2011 Football League One play-off final

June 2015 March 2021 2011 Football League One play-off final Old Trafford inside 20060726 1.jpg Old Trafford 2010–11 Football League One Huddersfield Town 0 Peterborough United 3 29 May 2011 Old Trafford Manchester Steve Tanner 48,410 2010 2012 The 2011 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2011 at Old Trafford in Manchester, between Huddersfield Town and Peterborough 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 2010–11 Football League One season, Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth position took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2011–12 season in the Championship. AFC Bournemouth and Milton Keynes Dons were the defeated semi-finalists, losing to Huddersfield Town and Peterborough United respectively. Steve Tanner was the referee for the match, which was played in front of 48,410 spectators. Craig Mackail-Smith, League One's leading scorer, went close for Peterborough on several occasions in the first half but it ended goalless. In the 78th minute, Peterborough took the lead as Tommy Rowe headed Grant McCann's free-kick into the Huddersfield net. Mackail-Smith doubled Peterborough's lead within two minutes, his shot deflecting into the goal off Antony Kay. With five minutes remaining, McCann increased the lead with a long-range strike to give Peterborough a 3–0 victory and promotion to the Championship. Peterborough United ended their next season in 18th place in the Championship, four places and ten points above the relegation zone. Huddersfield Town finished their following season in fourth position in League One and qualified for the 2012 Football League play-offs where they met Sheffield United in the final and won promotion to the Championship after a penalty shootout. Route to the final 2010–11 Football League One main WDL Q right auto Football League One final table, leading positions B&HA Brighton & Hove Albion SOU Southampton HUD Huddersfield Town PET Peterborough United MKD Milton Keynes Dons BOU Bournemouth 28 11 7 85 40 28 8 10 86 38 25 12 9 77 48 23 10 13 106 75 23 8 15 67 60 19 14 13 75 54 complete https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2010-2011/regular-season/r12031/ Soccerway 19 March 2021 League One – 2010/11 – 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 https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-one/2011/ League One end of season table for 2010–11 season 11v11 19 March 2021 AFS Enterprises Huddersfield Town finished the regular 2010–11 season in third place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one place and eight points ahead of Peterborough 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. Huddersfield Town finished five points behind Southampton (who were promoted in second place) and eight behind league winners Brighton & Hove Albion. Peterborough United's opponents for their play-off semi-final were Milton Keynes Dons with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at Stadium MK in Milton Keynes on 15 May 2011. Craig Mackail-Smith gave the visitors the lead in the 8th minute, scoring after MK Dons goalkeeper David Martin pushed away a strike from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing. In the 47th minute, Daniel Powell levelled the score from close range after a defensive error from Tommy Rowe and three minutes later MK Dons went ahead 2–1 after Sam Baldock's free-kick went through the wall into the Peterborough net. Ángelo Balanta made it 3–1 in the 56th minute after beating Peterborough goalkeeper Paul Jones at the near post. Charlie Lee was then sent off for Peterborough after receiving two yellow cards, the second for a foul on Powell. With nine minutes remaining, Stephen Gleeson was also sent off, for a foul on Mark Little, and Grant McCann converted the subsequent penalty to make the final score 3–2 to MK Dons. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/13325757 MK Dons 3–2 Peterborough 19 March 2021 BBC Sport 15 May 2011 https://www.11v11.com/matches/milton-keynes-dons-v-peterborough-united-15-may-2011-294633/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 19 March 2021 Milton Keynes Dons v Peterborough United, 15 May 2011 The second leg was held four days later at London Road in Peterborough. McCann scored in the 11th minute from a free-kick to put Peterborough into the lead before Mackail-Smith's close-range strike made it 2–0 and sent his side to the final with a 4–3 aggregate victory. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/13370673 BBC Sport 19 March 2021 Peterborough 2–0 Milton Keynes Dons (agg 4–3) 19 May 2011 22 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210322164445/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/13370673 live https://www.11v11.com/matches/peterborough-united-v-milton-keynes-dons-19-may-2011-294639/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 19 March 2021 Peterborough United v Milton Keynes Dons, 19 May 2011 22 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210322164445/https://www.11v11.com/matches/peterborough-united-v-milton-keynes-dons-19-may-2011-294639/ live Huddersfield Town faced AFC Bournemouth in the other semi-final; the first leg was played at Dean Court in Bournemouth on 14 May 2011. Midway through the first half, Kevin Kilbane put the visitors ahead with a header from Gary Roberts' cross. Soon after, Rhoys Wiggins was fouled by Huddersfield goalkeeper Ian Bennett, who conceded a penalty. Danny Ings took the spot-kick but Bennett dived to his right to make the save. In the 60th minute, Donal McDermott scored with a shot from around 25 yd off to level the match, which ended 1–1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/13324741 Mark Mitchener 19 March 2021 BBC Sport Bournemouth 1–1 Huddersfield 22 March 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210322164446/https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/13324741 live https://www.11v11.com/matches/afc-bournemouth-v-huddersfield-town-14-may-2011-294626/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 19 March 2021 AFC Bournemouth v Huddersfield Town, 14 