2012 Football League One play-off final

December 2017 December 2017 2012 Football League One play-off final 2012 Football League One play off final.jpg 250 Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United flags at Wembley Huddersfield Town 0 Sheffield United 0 Huddersfield won 8–7 on penalties 26 May 2012 Wembley Stadium London Peter Clarke (Huddersfield) Roger East 52,100 Sunny and warm 2011 2013 The 2012 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 26 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Huddersfield Town and Sheffield 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 2011–12 Football League One season, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth position in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2012–13 season in the Championship. Roger East was the referee for the match which was played in front of 52,100 spectators. The match itself ended in a 0–0 draw and went into extra time. With no goals in the additional period of play, the match had to be decided with a penalty shootout. Six of the first eight penalties were missed or saved and the subsequent twelve were all scored. With the shootout level at 7–7, Huddersfield's goalkeeper Alex Smithies scored past his counterpart Steve Simonsen to give them the advantage. Simonsen then struck his penalty high over Smithies' crossbar and the shootout ended 8–7, with Huddersfield gaining promotion to the Championship. Sheffield United ended their next season in fifth position in League One and participated in the play-offs where they lost to Yeovil Town in the semi-final. Huddersfield Town's following season saw them finish in 19th place in the Championship, three positions and four points above the relegation zone. Route to the final 2011–12 Football League One main WDL Q right auto Football League One final table, leading positions CHA SHW SHU HUD MKD STE 30 11 5 82 36 28 9 9 81 48 27 9 10 92 51 21 18 7 79 47 22 14 10 84 47 18 19 9 69 44 Charlton Athletic Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield United Huddersfield Town Milton Keynes Dons Stevenage complete https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2011-2012/regular-season/r14865/ Soccerway 5 March 2021 League One – 2011/12 – regular season 22 November 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171122063436/http://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2011-2012/regular-season/r14865/ live https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-one/2012/ League One end of season table for 2011–12 season 11v11 5 March 2021 AFS Enterprises 9 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210309134351/https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-one/2012/ live Sheffield United finished the regular 2011–12 season in third place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Huddersfield Town. 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. Sheffield United finished three points behind local rivals Sheffield Wednesday (who were promoted in second place) and eleven behind league winners Charlton Athletic. Huddersfield Town ended the season nine points behind Sheffield United. Sheffield United's opponents for their play-off semi-final were Stevenage and the first match of the two-legged tie took place at Broadhall Way in Stevenage on 11 May 2012. Craig Reid hit the frame of the Sheffield United goal and Stevenage's goalkeeper was forced to make a save from Michael Bostwick, his own player, but the game ended goalless. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17971363 Stevenage 0–0 Sheffield Utd BBC Sport 5 March 2021 Chris Osborne 11 May 2012 31 October 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141031065228/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17971363 live The return leg was held three days later at Bramall Lane in Sheffield. The first half ended without a goal but late in the second half, Chris Porter scored for the home side with a header from a Matthew Lowton cross to secure a 1–0 victory and progression for Sheffield United to the final. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17980126 Sheffield Utd 1–0 Stevenage (agg 1–0) BBC Sport 5 March 2021 Ian Woodcock 14 May 2012 28 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190328022416/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17980126 live Huddersfield Town faced Milton Keynes Dons in the other play-off semi-final with the first leg being played at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes on 12 May 2012. Midway through the first half, Jordan Rhodes gave the visitors the lead when he scored with a header from Lee Novak's cross. In the second half, an exchange of passes between Jack Hunt and Kallum Higginbotham led to Hunt striking from inside the MK Dons penalty area past David Martin in goal to make it 2–0. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17971381 MK Dons 0– Huddersfield BBC Sport 5 March 2021 Chris Osborne 12 May 2012 10 September 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200910225053/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17971381 live The second leg took place at the Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield three days later. Rhodes put the visitors ahead with a free kick before Daniel Powell equalised from around 18 yd. Alan Smith scored a late header to give MK Dons a 2–1 win but Huddersfield progressed to the final with a 3–2 aggregate victory. