The 1991 Football League Second Division play-off Final was an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

match which was played on 2 June 1991 at

Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...

, London, between

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

and

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League (division), National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 2 ...

. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

from the

Football League Second Division The Football League Second Division was the second level division in the English football league system between 1892 and 1992. Following the foundation of the FA Premier League, the Football League divisions were renumbered and the third ti ...

, the second tier of

English football Association football is the most popular sport in England, where the first modern set of rules for the code were established in 1863, which were a major influence on the development of the modern Laws of the Game. With over 40,000 association f ...

, to the First Division. The top three teams of the 1990–91 Football League Second Division season gained automatic promotion to the First Division, while the clubs placed from fourth to seventh place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; Notts County ended the season in fourth position, two places ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 1991–92 season in the First Division.

Middlesbrough Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area. Until the early 1800s, the a ...

and

Millwall Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, east ...

were the losing semi-finalists. The match was played in front of a Wembley crowd of 59,940 spectators and was refereed by

David Elleray David Roland Elleray, (born 3 September 1954), is an English former football referee who officiated in the Football League, Premier League and for FIFA. As of September 2021 he held the position of Technical Director at the IFAB. During his ...

. Brighton started strongly but Notts County took the lead in the first half of the final with a Tommy Johnson goal. Brighton hit the post and the bar either side of half time, before Johnson made it 2–0 midway through the second half. Notts County added a third goal through

Dave Regis David Regis (born 3 March 1964) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. He scored 53 goals from 237 appearances in the Football League in the 1990s, notably for Stoke City and Notts County. Playing career Regi ...

before

Dean Wilkins Dean Mark Wilkins (born 12 July 1962) is an English football coach and former professional player. He was most recently the assistant manager of League Two club Stevenage. Managerial career Wilkins assumed the position of caretaker manager at ...

scored a late consolation goal, to end the game 3–1. In their following season, Notts County finished 21st in the First Division, and were relegated back to the second tier of English football. Brighton's next season also ended with their relegation: they finished in 23rd position and dropped into the third tier.

Route to the final

finished the regular 1991–92 season in fourth place in the

, the second tier of the

English football league system The English football league system, also known as the football pyramid, is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England, with five teams from Wales, one from Guernsey, one from Jersey and one from the Isl ...

, two places and ten points ahead of

. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for

to the First Division and instead took part in the

play-offs The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

, along with

and

, to determine the fourth promoted team. Notts County finished seven points behind

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

(who were promoted in second place) and eight behind league winners

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The history of Oldham Athletic ...

. Brighton & Hove Albion had qualified for the play-offs with a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offence ...

in the last minute of the final league game of the regular season, to beat

Ipswich Town Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...

2–1 and secure sixth place, despite having negative

goal difference Goal difference, goal differential or points difference is a form of tiebreaker used to rank sport teams which finish on equal points in a league competition. Either "goal difference" or "points difference" is used, depending on whether matches ar ...

. Their opponents in their play-off semi-final were Millwall with the first leg taking place at the

Goldstone Ground The Goldstone Ground (or The Goldstone) was a football stadium in Hove, East Sussex that was the home ground of Brighton & Hove Albion between 1902 and 1997. History The Goldstone Ground stood on Old Shoreham Road, Hove, opposite Hove Park i ...

Hove Hove is a seaside resort and one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove, along with Brighton in East Sussex, England. Originally a "small but ancient fishing village" surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th cen ...

on 19 May 1991. Millwall took the lead on 14 minutes after a poor clearance from

Ștefan Iovan Ştefan Iovan (born 23 August 1960) is a Romanian former football player and manager. Iovan played for several clubs, most notably Steaua București, and represented Romania 34 times between 1983 and 1990. Club career Iovan made his debut at ...

found Paul Stephenson whose shot from beat Perry Digweed in the Brighton goal. Five minutes before half time,

Mark Barham Mark Francis Barham (born 12 July 1962) is an English former professional footballer who played as a right-winger. Barham was a product of the Norwich City youth team, having signed him from his local club Folkestone and Shepway, and made his ...

