2008 Football League One play-off final

December 2017 December 2017 2008 Football League One play-off final Doncasterplayoffwinners.jpg Doncaster Rovers celebrate being promoted to the Championship at Wembley Stadium Doncaster Rovers 1 Leeds United 0 25 May 2008 Wembley Stadium London Andy D'Urso (Essex) 75,132 2007 2009 The 2008 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 25 May 2008 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Doncaster Rovers and Leeds United to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2007–08 Football League One season, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest gained automatic promotion, although the latter only achieving second place due to Leeds United's deduction of 15 points for exiting administration. 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 2008–09 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were Carlisle United and Southend United. The game was played in front of 75,132 spectators and was refereed by Andy D'Urso. After a goalless first half, Doncaster's James Hayter scored with a header from a Brian Stock corner. The match ended 1–0 to Doncaster, who were thus promoted to the Championship after four seasons in League One. Leeds finished the following season in fourth place in League One and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Millwall. Doncaster's next season ended with them in fourteenth position in the Championship. Route to the final 2007–08 Football League One main WDL Q right auto Football League One final table, leading positions SWA Swansea City NOT Nottingham Forest DON Doncaster Rovers CRL Carlisle United LEE Leeds United STD Southend United 27 11 8 82 42 22 16 8 64 32 23 11 12 65 41 23 11 12 64 46 27 10 9 72 38 -15 22 10 14 70 55 Leeds deducted 15 points for failure to comply with rules on insolvency. complete https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/20072008/regular-season/r5058 Soccerway 28 January 2021 League One – 2007/2008 – Regular season Perform Group Doncaster Rovers finished the regular 2007–08 season in third place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, two positions ahead of Leeds United. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Doncaster Rovers finished two points behind Nottingham Forest (who were promoted in second place) and twelve behind league winners Swansea City. Leeds United ended the season four points behind Doncaster Rovers; before the start of the season, Leeds had been given a fifteen point deduction for "breaching rules on insolvency". https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/aug/09/newsstory.leedsunited The Guardian Leeds condemned to 15-point penalty as League chairmen reject appeal 9 August 2007 28 January 2021 16 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201016220213/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2007/aug/09/newsstory.leedsunited live Their manager, Dennis Wise, resigned in January 2008 and was replaced by Gary McAllister who confirmed that "the job brief is promotion."Chapman, p. 378 Leeds United faced Carlisle United in their play-off semi-final with the first match of the two-legged tie being played at Elland Road in Leeds on 12 May 2008. The visitors took the lead on 32 minutes when a volley from Simon Hackney was deflected off Danny Graham into the Leeds net. Five minutes into the second half Marc Bridge-Wilkinson, the Carlisle midfielder, sidefooted in Evan Horwood's low cross to make it 2–0. Keiren Westwood, the Carlisle goalkeeper, made a number of saves in a performance which the BBC's Mandeep Sanghera called "heroic". However, he was beaten five minutes into stoppage time when Jermaine Beckford scored from a free kick to make the final score 2–1. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7381786.stm Mandeep Sanghera BBC Sport 29 January 2021 12 May 2008 Leeds 1–2 Carlisle 29 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210129204248/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7381786.stm live The second leg of the play-off semi-final took place three days later at Brunton Park in Carlisle. Jonny Howson opened the scoring on 10 minutes for the away side to level the aggregate score at 2–2. Carlisle had a number of chances in the second half but could not convert any, and in the 90th minute, Howson scored his and Leeds' second from 18 yd: the game ended 2–0 to Leeds who progressed to the Wembley play-off final with a 3–2 aggregate victory. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7393761.stm Mandeep Sanghera BBC Sport 29 January 2021 15 May 2008 Carlisle 0–2 Leeds (agg 2–3) 18 May 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080518024954/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7393761.stm live In the other play-off semi-final, Doncaster Rovers faced Southend United and the first leg took place at Roots Hall in Southend-on-Sea on 9 May 2008. The home side dominated the first half but after the break, Doncaster's Jason Price missed several chances. Paul Heffernan was sent off for headbutting Southend's Peter Clarke after they tangled in a tackle with three minutes to go and the match finished goalless. