The Championship Play-Off Final, billed as the “Richest Match in Football,” has featured some amazing contests as teams competed for a spot in the Premier League.
Over the course of 39 years, the play-off final to determine who would be promoted to English football’s top division has become one of the most lucrative games in the world.
Those who gain promotion to the Premier League not only receive at least a season’s worth of revenue from the league’s vast global broadcasting contract, but they are also entitled to at least two years of parachute payments if they are relegated back, amounts of money that can provide a significant advantage over their rivals in that scenario.
Given what’s on offer, it’s no surprise that there have been some outstanding and contentious Championship play-off finals over the years; here are FLW’s picks for the finest of the bunch.
101987 – Charlton Athletic 2-1 Leeds United
The Football League introduced the play-offs for the 1986-87 season, and they looked somewhat different then than they do now. At the time, they were played between the third, fourth, and fifth placed teams in the Second Division, as well as the team that finished 19th in the First Division.
Charlton Athletic would have to compete against Oldham Athletic, Leeds United, and Ipswich Town in order to remain in the First Division the following season. Furthermore, the final was contested home and away over two legs, rather than as a one-off encounter. Away goals would determine the winner of each match.
Both semi-finals were tightly contested. Charlton advanced to the final with a 2-1 aggregate win over Ipswich. Following a goalless draw in the first leg at Portman Road, two Jim Melrose goals in the first three minutes of the second leg were enough to send them through.
In the other semi-final, Oldham Athletic pushed Leeds United to the limit. Keith Edwards’ 89th-minute winner gave Leeds a 1-0 lead going into the second leg at Boundary Park, and after another 89th-minute goal gave Oldham a 2-0 lead on the night, it appeared to have sent the home side through, but a last-minute strike from Edwards was enough to send them through.
The two legs of the final were tense affairs, with each team winning their home game 1-0, necessitating a rematch, which was set to take place four days later at Birmingham City’s St Andrew’s stadium.
The game was goalless after 90 minutes, and when John Sheridan gave Leeds the lead nine minutes into the first period, it appeared that they had done enough to ensure their return to the top division after a five-year hiatus. However, two Peter Shirtliff goals in five minutes (113th and 117th minutes) were enough to keep Charlton in the game.
91990 – Swindon Town 1-0 Sunderland
In 1989-90, Swindon Town were the Second Division’s surprise team. Managed by Lou Macari, just four years ago they were playing Fourth Division football, and even though two successive promotions had moved them up to the Second, they didn’t appear to be moving any farther until, after the system had already been altered such that the fourth-bottom First Division team was no longer engaged, they sneaked into the play-offs on the penultimate day of the season.
This was also the first season to culminate with a play-off final at Wembley Stadium, as the previous three years’ two-legged finals had been removed, and Swindon advanced to Wembley with two 2-1 victories over Blackburn Rovers. They would face Sunderland at Wembley Stadium, where they defeated Newcastle 2-0 over two legs in a heated semi-final in which the second game was nearly abandoned due to a pitch invasion by home fans.
The 1990 final is not included on this list because of the quality of the match itself. Alan McLoughlin scored in the first half to give Swindon a 1-0 victory in an unimpressive game. What came next was important. Swindon had been under investigation for financial problems since November, but after their promotion was confirmed, the League announced that instead of promoting them to Division One, they would be demoted to Division Three, with Sunderland promoted instead.
This sparked outrage, and the two-division relegation was lowered to one, leaving Swindon in their current position. They ended just two points above relegation in 1990-91, and while they did earn a season of Premier League play four years later, that first denial still stings in some parts of Wiltshire.
82000 – Ipswich Town 4-2 Barnsley
Ipswich Town had been out of the Premier League for five years when they faced Barnsley in the final domestic club match held at the original Wembley Stadium before it was dismantled and rebuilt. They almost went up automatically, trailing runners-up Manchester City by two points, and advanced to Wembley Stadium thanks to a thrilling 7-5 aggregate triumph over Bolton Wanderers in the semi-finals.
Their opponents in the final had defeated Birmingham City 5-2 in the semi-finals, and it was fitting that two sides who had scored 12 goals between them to reach Wembley scored another six on the day. This was Ipswich’s fourth consecutive appearance in the playoffs, and fifth overall. They had lost in the semi-finals for the previous three years, so this was their first time reaching the final.