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17989104 Huddersfield 1–2 MK Dons (agg 3–2) BBC Sport 5 March 2021 Ian Woodcock 15 May 2012 12 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201112031124/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17989104 live Match Background right|thumb|alt=Jordan Rhodes|Jordan Rhodes (pictured in 2013) had scored 36 league goals in 40 matches for Huddersfield Town during the regular season. This match was Huddersfield Town's fourth play-off final, their previous three coming in 1995 (a 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers), 2004 (a 4–1 penalty shoot-out win over Mansfield Town) and 2011 (a 3–0 loss to Peterborough United), and completed their eighth Football League play-off campaign. https://www.fchd.info/HUDDERST.HTM Huddersfield Town Football Club History Database 5 March 2021 8 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200808234856/http://fchd.info/HUDDERST.HTM live Manager Simon Grayson had previously achieved promotion success as a manager from the Football League One play-offs with Blackpool in the 2007 final. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0503539901/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=TTDA&xid=016d9251 Gale 25 February 2021 Parker inspires polished Blackpool and evokes memories of Matthews Nick Szczepanik 28 May 2007 69023 The Times 62 subscription Sheffield United had been involved in six previous play-off campaigns, but had never won a play-off final despite attempts in 1997, 2003 and 2009. https://www.fchd.info/SHEFFIEU.HTM Sheffield United Football Club History Database 5 March 2021 8 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200808195435/http://fchd.info/SHEFFIEU.HTM live The matches between the two teams during the regular season ended in an away win in both matches. Huddersfield secured a 3–0 victory away at Bramall Lane in September 2011, with goals from Oscar Gobern and a brace from Novak, while Sheffield United won 1–0 away at the Kirklees Stadium the following February with Neill Collins scoring the only goal. https://www.11v11.com/matches/sheffield-united-v-huddersfield-town-13-september-2011-295389/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 5 March 2021 Sheffield United v Huddersfield Town, 13 September 2011 27 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200627233802/https://www.11v11.com/matches/sheffield-united-v-huddersfield-town-13-september-2011-295389/ live https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-sheffield-united-14-february-2012-296832/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 5 March 2021 Huddersfield Town v Sheffield United, 14 February 2012 27 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200627233816/https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-sheffield-united-14-february-2012-296832/ live Ched Evans was top scorer for Sheffield United with 35 goals during the regular season (29 in the league, 5 in the FA Cup and 1 in the Football League Trophy). https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2328&season_id=141&teamTabs=stats Soccerbase Centurycomm 5 March 2021 Sheff Utd squad details – 2011/12 – Player appearances 4 September 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120904020241/http://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2328&season_id=141&teamTabs=stats live However he was unavailable for selection after being convicted of rape in April 2012; the conviction was quashed four years later following a retrial. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/apr/20/ched-evans-found-guilty-rape The Guardian 20 April 2012 Sheffield United striker Ched Evans found guilty of rape Steven Morris 5 March 2021 20 November 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201120062902/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/apr/20/ched-evans-found-guilty-rape live https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/14/footballer-ched-evans-cleared-of-in-retrial The Guardian 14 October 2016 Ched Evans: footballer found not guilty of rape in retrial Steven Morris Alexandra Topping 5 March 2021 1 December 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201201100348/https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/oct/14/footballer-ched-evans-cleared-of-in-retrial live Huddersfield Town's leading scorer was Rhodes who had scored 36 league goals in 40 appearances and 2 in the League Cup. https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1309&season_id=141&teamTabs=stats Soccerbase Centurycomm 5 March 2021 Huddersfield squad details – 2011/12 – Player appearances 9 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210309134359/https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1309&season_id=141&teamTabs=stats live Huddersfield's goalkeeper Ian Bennett injured his hand during the semi-final second leg against MK Dons, with Alex Smithies on standby as his replacement. Scott Arfield had recovered from the ankle injury that forced him off in the semi-final first leg and later saw him to miss the home tie. Sheffield United's Kevin McDonald picked up a hamstring injury in their 1–0 win in the semi-final second leg, and missed the final. Richard Cresswell had recovered from an eye infection that caused him to miss the previous match, and was available for the final.http://www.htafc.com/page/PreMatch/0,,10312~2787440,00.html Sheff Utd: Pre-match analysis Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 25 May 2012 27 May 2012 9 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210309134420/https://www.htafc.com/page/PreMatch/0,,10312~2787440,00.html live https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11740/7778336/huddersfield-v-sheff-utd-preview Sky Sports 5 March 2021 Huddersfield v Sheff Utd preview 26 May 2012 9 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210309134409/https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11740/7778336/huddersfield-v-sheff-utd-preview live The referee for the match was Roger East who was assisted by Harry Lennard and Matthew Wilkes. Danny McDermid acted as the fourth official while Mark Scholes was the reserve assistant referee. https://archive.today/20120802075136/http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/Appointments/0,,10794~2771673,00.html http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/Appointments/0,,10794~2771673,00.html English Football League 4 May 2020 2 August 2012 Match Official Appointments 14 May 2012 live The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0504365356/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=TTDA&xid=f95c1e6a The Box Gale subscription The Times 103 21 May 2012 70578 8 March 2021 Huddersfield Town adopted a 4–4–2 formation while Sheffield United played as a 4–4–1–1. