2010 Football League Two play-off final

November 2017 February 2021 2010 Football League Two play-off final England mai 2007 040.jpg Wembley Stadium 2009–10 Football League Two Dagenham &Redbridge 3 RotherhamUnited 2 30 May 2010 Wembley Stadium London James Linington 32,054 2009 2011 The 2010 Football League Two play-off final was an association football match played on 30 May 2010 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Dagenham & Redbridge and Rotherham United. The match determined the fourth and final team to gain promotion from Football League Two, English football's fourth tier, to Football League One. The top three teams of the 2009–10 Football League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while the teams placed from fourth to seventh took part in play-off semi-finals; the winners competed for the final place for the 2010–11 season in League One. Rotherham United finished in fifth place while Dagenham & Redbridge ended the season in seventh position. They defeated Aldershot Town and Morecambe, respectively, in the semi-finals. The final, refereed by James Linington, kicked off around 3p.m. in front of 32,054 spectators. Both sides had early chances to score but in the 38th minute, a low cross from Damien McCrory found Paul Benson in space who scored with a curling shot into the bottom corner of the Rotherham goal. Within a minute Rotherham's Ryan Taylor ran between two defenders to head past Tony Roberts from a Kevin Ellison cross, making the score 1–1 at half time. Danny Green put Dagenham back into the lead eleven minutes after the restart with a low strike past Andy Warrington in the Rotherham goal. Taylor scored the equaliser in the 61st minute from inside the Dagenham penalty area. With 20 minutes remaining, Rotherham failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to John Nurse whose shot took a deflection off Ellison, past Warrington and into the net to make it 3–2. No further goals were scored and Dagenham were promoted to League One. Dagenham & Redbridge ended their following season in 21st position in League One and were relegated back to League Two. Rotherham ended the next season in ninth place in League Two, two places below the 2011 play-offs. Route to the final 2009–10 Football League Two main WDL Q right auto Football League Two final table, leading positions NTC Notts County 27 12 7 96 31 BOU Bournemouth 25 8 13 61 44 ROC Rochdale 25 7 14 82 48 MRC Morecambe 20 13 13 73 64 ROT Rotherham United 21 10 15 55 52 ALD Aldershot Town 20 12 14 69 56 D&R Dagenham & Redbridge 20 12 14 69 58 complete https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-two/20092010/regular-season/r8949 Soccerway 7 February 2021 League Two – 2009/2010 – Regular season Perform Group 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182634/https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-two/20092010/regular-season/r8949/ live Rotherham United finished the regular 2009–10 season in fifth place in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Dagenham & Redbridge. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to Football League One and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Rotherham United finished nine points behind Rochdale (who were promoted in third place), ten behind Bournemouth (who were promoted in second place), and twenty behind league winners Notts County. Dagenham & Redbridge ended the season one point behind Rotherham United. Dagenham & Redbridge's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Morecambe with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place on 16 May 2010 at Victoria Road in Dagenham. Paul Benson scored the opening goal of the game after four minutes for Dagenham after Morecambe's goalkeeper Barry Roche pushed out Josh Scott's header. Scott then scored a 19-minute hat-trick to make it 4–0 with more than half an hour remaining. Benson scored his second and Dagenham's fifth midway through the second half; before Scott scored his fourth three minutes later. The match ended 6–0 and Dagenham became the first team to score more than five goals in the first leg of a league play-off semi-final. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8673168.stm BBC Sport 7 February 2021 16 May 2020 Dag & Red 6–0 Morecambe 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182633/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8673168.stm live The second leg took place four days later at Christie Park in Morecambe. After a goalless first half, Mark Duffy's volley from close range made it 1–0 to Morecambe in the 81st minute before Benson headed in an equaliser four minutes later. One minute into stoppage time Dave Artell's header made the final score 2–1 to Morecambe, but Dagenham progressed to the final with a 7–2 aggregate win. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8682187.stm 20 May 2010 BBC Sport 7 February 2021 Morecambe 2–1 Dag & Red (agg 2–7) 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182654/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8682187.stm live Rotherham United faced Aldershot Town in their semi-final and the first leg was played on 15 May 2010 at the Recreation Ground in Aldershot. The home side's Marvin Morgan had the best chance of the first half but his shot was saved by the Rotherham goalkeeper Andy Warrington. Midway through the first half, Aldershot's goalkeeper Jamie Young was stretchered off with an injury and replaced by Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz. With two minutes of the match remaining, Adam Le Fondre intercepted a backpass from Aaron Brown and shot past Jaimez-Ruiz to secure a 1–0 win for the visitors. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8673123.stm BBC Sport 8 February 2021 Aldershot 0–1 Rotherham Mark Ashenden 15 May 2010 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182634/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8673123.stm live The second leg of the semi-final was held at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield four days later. Ian Sharps hit the Aldershot crossbar, but Le Fondre headed home the rebound from close range to give Rotherham the lead just before half time. Midway through the second half, Kevin Ellison's header from a Nicky Law cross beat Jaimez-Ruiz to make it 2–0 which was the final score. Rotherham won the tie 3–0 on aggregate and qualified for the final. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8682172.stm Rotherham 2–0 Aldershot (agg 3–0) BBC Sport 8 February 2021 Marc Vesty 19 May 2010 22 May 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100522124434/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/8682172.stm live Match Background alt=Danny Green|right|thumb|upright|Danny Green (pictured in 2015) scored Dagenham's second goal in the final. This was Rotherham United's third appearance in the play-offs. They had suffered relegation to the fourth tier of English football when they lost to Swansea City in the semi-finals of the 1988 Football League play-offs, and lost to Leyton Orient in a penalty shootout in the semi-finals of the 1999 play-off. Rotherham had been relegated from League One in the 2006–07 season and had been given a series of points deductions for entering administration on two separate occasions between 2006 and 2008. https://www.fchd.info/ROTHERHU.HTM Rotherham United Football Club History Database 8 February 2021 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182657/https://www.fchd.info/ROTHERHU.HTM live Dagenham were promoted from non-League football for the first time in their history when they finished top of the 2006–07 Football Conference, and had played in League Two since. They had not participated in the Football League play-offs before, although had played in the 2003 Football Conference play-off final at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke-on-Trent where they lost 3–2 to Doncaster Rovers. https://www.fchd.info/DAGENHAR.HTM Dagenham & Redbridge Football Club History Database 8 February 2021 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182707/https://www.fchd.info/DAGENHAR.HTM live Rotherham had won both games between the sides during the regular season with a 2–0 victory at the Don Valley Stadium in February 2010 and a 1–0 win at Victoria Road the following month. https://www.11v11.com/teams/rotherham-united/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Dagenham%20and%20Redbridge/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 8 February 2021 Rotherham United football club: record v Dagenham and Redbridge 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182636/https://www.11v11.com/teams/rotherham-united/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Dagenham%20and%20Redbridge/ live Rotherham's top scorer during the regular season was Le Fondre with 27 goals (25 in the league and 2 in the FA Cup) followed by Ellison with 10 (8 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup). https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2180&teamTabs=stats&season_id=139 Soccerbase Centurycomm 8 February 2021 Rotherham squad details – 2009/10 – Player appearances 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182636/https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=2180&teamTabs=stats&season_id=139 live Dagenham's leading marksmen were Benson with 18 goals (17 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup), Danny Green with 13 (all in the league) and Scott with 11 (10 in the league, 1 in the League Cup). https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=760&teamTabs=stats&season_id=139 Soccerbase Centurycomm 8 February 2021 Dag & Red squad details – 2009/10 – Player appearances 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182657/https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=760&teamTabs=stats&season_id=139 live The final was refereed by James Linington. https://www.11v11.com/matches/dagenham-and-redbridge-v-rotherham-united-30-may-2010-289996/ 11v11 8 February 2021 AFS Enterprises Dagenham and Redbridge v Rotherham United, 30 May 2010 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182655/https://www.11v11.com/matches/dagenham-and-redbridge-v-rotherham-united-30-may-2010-289996/ live Rotherham were considered favourites to win by bookmakers. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A227691106/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=STND&xid=ad22aee8 Gale 8 February 2021 Millers may take control Dan Childs 30 May 2010 Racing Post 101 subscription 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182704/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA227691106&v=2.1&it=r&sid=STND&asid=ad22aee8 live Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation, and both starting elevens were unchanged from their semi-final second legs. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8713450.stm BBC Sport 8 February 2021 Sunday's football as it happened Pranav Soneji 30 May 2010 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182717/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/8713450.stm live The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A227665036/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=STND&xid=cece8a47 Gale 8 February 2021 Benson relishing chance to lead 'pub team' to glory Gary Jacob 29 May 2010 The Times 9 subscription 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182800/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA227665036&v=2.1&it=r&sid=STND&asid=cece8a47 live Summary The match kicked off around 3p.m. on 30 May 2010 at Wembley Stadium in London in front of 32,054 spectators. Dagenham dominated the early stages, with Rotherham's goalkeeper Andy Warrington saving a shot from Green. Rotherham then had chances to score with Pablo Mills missing a header before three separate efforts from Ryan Taylor all failed to produce a goal. In the 30th minute, Romain Vincelot's bicycle kick was saved by Warrington before Sharps received the first yellow card of the match for unsporting behaviour: Warrington kept the resulting free kick from Green out. Three minutes later, Le Fondre was also booked, also for unsporting behaviour. In the 38th minute, a low cross from Damien McCrory found Benson in space who