It first appeared that this final would not be any better for them. After barely five minutes, Craig Hignett’s long-range strike hit the crossbar and deflected in off goalkeeper Richard Wright. But Ipswich equalised through Tony Mowbray just before the half-hour mark, and they were 3-1 up after an hour. Hignett equalized for Barnsley with twelve minutes remaining, setting up a tense last few minutes, but Martijn Reuser broke from his own half to score a fourth goal, securing Ipswich’s promotion.
72019 – Aston Villa 2-1 Derby County
Again, this was not a particularly entertaining game, but it did have huge implications for both clubs. Anwar El Ghazi and John McGinn scored to kick off Aston Villa’s resurgence. Five years later, they would finish fourth in the Premier League and make their first Champions League appearance since 1982-83.
However, while Villa’s victory would have long-term benefits, Derby County faced the inverse. They’d been spending extensively under owner Mel Morris in the hopes of re-entering the Premier League, but this match was the tipping point.
They went into administration within two and a half years, and it took them five years to get back to a position where they could compete for a Championship play-off spot.
61989 – Crystal Palace 4-3 Blackburn Rovers (On Aggregate)
This two-legged final featured one of the greatest comebacks in a Championship play-off final. This was a meeting between two clubs who had been out of the top flight for a period. Crystal Palace had not been there since the “Team of the 80s” disbanded in 1981, while Blackburn Rovers hadn’t been there since 1966.
And by the end of the first leg, Blackburn appeared to be on their way back, having won 3-1 at Ewood Park. However, in the second leg, Ian Wright and David Madden scored to force extra time, and a second Wright goal three minutes later sealed the victory.
Palace highlighted their first season back by reaching their first FA Cup final, losing to Manchester United, and finished third in the First Division the following season. Blackburn created it themselves in 1992, just in time for the birth of the Premier League, which they won three years later.
52011 – Reading 2-4 Swansea City
After defeating Cardiff City and Norwich City in the semi-finals, Reading and Swansea City, who finished third and fifth in the final league table, faced off in a goal-filled final that was fraught with tension despite appearing to be wrapped up before half-time.
Reading exploded out of the blocks, taking a 3-0 lead before halftime thanks to two goals in a minute from Scott Sinclair and a third added five minutes later by Stephen Dobbie. But Cardiff weren’t finished yet. With more than 30 minutes remaining, Joe Allen scored an own goal and Matthew Mills added another.
A Cardiff onslaught could have forced extra time, but Reading weathered the storm, and with ten minutes remaining, Sinclair scored his second penalty kick and third goal of the afternoon, securing Reading’s return to the Premier League and making him the second-ever player to score a hat-trick in a Championship play-off final. We’ll return to the first a little later on this list.
42010 – Blackpool 3-2 Cardiff City
The 2011 play-off final came after another spectacular performance a year before, which ended a streak of both teams failing to score in this match dating back to 2002.
Blackpool had just made the play-offs after finishing sixth in the Championship, 21 points behind runners-up West Bromwich Albion. However, both semi-finals were surprising, with Blackpool defeating Nottingham Forest 6-4 on aggregate and Cardiff City defeating Leicester City on penalties after drawing 3-3 over two legs.
This was a dramatic game, but the majority of the action occurred in the first half. Michael Chopra gave Cardiff the lead in the ninth minute, but it only lasted four minutes as Blackpool’s Charlie Adam leveled. Joe Ledley restored Cardiff’s lead eight minutes before halftime, but two goals from Gary Taylor-Fletcher and Brett Ormerod in the closing five minutes of a tense first half gave Blackpool a 3-2 lead at the interval.
Cardiff surged forward in the second half in quest of an equaliser but were unable to get one, and when the final whistle blew, the Seasiders had returned to the Premier League for the first time since 1971.
31993 – Swindon Town 4-3 Leicester City
Three years after their never-to-be promotion, Swindon Town returned to Wembley Stadium for a match against Leicester City, the team that had been defeated by Blackburn Rovers in the previous year’s play-off final; however, with Swindon finishing fifth in the table and Leicester sixth, some questioned how fair these still-relatively new play-offs might be.