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0504351997/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=TTDA&xid=dbe1bbc7 Gale 8 March 2021 Simonsen in tears after final twist Jason Mellor 28 May 2012 70584 The Times 89 subscription Summary Regular time Sheffield United kicked off the match around 3p.m. on 26 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 52,100. https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-sheffield-united-26-may-2012-298222/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 5 March 2021 Huddersfield Town v Sheffield United, 26 May 2012 9 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210309134439/https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-sheffield-united-26-may-2012-298222/ live https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/may/26/huddersfield-sheffield-united-live-report The Guardian Huddersfield v Sheffield United – as it happened Jacob Steinberg 26 May 2012 5 March 2021 23 October 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20151023025856/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/may/26/huddersfield-sheffield-united-live-report live In the 9th minute, Huddersfield's Hunt made a run down the right wing and crossed but Higginbotham's volley went wide of Sheffield United's goal. Two minutes later, a long pass deep into Huddersfield territory was mis-headed by Peter Clarke and allowed Cresswell to shoot but his attempt was blocked. On 17 minutes, Stephen Quinn headed a cross from Lowton but Huddersfield's goalkeeper Smithies punched it clear. Rhodes saw his header gathered by the Sheffield United goalkeeper Steve Simonsen in the 32nd minute. Three minutes later Smithies came out to clear a cross from Quinn but missed the ball which was cleared, before Matt Hill's goal-bound strike from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Clarke. With six minutes of the half remaining, Hunt cut inside from the right wing and shot from 20 yd but his strike was wide of the goal. In injury time of the first half, Huddersfield made a quick break following a Sheffield United corner, but Rhodes ran the ball off the pitch and the half ended 0–0. Neither side made any changes to their personnel during the interval. Two minutes into the second half, a poor clearance from Sheffield United found Danny Ward whose shot from the edge of the penalty area struck the top of the crossbar. In the 54th minute, Lowton won a corner for Sheffield United which Harry Maguire headed wide of the Huddersfield goal. Clarke then headed a Huddersfield corner wide before Higginbotham was shown the first yellow card of the match in the 62nd minute for a late tackle on Lowton. Seven minutes later, Rhodes passed to Higginbotham whose first-time volley missed the target. In the 79th minute, Huddersfield made their first substitution of the match with Gary Roberts coming on to replace Higginbotham. With seven minutes remaining, Huddersfield won a corner after Maguire cleared the ball behind, from which Tommy Miller's header was pushed out by Simonsen before Clarke's follow-up shot was cleared off the Sheffield United goal-line by Michael Doyle. Rhodes then headed a cross from Calum Woods wide of the goal before Sheffield United made their first change of the game with Porter coming on for Cresswell in the 85th minute. Porter's first contribution was to head the ball wide of the Huddersfield post. In the last minute of the match Roberts appeared to have been brought down in the Sheffield United penalty area by Ryan Flynn but no foul was awarded. The match ended 0–0 and went into extra time. Extra time and penalty shootout Huddersfield kicked off the first period of extra time and the first chance came in the fourth minute when Porter headed Quinn's cross goal-bound but it was blocked by Woods. In the 8th minute, Sean Morrison blocked Quinn's volley to keep the match goalless, and a minute later Alan Lee came on for Ward in Huddersfield's second substitution. In stoppage time in the first half of extra time, a run from Quinn ended with his low shot being pushed away by Smithies, before Maguire was booked. The half ended with the score still at 0–0. Three minutes in the second period of extra time, Sheffield Untied's Michael O'Halloran replaced Flynn before Lee's strike from 6 yd was saved by Simonsen. In the 112th minute, Nick Montgomery cleared Clarke's header off the Sheffield United goal-line. Soon after, Damien Johnson was booked for a foul on Quinn the edge of the Huddersfield penalty area but the resulting free kick from Lee Williamson was easily gathered by Smithies. With four minutes remaining, Scott Arfield came on to replace Novak and just before the final whistle, Andy Taylor was brought on for Montgomery, as the game went to a penalty shootout. The penalties were taken in front of the Huddersfield Town fans, with their side starting the shootout. Miller's strike was easily saved by Simonsen before