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7381779.stm Southend 0–0 Doncaster BBC Sport 29 January 2021 9 May 2008 20 July 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080720075847/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7381779.stm live The second leg was held a week later at the Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster. The visitors hit the crossbar in the opening minutes through a James Walker strike but Doncaster took the lead on 11 minutes with a penalty from Brian Stock. Adam Barrett scored an own goal ten minutes later before James Coppinger struck a third to see the home side leading 3–0 at half-time. Coppinger completed his hat-trick with two more goals after the interval and with a consolation goal from Southend's Nicky Bailey made it 5–1 to Doncaster at the final whistle. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7393765.stm Doncaster 5–1 Southend Mandeep Sanghera BBC Sport 29 January 2021 16 May 2008 2 August 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170802132417/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7393765.stm live Match Background Doncaster had played in the third tier of English football since gaining promotion from the Third Division as champions in the 2003–04 season. https://www.fchd.info/DONCASTR.HTM Doncaster Rovers Football Club History Database 29 January 2021 4 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200604201929/http://fchd.info/DONCASTR.HTM live They had not featured in a league play-off final, although they won the 2003 Football Conference play-off final to secure their place back in the Football League. Doncaster had also never played a competitive match at Wembley Stadium. Leeds were relegated to League One the previous season, having also been deducted ten points for entering administration. https://www.fchd.info/LEEDSU.HTM Leeds United Football Club History Database 29 January 2021 11 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200111211807/http://www.fchd.info/LEEDSU.HTM live The club had featured in two play-off finals prior to 2008: they lost the 1987 Football League Second Division play-off final to Charlton Athletic and were defeated by Watford in the 2006 Football League Championship play-off final. The last visit Leeds had paid to the national stadium was for the 1996 Football League Cup Final which they lost 3–0 against Aston Villa. During the regular season, both games between the sides resulted in away wins: Doncaster won 1–0 at Elland Road in January 2008 while Leeds secured a 1–0 victory at the Keepmoat Stadium the following April. https://www.11v11.com/teams/doncaster-rovers/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Leeds%20United/ 11v11 28 January 2021 AFS Enterprises Doncaster Rovers football club: record v Leeds United 29 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210129204221/https://www.11v11.com/teams/doncaster-rovers/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Leeds%20United/ live Doncaster's top scorer going into the play-offs was Hayter with nine goals (seven in the league and two in the FA Cup). https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=800&season_id=137&teamTabs=stats Soccerbase 28 January 2021 Centurycomm Doncaster squad details – 2007/08 – Player appearances 7 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160407033538/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?season_id=137&team_id=800&teamTabs=stats live Beckford was leading scorer for Leeds with twenty goals, followed by Trésor Kandol with eleven. https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1524&season_id=137&teamTabs=stats Soccerbase 28 January 2021 Centurycomm Leeds squad details – 2007/08 – Player appearances 19 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160419015049/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1524&teamTabs=stats&season_id=137 live The referee for the match was Andy D'Urso representing the Essex County Football Association. Both teams started the final with line-ups unchanged from their respective semi-final second leg matches. The BBC reported that Leeds had sold their full ticket allocation of 36,000 while Doncaster had sold 24,000. According to author Daniel Chapman, Leeds fans queued overnight for the chance to buy tickets, and that "by dawn there were 7,000 in a tired, hungry and angry scrum".Chapman, p. 379 Doncaster played in red-and-white hooped shirts while Leeds wore white kit. