The 2009 Football League One 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 24 May 2009 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

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 ...

and

Scunthorpe United Scunthorpe United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England. The side currently competes in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. The tea ...

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

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

to the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the En ...

. The top two teams of the

2008–09 Football League One The Football League 2008–09 (named Coca-Cola Football League for sponsorship reasons), was the seventeenth season under its current league division format. It began in August 2008 and concluded in May 2009, with the promotion play-off finals. ...

season,

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

and

Peterborough United Peterborough United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England. The team compete in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Peterborough have a long-standing ...

, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while those placed from third to sixth in the table took part in play-off semi-finals. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2009–10 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were

Milton Keynes Dons Milton Keynes Dons Football Club (), usually abbreviated to MK Dons, is a professional association football club based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third tier of the English football league system. The ...

and

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road S ...

. The game was played in front of 59,661 spectators and was refereed by Michael Oliver. In the 6th minute,

Matt Sparrow Matthew Ronald Sparrow (born 3 October 1981) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder Sparrow made 440 appearances in the Football League across his 17-year-long playing career, notably 369 over two spells with S ...

put Scunthorpe ahead with a right-footed shot into the top-left corner of the Millwall goal from around . Gary Alexander levelled the match with a long-range strike in the 37th minute. Two minutes later, he doubled his tally with a header into the bottom-left corner of the Scunthorpe goal from . With 20 minutes remaining, Sparrow struck from around to restore parity at 2–2 and 15 minutes later,

Martyn Woolford Martyn Paul Woolford (born 13 October 1985) is an English former professional footballer who last played as a midfielder for Frickley Athletic. He has played in the Football League for Scunthorpe United, Bristol City, Millwall, Sheffield Unit ...

put Scunthorpe ahead with a left-footed strike from . The final score was 3–2 to Scunthorpe who were promoted to the Championship. Scunthorpe's next season saw them finish in 20th position, two places above the relegation zone. Millwall ended their following season in third place in the table to qualify for 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 ...

where they defeated

Swindon Town Swindon Town Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Route to the final

finished the regular 2008–09 season in fifth place in

, the third 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 ...

, one position ahead of

. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for

to the

and instead took part in the

to determine the third promoted team. Millwall finished seven points behind

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

. Scunthorpe United ended the season six points behind Millwall. Scunthorpe United's opponents in their play-off semi-final were

and the first match of the

two-legged tie In sports (particularly association football), a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum o ...

took place at

Glanford Park Glanford Park is a football stadium in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, and is the current home of team Scunthorpe United. Opened in 1988 at a construction cost of £2.5 million, it was the first new purpose-built Football League st ...

in Scunthorpe on 8 May 2009. A volley from

put the home side into the lead early in the match after

Willy Guéret Willy Julie Guéret (born 3 August 1973) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Career Guéret was born in Saint-Claude, Guadeloupe, Saint-Claude, Guadeloup ...

failed to properly clear a shot from

Paul Hayes Paul Edward Hayes (born 20 September 1983) is an English former professional footballer who works as director of football for Isthmian League Premier Division side Bowers & Pitsea. As a player he was a forward who made more than 500 appearan ...

Aaron Wilbraham Aaron Thomas Wilbraham (born 21 October 1979) is an English football manager and former professional footballer who played as a forward. He is currently assistant manager of side Shrewsbury Town. Playing career Early career Born in Knutsford ...

scored the equaliser with a header in the 27th minute: no further goals were scored and the match ended 1–1. The second leg of the semi-final was held a week later at

Stadium MK Stadium MK is a football ground in the Denbigh district of Bletchley in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. Designed by Populous and opened in 2007, it is the home ground of EFL League One side Milton Keynes Dons and FA Women's National ...

in Milton Keynes. Regular time ended goalless, sending the match into

extra time Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...

where the closest chance fell to

David Mirfin David Matthew Mirfin (born 18 April 1985) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a centre back. Career Huddersfield Town Mirfin was born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. He graduated from the Huddersfield Town Academy in the ...

whose shot struck the Millwall goalpost. With the tie ending 1–1 on aggregate, a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

was required to decide the winners. The first six penalties were scored before Cliff Byrne missed his for Scunthorpe.

Jason Puncheon Jason David Ian Puncheon (born 18 June 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Cypriot First Division club Anorthosis Famagusta . Following his goal against Everton on his Blackpool debut, he has scored in all ...

