2015 Conference Premier play-off final

November 2017 November 2017 2015 Conference Premier play-off final Wembley Stadium during London 2012 Olympic Games.JPG 250 Wembley Stadium, venue for the match 2014–15 Football Conference Bristol Rovers 1 Grimsby Town 1 Bristol Rovers won 5–3 on penalties 17 May 2015 Wembley Stadium London Ross Joyce 47,029 2014 2016 The 2015 Conference Premier play-off final, known as the 2015 Vanarama Conference Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match between Bristol Rovers and Grimsby Town played on 17 May 2015 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the thirteenth Conference Premier play-off final, the eighth to be played at Wembley and the first to feature either side. The two participants finished the regular season in 2nd and 3rd respectively to qualify for the play-offs. Bristol Rovers overcame local rivals Forest Green Rovers 3–0 over two legs while Grimsby Town disposed of Eastleigh 5–1. Bristol Rovers won the match 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Rovers therefore became the first club since Carlisle United in 2005 to secure an immediate return to the Football League,Bristol Rovers 1–1 Grimsby https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32679757 BBC Sport 17 May 2015 17 May 2015 after their relegation on the last day of the previous season. For Grimsby Town, it was the third successive season that they had failed to win promotion via the play-offs and were condemned to a sixth straight season in the fifth tier. The attendance of 47,029 was a record for a Conference Premier match,Record Crowd See Rovers Return http://www.footballconference.co.uk/news/details.php?news_id=15168 Football Conference 17 May 2015 17 May 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150520040614/http://www.footballconference.co.uk/news/details.php?news_id=15168 20 May 2015 dead dmy-all beating the previous best of 42,669 when Oxford United defeated York City to win promotion at the same venue in 2010. Route to the final 2014–15 Football Conference#Conference Premier Pos PositionTeam Pld Played W Won D Drawn L Lost GF Goals for GA Goals against GD Goal difference Pts Points2Bristol Rovers46251657334+39913Grimsby Town462511107440+34864Eastleigh462410128761+26825Forest Green Rovers46221688054+2679Forest Green Rovers were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player in their win over Southport on 9 August 2014. Semi-finals First leg 2015 04 29 y 19:45 Forest Green Rovers 0 – 1 Report Bristol Rovers Taylor 17Harrison 2 65 77 The New Lawn, Nailsworth 3,336 Lee Swabey 2015 04 30 y 19:45 Eastleigh 1 – 2 Report Grimsby Town Odubade 62 Arnold 3 72 Ten Acres, Eastleigh 3,251 Simon Bennett Second leg 2015 05 03 y 12:45 Bristol Rovers 2 – 0 Report Forest Green Rovers 3 – 0 Lines 24Taylor 88 Memorial Stadium, Bristol 10,563 Darren England 2015 05 03 y 15:30 Grimsby Town 3 – 0 Report Eastleigh 5 – 1 Palmer 35 71John-Lewis 44 Blundell Park, Cleethorpes 6,286 Ben Toner Match Summary Grimsby Town got off to the perfect start when a purposeful run from Nathan Arnold set up Lenell John-Lewis to shoot from inside the penalty area. His shot was saved by Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Will Puddy but it deflected off John-Lewis' face into the goal, giving the Mariners the lead after just 1:38. Grimsby kept up the pressure and were unfortunate not to be playing against ten men as Puddy handled Ollie Palmer's shot outside the area. However, referee Ross Joyce deemed the offence only worthy of a yellow card. Just over 10 minutes later and Rovers were level after Grimsby failed to deal with a Jake Gosling corner, leaving Ellis Harrison to drive the ball past James McKeown. The second half proved a much less open affair as players tired, defenders came out on top and errors were few and far between. Extra time was much the same, as chances for Chris Lines for Rovers and John-Lewis for Grimsby came to nothing. In the last minute of the extra time, Rovers manager Darrell Clarke switched Puddy for substitute keeper Steve Mildenhall for the inevitable penalty shoot-out, in a move reminiscent of that by Dutch coach Louis van Gaal at the previous year's World Cup.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/32679757 Bristol Rovers 1-1 Grimsby (5-3 pens) BBC Sport Clarke later stated that he felt Mildenhall would have "a better chance with his bigger frame." The first five penalties of the shoot-out were successfully converted before Jon-Paul Pittman blazed his over the bar in front of the Grimsby fans. The following two were also successful, leaving veteran Lee Mansell with the deciding spot kick, which he powered in to McKeown's left. Details 2015 05 17 y 14:00 BST Bristol Rovers 1–1 yes Report Grimsby Town Harrison 29 John-Lewis 2 Lines Taylor Brown Balanta Mansell 5–3 Disley John-Lewis Pittman Clay Wembley Stadium, London 47,029 Ross Joyce _blueborder _whitequarters23 _whiteborder _white stripes FFFFFF 0000FF 0000FF 0000FF FFFFFF Bristol Rovers _blackborder _3whitestripes _blackborder _white stripes FFFFFF 000000 FFFFFF 000000 FF0000 Grimsby Town GK 25 Will Puddy 18 120+1RB 4 Tom LockyerCB 5 Mark McChrystal (c)CB 6 Tom ParkesLB 3 Lee BrownRM 11 Jake Gosling 75CM 14 Chris LinesCM 7 Lee MansellLM 23 Andy MonkhouseST 10 Matty Taylor 35ST 17 Ellis Harrison 80Substitutes:GK 1 Steve Mildenhall 120+1DF 2 Daniel LeadbitterMF 8 Ollie ClarkeMF 29 Ángelo Balanta 75FW 27 Nathan Blissett 80Manager:Darrell Clarke GK 1 James McKeownRB 6 Carl Magnay 41CB 22 Aristote NsialaCB 5 Shaun PearsonLB 35 Gregor Robertson 74RM 7 Jack MackrethCM 8 Craig Disley (c)CM 4 Scott Brown 87 99LM 20 Nathan ArnoldST 14 Lenell John-LewisST 33 Ollie Palmer 70Substitutes:DF 19 Daniel Parslow 74MF 16 Craig Clay 99MF 34 Christian JolleyFW 10 Ross HannahFW 18 Jon-Paul Pittman 70Manager:Paul Hurst Match officials: Assistant referees: Paul Johnson Joe Johnson Fourth official: Martin CoyMatch rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Five named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. References Play-off Final 2015 2015 Play-off Final 2015 Play-off Final 2015 Category:Sports events at Wembley Stadium Conference Premier play-off final Conference Premier play-off final