Smithies pushed Williamson's spot kick away. Johnson's strike was wide of the goal before Collins opened the scoring after sending Smithies the wrong way. Lee then had his penalty saved by Simonsen before Lowton's strike was easily caught by Smithies. Clarke scored before Taylor's shot hit the post, making it 1–1 after four penalties each side. The next twelve spot kicks were scored and with the score at 7–7 after 20 penalties, only the goalkeepers remained. Smithies strike went in before Simonsen's shot was high over the crossbar. The final score was 8–7 to Huddersfield who were promoted to the Championship. Details 26 May 2012 15:00 BST Huddersfield Town 0–0 yes Sheffield United Report Wembley Stadium, London 52,100 Roger East Miller Johnson Lee Clarke Arfield Rhodes Roberts Woods Hunt Morrison Smithies 8–7 Williamson Collins Lowton Taylor Porter Quinn Maguire Doyle O'Halloran Hill Simonsen _huddersfield1112h _whitelinel FFFFFF 0283d4 FFFFFF FFFFFF 000000 Huddersfield Town _sufc1112h _sufc1112h _sufc1112h _sufc1112h _sufc1112hl FFFFFF FF0000 FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF Sheffield United GK 1ENG Alex SmithiesDF 32ENG Jack HuntDF 15ENG Sean MorrisonDF 5ENG Peter Clarke (c)DF 2ENG Calum WoodsMF 27ENG Kallum Higginbotham 62 79MF 14NIR Damien Johnson 113MF 18ENG Tommy MillerMF 11ENG Danny Ward 98FW 17ENG Jordan RhodesFW 21ENG Lee Novak 116Substitutes:GK 25IRL Nick ColganDF 12ENG Tom ClarkeMF 7ENG Gary Roberts 79MF 16SCO Scott Arfield 116FW 19IRL Alan Lee 98Manager:ENG Simon Grayson GK 1ENG Steve SimonsenDF 2ENG Matthew LowtonDF 15SCO Neill CollinsDF 19ENG Harry Maguire 105+1DF 32ENG Matt HillMF 4ENG Nick Montgomery 120MF 8IRL Michael Doyle (c)MF 11SCO Ryan Flynn 108MF 14ENG Lee WilliamsonMF 28IRL Stephen QuinnFW 17ENG Richard Cresswell 85Substitutes:GK 13ENG Mark HowardDF 16ENG Andy Taylor 120MF 20IRL David McAllisterFW 21ENG Chris Porter 85FW 29SCO Michael O'Halloran 108Manager:ENG Danny Wilson Man of the Match: Peter Clarke (Huddersfield Town) Assistant referees: Harry Lennard Matthew Wilkes Fourth official: Danny McDermid Reserve Assistant Referee: Mark Scholes right|thumb|upright|alt=Alex Smithies|Alex Smithies, the Huddersfield Town goalkeeper, scored the 21st penalty of the shootout. +StatisticsEmlyn Begley Huddersfield have been promoted https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18127853 BBC Sport 26 May 2012 7 June 2012 22 January 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160122123429/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18127853 live Huddersfield Town Sheffield UnitedTotal shots 18 18Shots on target 5 7Ball possession 50% 50%Corner kicks 8 9Fouls committed 19 15Offsides 1 3Yellow cards 2 1Red cards 0 0 Post-match Grayson, the winning manager, conceded that there was little between the sides during the final: "There was nothing in the game whatsoever... What an unbelievable end to the game and I really feel for Sheffield United. Hopefully they can come up next year... The best way to get promoted is by winning at Wembley" His counterpart Wilson refused to blame Simonsen for the defeat after his penalty miss: "To save the penalties like Steve did, who would have thought it would come down to that? He nearly got his hand to two others but that's the way it goes sometimes. I don't know if that's fate but for him to miss the penalty, it's blameless". Montgomery revealed that Simonsen "was devastated" but that "there's no blame attached to him... it's a heartbreaking way to end it, but we've just got to try and come back stronger next season". Sheffield United ended their next season in fifth position in League One and participated in the play-offs where the lost to Yeovil Town in the semi-final. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/20122013/regular-season/r17954/ Soccerway Perform Group 5 March 2021 League One – 2012/2013 – Regular season 26 March 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190326195417/https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/20122013/regular-season/r17954/ live https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22334387 BBC Sport 22 January 2021 6 May 2013 Brendon Mitchell Yeovil Town 2–0 Sheffield United 29 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210129153403/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/22334387 live Huddersfield Town's following season saw their manager Grayson sacked in January 2013 after a 12-game winless streak. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21184105 BBC Sport 5 March 2021 Simon Grayson sacked by Huddersfield Town 24 January 2013 17 October 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20131017054028/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/21184105 live Mark Robins was appointed as his replacement the following month and he led Huddersfield to a 19th-place finish in the Championship, three positions and four points above the relegation zone. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21450038 BBC Sport 5 March 2021 Huddersfield Town appoint Mark Robins as manager 14 February 2013 18 January 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210118052335/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/21450038 live https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/20122013/regular-season/r17951/ Soccerway Perform Group 5 March 2021 Championship – 2012/2013 – Regular season 4 November 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20191104005809/https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/20122013/regular-season/r17951/ live References Category:EFL League One play-off finals 2 Play-off Final Play-off Final 2012 Play-off Final 2012 Football League One play-off final Football League One play-off final