scored with a curling shot into the bottom corner of the Rotherham goal. Rotherham levelled the game within a minute as Taylor ran between two defenders to head past Tony Roberts from an Ellison cross, making the score 1–1 at half time. Neither side made any changes to their personnel during the interval. Green put Dagenham back into the lead eleven minutes after the restart with a low strike past Warrington and was booked a minute later for a foul on Danny Harrison. In the 60th minute, Harrison shot over the Dagenham crossbar before Taylor scored the equaliser a minute later from inside the Dagenham penalty area, before being booked in the 57th minute for a foul on Danny Harrison. With 20 minutes remaining, Rotherham failed to clear a corner and the ball fell to Jon Nurse whose shot took a deflection off Ellison, past Warrington and into the net to make it 3–2. Two minutes after scoring, Nurse was taken off and substituted for Graeme Montgomery in the first change of the afternoon. Five minutes later Marcus Marshall came on for Mills. On 83 minutes, Scott was replaced by Phil Walsh for Dagenham. Benson's shot from inside the penalty area went wide of the Rotherham goal before Abdulai Bell-Baggie was brought on for Ellison. Vincelot was then shown the yellow card for a foul on Gavin Gunning. The match ended 3–2 and Dagenham were promoted to League One. Details 30 May 2010 15:00 BST Dagenham & Redbridge 3–2 Rotherham United http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/8701564.stm Benson 38 Green 56 Nurse 70 Taylor 39 61 Wembley Stadium, London 32,054 James Linington _bluesides _bluetop 0000FF FFFF00 0000FF FFFF00 FFFF00 Dagenham & Redbridge _rotherham1011h _rotherham1011h _rotherham1011h _redsides _whitetopl FFFFFF FF0000 Rotherham United GK 1 Tony RobertsDF 4 Scott DoeDF 6 Mark ArberMF 33Peter GainDF 3Damien McCroryDF 19Abu OgogoMF 20 Romain Vincelot 87MF 7Danny Green 57MF 9Jon Nurse 72FW 14Paul BensonFW 10Josh Scott 83Substitutes:GK 30 Chris LewingtonDF 15Anwar UddinMF 24Billy BinghamMF 17Darren CurrieMF 22Graeme Montgomery 72MF 26Tommy Tejan-SieFW 31Phil Walsh 83Manager:John Still GK 1Andy WarringtonDF 14Mark LynchDF 6Nick FentonDF 25Pablo Mills 77DF 19Gavin GunningMF 5Ian Sharps 33MF 4Danny HarrisonMF 15Kevin Ellison 86MF 10Nicky LawFW 39Adam Le Fondre 36FW 20Ryan Taylor 62Substitutes:GK 30Jamie AnnersonDF 3Jamie GreenMF 23Josh WalkerMF 21Marcus Marshall 77MF 27Abdulai Bell-Baggie 86MF 16Paul WarneFW 22Drewe BroughtonManager:Ronnie Moore right|thumb|alt=Jon Nurse|upright|Jon Nurse (pictured in 2013) scored the winning goal. +Statistics https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8701564.stm Paul Fletcher 8 February 2021 BBC Sport 30 May 2010 Dag & Red 3–2 Rotherham 31 May 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100531195834/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_3/8701564.stm live Dagenham & Redbridge Rotherham UnitedGoals 3 2Total shots 11 12Shots on target 8 6Ball possession 48% 52%Corner kicks 7 5Fouls committed 15 8Yellow cards 2 3Red cards 0 0 Post-match Winning manager John Still said "We'll probably be the biggest-ever favourites to be relegated but this is a fairy story". https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A227729909/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=STND&xid=b1c23f11 Gale 8 February 2021 Dagenham enjoy fairy-tale rise John Ley 30 May 2010 The Daily Telegraph 8 subscription 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182728/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA227729909&v=2.1&it=r&sid=STND&asid=b1c23f11 live His counterpart Ronnie Moore suggested disappointment in his defence, saying that "if you defend like we have you're not going to win... We should've gone up but we're still here... We have let ourselves down a bit at the final hour." Roberts, Dagenham's 40-year-old goalkeeper, said: "We are a pub team from Essex but look at us now... Years ago we were playing Charlton trying to knock them out of the FA Cup as a non-league team, next year we are going to play Charlton in the league, I can't believe it". https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8713853.stm John Still hails Dagenham & Redbridge 'fairy story' BBC Sport 30 May 2010 8 February 2021 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182803/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_3/8713853.stm live Dagenham goalscorer Green, who had been signed by Still from sixth-tier Bishop's Stortford of the National League South, described it as the "best day of my life". https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A227737789/STND?u=wikipedia&sid=STND&xid=50d18d28 Gale 8 February 2021 Green has a golden touch 31 May 2010 Evening Chronicle 42 subscription 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182730/https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CA227737789&v=2.1&it=r&sid=STND&asid=50d18d28 live Despite his two goals, Rotherham's Taylor said he was disappointed: "Scoring twice at Wembley is a great achievement, but we haven't gone up so it doesn't mean anything." Dagenham & Redbridge ended their following season in 21st position in League One and were relegated back to League Two. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2010-2011/regular-season/r12031/ Soccerway Perform Group 7 February 2021 League One – 2010/2011 – Regular season 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182730/https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2010-2011/regular-season/r12031/ live Rotherham end the next season in ninth place in League Two, two places below the 2011 play-offs. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-two/2010-2011/regular-season/r12039/ Soccerway Perform Group 7 February 2021 League Two – 2010/2011 – Regular season 8 February 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210208182727/https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-two/2010-2011/regular-season/r12039/ live References Category:EFL League Two play-off finals Play-off Final 2010 Play-off Final 2010 3 Play-off Final Football League Two play-off final Football League Two play-off final