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/7419131.stm BBC Sport 28 January 2021 Doncaster 1–0 Leeds – As it happened 25 May 2008 Paul Fletcher 2 March 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090302134935/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/7419131.stm live Summary The match kicked off around 3p.m. on 25 May 2008 in front of 75,132 spectators. https://www.11v11.com/matches/doncaster-rovers-v-leeds-united-25-may-2008-281345/ 11v11 1 March 2021 Doncaster Rovers v Leeds United, 25 May 2008 AFS Enterprises 29 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210129204612/https://www.11v11.com/matches/doncaster-rovers-v-leeds-united-25-may-2008-281345/ live Within a minute, the Leeds defender Bradley Johnson's shot cleared the Doncaster crossbar. On six minutes, Price's shot from 6 yd was blocked by Leeds before Richie Wellens struck the ball into the side netting. Casper Ankergren then made a save at Coppinger's feet before denying Hayter after Doncaster had beaten the offside trap. On 15 minutes, Matt Mills became the first player of the afternoon to be shown a yellow card for a foul on Beckford. In the 17th minute, Beckford's 20 yd on strike was saved in the Doncaster goal by Neil Sullivan. Ten minutes later, David Prutton was booked for a late tackle. Leeds increased the pressure and in the 31st minute Beckford's weak shot was saved by Sullivan. Five minutes before half time, Hayter's strike flew over the Leeds crossbar before Howson's curling shot passed narrowly outside the Doncaster post. The half was brought to a close with the score at 0–0. Neither side made any changes to their personnel during the half-time interval, and Doncaster won an early free kick which Coppinger struck into the defensive wall. In the 48th minute, Hayter put Doncaster ahead: Stock played in an outswinging corner which Hayter scored with a diving header to make it 1–0. Three minutes later, Beckford's shot was saved by Sullivan low to his right. On 60 minutes, Howson's strike from 20 yd was off-target. Twelve minutes later, Leeds made the first substitution of the game with Prutton being replaced by Kandol. Coppinger was then stopped by Jonathan Douglas before Mark McCammon came on for Wellens. With around twelve minutes remaining, Dougie Freedman's shot went wide and he was soon after replaced by Andrew Hughes. Two minutes later, Price was replaced by Adam Lockwood before Sullivan was booked for time-wasting. Doncaster then made their final substitution of the match with Coppinger being replaced by Lewis Guy. Douglas then saw his 20 yd on half-volley fly just wide of the Doncaster goal and after four minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle was blown. Details 25 May 2008 15:00 Doncaster Rovers 1–0 (Report) Leeds United Hayter 48 Wembley Stadium, London 75,132 _red_hoops _whitehoops _red_hoops FFFFFF FF0000 FFFFFF 000000 000000 Doncaster Rovers _LeedsUnited1 _LeedsUnited1 _LeedsUnited1 FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF FFFFFF Leeds United GK 1SCO Neil Sullivan 84DF 2ENG James O'Connor DF 21ENG Sam HirdDF 22ENG Matt Mills 15DF 3 WAL Gareth Roberts MF20ENG Paul Green MF8WAL Brian StockMF 19 ENG Richie Wellens 71MF 26 ENG James Coppinger 86FW 23WAL Jason Price 80FW12 ENG James Hayter Substitutes:FW 9 Barbados Mark McCammon 71GK 13 ENG Ben Smith DF 11ENG Adam Lockwood 80FW 10WAL Gareth TaylorMF 7ENG Lewis Guy 86Manager:IRL Sean O'Driscoll GK 1 DEN Casper AnkergrenDF2ENG Frazer RichardsonDF 16ENG Bradley Johnson DF 3 ENG Paul Huntington DF 33 SVK Ľubomír Michalík MF 37 Australia Neil KilkennyMF 14 ENG Jonny Howson MF 4IRL Jonathan DouglasMF 7ENG David Prutton 27 69FW 9 ENG Jermaine BeckfordFW 38SCO Dougie Freedman 77Substitutes:FW 20DRC Trésor Kandol 69MF 22 ENG Andrew Hughes 77DF 32IRL Alan Sheehan GK 25ENG David LucasDF 5ANG Rui MarquesManager:SCO Gary McAllister Post-match Hayter said: "It is an unbelievable feeling to score the winner. I have been dreaming about it all week." The Doncaster manager Sean O'Driscoll suggested that he "could murder a cup of tea" while his opposite number McAllister suggested his team "huffed and puffed but our quality wasn't quite there today. We lost a poor goal." The Leeds goalkeeper Ankergren reflected "maybe in a few days we'll realise the achievement... but right now we're standing here with nothing." Leeds finished the following season in fourth place in League One and qualified for the play-offs, where they lost in the semi-finals to Millwall. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2008-2009/regular-season/ Soccerway 28 January 2021 League One – 2008/2009 – Regular season Perform Group 16 January 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130116172708/http://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2008-2009/regular-season/ live https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/8038226.stm BBC Sport Leeds 1–1 Millwall (agg 1–2) 14 May 2009 28 January 2021 5 June 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20090605003817/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/8038226.stm live Doncaster's next season ended with them in fourteenth position in the Championship. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2008-2009/regular-season/ Soccerway 28 January 2021 Championship – 2008/2009 – Regular season Perform Group 13 March 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130313235037/http://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2008-2009/regular-season/ live References Sources 100 Years of Leeds United Daniel Chapman 2019 978-178578-430-9 Icon Books Limited Category:EFL League One play-off finals Play-off Final 2009 Play-off Final 2009 2 Play-off Final Football League One Play-off Final Football League One Play-off Final