's spot kick was then saved but with the next two penalties being scored, the shootout went to sudden death.

and

Jude Stirling Jude Barrington Stirling (born 29 June 1982) is an English former footballer who plays as a defender. He has previously played for Luton Town, Stevenage Borough, St Albans City, Boreham Wood, Hornchurch, Dover Athletic, Tamworth, Grays Ath ...

both missed before the next four were scored. Ian Morris converted his side's ninth penalty and then

Tore André Flo Tore André Flo (born 15 June 1973) is a Norwegian former professional football striker and coach who is the manager of 1. divisjon club Sogndal. He was capped 76 times, scoring 23 goals for Norway, and represented his country in 1998 FIFA Wor ...

missed to give Scunthorpe a 7–6 penalty win. In the second play-off final, Millwall faced

with the first leg being played at

the New 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 i ...

on 9 May 2009. After a goalless first half, Neil Harris scored in the 70th minute from a Gary Alexander

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 ...

to give Millwall a one-goal lead to take into the second leg. The second leg, at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The g ...

in Leeds, took place five days later. Millwall goalkeeper David Forde made a double-save from

Jermaine Beckford Jermaine Paul Alexander Beckford (born 9 December 1983) is an English Football pundit and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He began his career as a trainee at Chelsea, and played for Wealdstone, Uxbridge, Leeds United, ...

and

Fabian Delph Fabian Delph (born 21 November 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder or left-back. He was on the books of Bradford City as a youngster until he moved to Leeds United aged 11. Having played 45 matc ...

before denying Beckford's second-half

penalty Penalty or The Penalty may refer to: Sports * Penalty (golf) * Penalty (gridiron football) * Penalty (ice hockey) * Penalty (rugby) * Penalty (rugby union) * Penalty kick (association football) * Penalty shoot-out (association football) * Penalty ...

after

Sam Sodje Okeremute Samuel Sodje (born 25 May 1979) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre back. Born in England to Nigerian parents, Sodje represented Nigeria at international level. Club career Early years Sodje was born in Greenwi ...

was pulled back in the

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

by Andy Frampton. In the 53rd minute, Leeds took the lead when

Luciano Becchio Luciano Héctor Becchio (born 28 December 1983) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the assistant manager of Segunda División B – Group 3 side CD Atlético Baleares.Ben Parker cross to level the aggregate score.

Lewis Grabban Lewis James Grabban (born 12 January 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker. He was called up to the Jamaica squad in 2015 but remains uncapped. Early and personal life Grabban's maternal grandparents were Windrush ...

then passed to Djimi Abdou who scored from close range to make it 1–1 on the day. With no further goals, Millwall won the tie 2–1 on aggregate and progressed to the final.

Match

Michael Oliver EM-Qualifikationsspiel Österreich-Russland 2014-11-15 013 (cropped)

Background

Scunthorpe had played in League One for a single season having been relegated from the Championship in the 2007–08 season. They had featured in the play-offs six times, including four times in five years between 1988 and 1992, but had reached the final just twice. In 1992, they lost in a penalty shootout to

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

in the final of the fourth tier play-offs at the

old Wembley Stadium The original Wembley Stadium (; originally known as the Empire Stadium) was a stadium in Wembley, London, best known for hosting important football matches. It stood on the same site now occupied by its successor. Wembley hosted the FA Cup f ...

before gaining promotion to the third tier with victory over

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a professio ...

in the 1999 Football League Third Division play-off Final. Earlier in the season, Scunthorpe had already played at the renovated

in the Football League Trophy Final, where they lost 3–2 to

Luton Town Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...

after extra time. Millwall had played in League One since being relegated in the 2005–06 season. They had qualified for play-offs four times since the inception of the post-season competition but had failed to progress beyond the semi-finals on any occasion. In the two games between the sides during the regular season, Scunthorpe had won both, with a 3–2 victory at home in October 2008 and a 2–1 win at the New Den the following January. Scunthorpe's top scorer for the regular season was

Gary Hooper Gary Hooper (born 26 January 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot club Omonia. Hooper started his career at League Grays Athletic in 2003. While there he won the 2004–05 Conference South, as well ...

with 28 goals (24 in the league and 4 in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

) followed by Hayes with 16 (all in the league). Alexander led the scoring charts for Millwall with 13 goals (11 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup) followed by Harris on 10 (8 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup). The referee for the match was the 23-year-old Michael Oliver. The day before the League One play-off final, his father, Clive Oliver, refereed the League Two play-off final. It was anticipated by Mikey Stafford in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'' that around 45,000 Millwall supporters would attend the match, outnumbering their opposition fans by four-to-one. The match was broadcast live in the UK on

Sky Sports Sky Sports is a group of British subscription sports channels operated by the satellite pay television company Sky Group (a division of Comcast), and is the dominant subscription television sports brand in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It ...