made it 1–1 when he took advantage of poor defending from David Thompson. On 53 minutes, a weak backpass was intercepted by Brighton's Mike Small who score. Three minutes later, Clive Walker made it 3–1 and in the 60th minute, Robert Codner scored from a Small pass, with the game ending 4–1. Walker was forced to leave the game with a suspected broken arm. The return leg took place three days later at

The Den The Den (previously The New Den) is a football stadium in New Cross, south-east London, and the home of Millwall Football Club. The Den is adjacent to the South London railway originating at , and a quarter of a mile from the Old Den, which it ...

in London. Millwall's John McGlashan scored early in the first half, but a minute after the break Codner levelled the match after converting a

cross A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a sa ...

from Small. Despite late pressure from Millwall, John Robinson scored his first goal for Brighton, making it 2–1. No further goals were scored and Brighton progressed to the final with a 6–2

aggregate score There are a number of formats used in various levels of competition in sports and games to determine an overall champion. Some of the most common are the ''single elimination'', the ''best-of-'' series, the ''total points series'' more commonly kn ...

. Notts County faced Middlesbrough in their play-off semi-final with the first leg being hosted at

Ayresome Park Ayresome Park was a football stadium in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire, England. It was the home of Middlesbrough F.C. from its construction in time for the 1903–04 season, until the Riverside Stadium opened in 1995. It was demolished in 1997 and r ...

. Phil Turner opened the scoring for the visitors when he chipped a

pass over

Andy Dibble Andrew Gerald Dibble (born 8 May 1965) is a Welsh football coach and former professional player. As a player, he was as a goalkeeper from 1982 to 2006. During his career he played in the Premier League for Manchester City and in the Scottish ...

in the Middlesbrough goal. Jimmy Phillips then equalised from a John Hendrie cross and the match ended 1–1. The second leg was held at

Meadow Lane Meadow Lane Stadium is a football stadium in Nottingham, England. It is the home ground of Notts County, who have played there since it opened in 1910. The stadium was also home to Notts County Ladies F.C. from 2014 until 2017. It currently h ...

in Nottingham three days later. After a goalless first half, Paul Harding scored his first goal in professional football, putting the home side ahead in the 78th minute with a header from a

Mark Draper Mark Andrew Draper (born 11 November 1970) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a midfielder from 1988 to 2003, notably in the Premier League for Leicester City, Aston Villa and Southampton. He ...

cross. Notts County won the match 1–0, their eighth victory in nine games, and qualified for the final with a 2–1 aggregate win.

Match

Background

Neither team had featured in the second tier play-offs before. It was Brighton & Hove Albion's first visit to Wembley since they lost the

1983 FA Cup Final The 1983 FA Cup Final was contested by Manchester United and Brighton & Hove Albion at Wembley Stadium. Manchester United were the favourites, as Brighton had been relegated from the First Division that season, and had never reached a cup fin ...

replay. The club had last played top-tier football in the 1982–83 season. Notts County were aiming for back-to-back promotions, having won the 1990 Football League Third Division play-off Final 2–0 against

Tranmere Rovers Tranmere Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. The team compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1884 as Belmont Football Club, they adop ...

. They had not played at the highest level of English football since they were relegated in the 1983–84 season. In the matches between the two sides during the regular season, Notts County won their home game at Meadow Lane on New Year's Day 1991 while the return fixture in April ended in a goalless draw. Brighton's top scorer during the regular season was Small with 20 goals (15 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup, 1 in League Cup and 2 in Full Members' Cup), followed by John Byrne with a total of 11 goals (9 in the league and 2 in the FA Cup). For Notts County, Tommy Johnson was the leading marksman with 19 goals in total (16 in the league and 3 in the League Cup) followed by Kevin Bartlett and Regis (both with 16 goals in total). Walker returned to the Brighton starting line-up after suffering an arm injury in the semi-final, while Byrne was selected as one of the two substitutes two weeks after having undergone a second

cartilage Cartilage is a resilient and smooth type of connective tissue. In tetrapods, it covers and protects the ends of long bones at the joints as articular cartilage, and is a structural component of many body parts including the rib cage, the neck an ...