However, both Swindon and Leicester were there on merit, according to the competition’s criteria, having defeated Tranmere Rovers and Portsmouth in the semi-finals, respectively.
And once they did, they played a storming match, the first of many throughout the 1990s. Glenn Hoddle was in charge of Swindon at the time, and he scored the game’s first goal shortly before halftime, while Craig Maskell and Shaun Taylor scored two goals in eight minutes early in the second half, extending their advantage to 3-0 and appearing to put the game out of reach for Leicester.
Except that no one told Leicester this. Julian Joachim equalized for the Foxes four minutes later, and two goals in a minute from Steve Walsh and Steven Taylor midway through the half stunned Wembley Stadium, bringing the score back to 3-3 with just over twenty minutes remaining.
However, the afternoon would finish in Leicester heartbreak. With only six minutes remaining, Steve White was hauled down inside the penalty area. Paul Bodin converted the penalty kick, and Swindon Town advanced to the top tier of English football for the first – and only – time in their existence.
21995 – Bolton Wanderers 4-3 Reading
With the Premier League reduced from 22 to 20 clubs, there was only one automatic promotion spot at the top of the First Division at the end of the 1994–95 season. In the end, only six points separated the top five teams, with Middlesbrough winning the title and promotion. Bolton Wanderers and Reading were both unexpected contenders near the top of the table, and they defeated Wolves and Tranmere Rovers in the semi-finals to reach Wembley.
The game turned out to be more exciting than the previous meeting between Swindon and Leicester a few years ago. Reading had an early two-goal lead thanks to goals from Lee Nogan and Adrian Williams, and supporters had to wait until there were only 15 minutes remaining before Owen Coyle equalized for Bolton. With Wanderers pressing hard on Reading’s defence, Fabian De Freitas equalised with four minutes remaining, forcing extra time.
Mixu Paatelainen completed Bolton’s recovery after 15 minutes of extra time, and with two minutes remaining, De Freitas scored his second goal of the afternoon, seemingly putting the game out of reach. However, a minute later, Reading player-manager Jimmy Quinn scored a third goal, setting up a brutally stressful last few minutes before the full-time whistle and Bolton’s return to the top division after a 15-year hiatus.
11998 – Charlton Athletic 4-4 Sunderland (Charlton win 7-6 on penalties)
In 38 finals, the Championship play-off final has only been decided by a penalty shootout four times, with this being the first. Not only that, but it happened at the end of an incredible contest in which eight goals were scored, including the first hat-trick.
The top four teams in the First Division had been separated by only six points this season. Nottingham Forest and Middlesbrough were automatically promoted as champions and runners-up, whilst Sunderland and Charlton finished third and fourth, respectively. Sunderland defeated Sheffield 3-2 on aggregate, while Charlton defeated Ipswich Town 2-0 to get to Wembley.
Not for the first time in this final, there was little sign of the drama to come by halftime. Charlton lead 1-0 after Clive Mendonca scored midway through the half.
But in the second half, everything went off. Sunderland’s Niall Quinn tied the score five minutes in, and before an hour had passed, Kevin Phillips scored again to turn the game around. Charlton rallied back with Mendonca’s second goal of the afternoon, but Quinn restored Sunderland’s advantage two minutes later, only for Richard Rufus to tie the game at 3-3 with five minutes remaining.
Extra-time at the end of such a long season was perhaps the last thing either side wanted, but they kept delivering on the field. Sunderland grabbed the lead nine minutes into the first period, but Mendonca equalized four minutes later, becoming the first player to achieve a hat trick in this match. Only one player has done it in the past 28 years.
With the scores set at 4-4, the match went to a penalty shootout, and, somewhat surprisingly given the players’ fatigue levels, the first twelve penalty kicks were all perfect, tying the game at 6-6. Shaun Newton converted the 13th penalty, giving Charlton a 7-6 lead, however Charlton goalkeeper Sasha Ilic saved Michael Gray’s kick, and the club was promoted to the Premier League.
This contest is still known as “The Clive Mendonca Final” in London SE7.
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