. Millwall were considered narrow favourites to win promotion according to

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

s. Scunthorpe's Hooper was expected to be fit following a groin injury but Ben May was unavailable with a damaged thigh.

Summary

The match kicked off around 1p.m. on 24 May 2009 in front of 59,661 spectators. In the 6th minute, Sparrow put Scunthorpe ahead with a right-footed shot into the top-left corner of the Millwall goal from around . Four minutes later, Scunthorpe's Sam Togwell became the first player to be shown a

yellow card Yellow card may refer to: * Yellow card (sport), shown in many sports after a rules infraction or, by analogy, a serious warning in other areas * Yellowcard, an American alternative rock band * Yellow Card Scheme, a United Kingdom initiative conce ...

for unsporting behaviour. On 16 minutes, Sparrow was also booked, also for unsporting behaviour. Alexander levelled the match with a long-range strike in the 37th minute. Two minutes later, Alexander doubled his tally with a header into the bottom-left corner of the Scunthorpe goal from . The referee blew the whistle to signify half-time with the score at 2–1. Millwall made the first

substitution Substitution may refer to: Arts and media *Chord substitution, in music, swapping one chord for a related one within a chord progression * Substitution (poetry), a variation in poetic scansion * "Substitution" (song), a 2009 song by Silversun Pi ...

of the match at the interval when Abdou was replaced by

Marc Laird Marc James Peter Laird (born 23 January 1986) is a Scottish footballer who plays as a midfielder for Scottish League Two side Stirling Albion. Though he began his career with Manchester City in 2004, he was never used in a first team game, tho ...

. Nine minutes later, Scunthorpe's Togwell was substituted for

Liam Trotter Liam Antony Trotter (born 24 August 1988) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Chelmsford City. He has previously played for Ipswich Town, Grimsby Town, Scunthorpe United, Millwall, Bolton Wanderers, Nottingham F ...

. In the 63rd minute, Chris Hackett came on for Grabban. With 20 minutes remaining, Sparrow struck from around to restore parity at 2–2. Ten minutes later, Scunthorpe's Forte came on for Hooper before Millwall's Tony Craig was shown a yellow card for unsporting behaviour. In the 85th minute, Woolford put Scunthorpe ahead with a left-footed strike from . In the last minute Millwall made their final substitution with Paul Robinson coming on for Frampton. The referee blew for full time with the final score 3–2 to Scunthorpe who were promoted to the Championship.

Details

Post-match

Nigel Adkins Nigel Howard Adkins (born 11 March 1965) is an English professional football manager and former player and physiotherapist. Adkins played as a goalkeeper for Tranmere Rovers and Wigan Athletic. He finished his playing career and began his mana ...

, the winning manager and former club physiotherapist, noted: "In the end fortunes favoured us and we've got the result we needed. At the end of the day it was one game of football for the whole season... This season I've thought this is the transition from being physio and I've put a suit on and I've felt very comfortable with it." He reflected on his club's immediate return to the second tier: "It's a fantastic achievement to bounce straight back to the Championship... In a challenging economic climate we have tried to provide an entertaining product and we deserve to go up." Millwall's manager

Kenny Jackett Kenneth Francis Jackett (born 5 January 1962) is a former professional football player and manager, who is currently Director of Football at club Gillingham. A skilful left-footed player, able to play in defence or midfield, Jackett was cappe ...

was gracious in defeat: "It was a 50–50 game... Scunthorpe put their chances away, so congratulations to them." Scunthorpe's next season saw them finish in 20th place, two positions above the relegation zone. Millwall ended their following season in third place in the table to qualify for the

where they defeated

in the

References

External links

* {{Scunthorpe United F.C. Play-off Final 2 EFL League One play-off finals Play-off Final 2009 Play-off Final 2009 Football League One play-off Final Football League One play-off Final