operation. For Notts County, Turner recovered from an ankle injury and was named in the starting eleven. Johnson was aiming to repeat his exploits of the previous season's play-off final where he scored the opening goal against Tranmere Rovers. He had opted to miss out on representing the

England national under-23 football team The England national under-21 football team, also known as England under-21s or England U21(s), is considered to be the feeder team for the England national football team. This team is for England players aged under 21 at the start of the calen ...

at the

Toulon Tournament The Toulon Tournament (officially the Festival International "Espoirs" – Tournoi Maurice Revello) is a football (training match) tournament, which traditionally features invited national teams composed of youth players from U-17 to U-23 level. ...

in order to take part in the play-offs. The

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titl ...

for the match was

from Harrow.

Summary

The match kicked off around 3p.m. in front of a Wembley Stadium crowd of 59,940. Brighton started on the offence with Barham and Walker exploiting the wings while Small worked to disrupt the Notts County defence. They dominated the first 20 minutes but after Walker's shot was blocked, Notts County began to get a foothold in the match. In the 29th minute, Notts County won a controversial corner: Chivers tackled Dean Thomas and the ball appeared to have gone out off the Notts County player, but Elleray awarded the corner against Brighton. A short pass from the set play from Turner found Thomas. He played the ball back to Turner whose cross was met by Johnson who scored past Digweed in the Brighton goal. Just before half-time, Walker passed to

Gary Chivers Gary Chivers (born 15 May 1960) is an English former association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football), defender in the Football League for Chelsea F.C., Chelsea, Swansea City A.F.C., Swansea City, Queens Park Rang ...

who returned the pass: Chivers jumped to head the ball goal-bound but it rebounded off the near post. Three minutes into the second half Brighton struck the frame of the Notts County goal again:

took a direct free kick from around which cleared the

defensive wall A defensive wall is a fortification usually used to protect a city, town or other settlement from potential aggressors. The walls can range from simple palisades or earthworks to extensive military fortifications with towers, bastions and gates ...

but shaved the crossbar. In the 59th minute, Johnson scored his and his team's second goal of the match, beating Digweed from a narrow angle. Thirteen minutes later, Regis scored to make it 3–0 to Notts County.

Colin Pates Colin George Pates (born 10 August 1961) is an English former professional footballer who made more than 400 appearances in the Football League. He played for various clubs, mainly in London, in a defensive role. Career Pates was born in Wimble ...

headed out a Draper free kick but it struck Regis who bundled it over the line. Wilkins scored a late consolation goal after Byrne, who had come on as a substitute, had gone on a

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

run and sent in a low cross. The full-time score was 3–1 and Notts County were promoted to the top tier of English football for the first time since 1984.

Details

Post-match

Notts County became the seventh team to win back-to-back promotions from the third tier to the first tier, but the first to do so through the play-offs both times. In their following season, they finished 21st in the First Division, and were relegated back to the second tier of English football. Brighton's next season also ended with their relegation: they finished in 23rd position and dropped into the third tier. According to the

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

chairman

Ken Bates Kenneth William Bates (born 4 December 1931) is a British businessman, football executive and hotelier. He was involved in the development of Wembley Stadium and is the former owner and chairman of football clubs Chelsea and Leeds United. Bates ...

, he approached Warnock with a provisional three-year deal to become manager of the club before the play-offs but he turned down the move citing his desire to remain continue working with his assistant Mick Jones at Notts County. Warnock later claimed he had "no regrets" that he did not accept the offer, suggesting that he remained with his promoted team because he "wanted to stay loyal to a group of players who had been fantastic for im" He was sacked by Notts County in January 1993 with the club bottom of the Second Division.

References

{{Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. matches Football League Second Division play-off finals EFL Championship play-off finals Play-off Final 2 Play-off Final 1991 Play-off Final 1991 Football League Second Division play-off Final Football League Second Division play-off Final