a b Foster 2015, p. 225.
  39. ^ "League Two end of season table for 2015-16 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  40. ^ "League Two end of season table for 2016-17 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  41. ^ "League Two end of season table for 2017-18 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  42. ^ "League Two end of season table for 2018-19 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  43. ^ "League Two end of season table for 2019-20 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=EFL_League_Two_play-offs&oldid=1022084271"