May 2011 The second leg took place four days later at the Galpharm Stadium in Huddersfield. Lee Peltier gave Huddersfield the lead on 26 minutes from a Roberts corner, but Steve Lovell equalised just before half-time from the penalty spot after Adam Smith was fouled in the Huddersfield penalty area. Danny Ward restored the home side's lead just before half-time with a strike past Bournemouth's goalkeeper Shwan Jalal. Midway through the second half, McDermott's pass found Lovell who rounded Bennett and scored to make it 2–2. With the aggregate score 3–3 at the final whistle, the match went into extra time. Ings scored for Bournemouth from a Marc Pugh cross in the 104th minute but Antony Kay equalised almost immediately with a header from a Roberts corner. Midway through the second period of additional time, Jason Pearce was shown the red card for a foul. The match ended 3–3, and with the scores level at 4–4 on aggregate, a penalty shootout was required to determine who would progress. Michael Symes and Lee Novak scored the opening penalties for Bournemouth and Huddersfield respectively but Liam Feeney's spot-kick was saved by Bennett. Ward made it 2–1 to Huddersfield before Anton Robinson missed his penalty. Kilbane and Shaun Cooper then scored for Huddersfield and Bournemouth respectively, but Kay scored the decider and Huddersfield won the shootout 4–2, progressing to the final.https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/13356811 Huddersfield 3–3 Bournemouth (agg 4–4) BBC Sport 19 March 2021 18 May 2012 Mark Mitchener https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-afc-bournemouth-18-may-2011-294638/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 19 March 2021 Huddersfield Town v AFC Bournemouth, 18 May 2011 Match Background alt=Huddersfield Town fans at Old Trafford|thumb|Huddersfield Town fans at Old Trafford alt=Peterborough United fans at old Trafford|thumb|Peterborough United fans celebrate Due to the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final being held at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2011, it appeared that the three Football League play-off finals may have to be played at a different venue for the first time since 2007. Manchester United's Old Trafford had been confirmed as a possible alternative, while Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff were also under consideration to host the Championship, League One and League Two play-off finals.Old Trafford considered as venue for 2010–11 Football League play-off finals https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/7595473/Old-Trafford-considered-as-venue-for-2010-11-Football-League-play-off-finals.html The Daily Telegraph London Mark Ogden 16 April 2010 2 April 2018 3 December 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20171203042149/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/competitions/championship/7595473/Old-Trafford-considered-as-venue-for-2010-11-Football-League-play-off-finals.html live It was confirmed in January 2011 that Wembley would host the Championship play-off final on 30 May, while Old Trafford would host the League Two and League One finals on 28 and 29 May respectively. https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/9369296.stm BBC News 6 May 2020 21 January 2011 Old Trafford to host League One and Two play-off finals https://web.archive.org/web/20110125141045/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/9369296.stm 25 January 2011 live The match was Huddersfield Town's third play-off final—their previous appearances came in 1995 (a 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers) and 2004 (a 4–1 penalty shootout win over Mansfield Town)—and capped their seventh overall appearance in the Football League play-offs. They had been relegated to the third tier of English football at the end of the 2002–03 season. https://www.fchd.info/HUDDERST.HTM Huddersfield Town Football Club History Database 19 March 2021 8 August 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200808234856/http://fchd.info/HUDDERST.HTM live Peterborough United had also featured in two previous play-off finals, winning the Football League Third Division final in both 1992 (2–1 against Stockport County) and 2000 (1–0 against Darlington). https://www.fchd.info/PETERBOU.HTM Peterborough United Football Club History Database 19 March 2021 They had been relegated to League One the previous season, finishing bottom of the division and 15 points from safety. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2009-2010/regular-season/r8927/ Soccerway Perform Group 19 March 2021 Championship – 2009/2010 – Regular season 8 October 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20201008093059/https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2009-2010/regular-season/r8927/ live The sides had played each other three times during the season, twice in the league and once in the Football League Trophy. Peterborough won the first league encounter 4–2 at London Road in August 2010; Huddersfield secured a 3–2 victory six weeks later in the cup competition. The second league match took place in April 2011 and ended in a 1–1 draw. https://www.11v11.com/teams/huddersfield-town/tab/opposingTeams/opposition/Peterborough%20United/ 19 March 2021 11v11 AFS Enterprises Huddersfield Town football club: record v Peterborough United This was also the second time the sides had faced one another in the play-offs, with Peterborough winning 4–3 on aggregate in the 1992 semi-finals. Peterborough's Mackail-Smith was the division's top scorer during the regular season with 32 goals (27 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup and 3 in the League Cup). His side's other leading scorers were George Boyd with 17 (15 in the league and 2 in the League Cup) and Aaron McLean on 13 (10 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup). https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1996&teamTabs=stats&season_id=140 Soccerbase 19 March 2021 Centurycomm Peterborough squad details – 2010/11 – Player appearances Jordan Rhodes was Huddersfield's top scorer with 26 goals (20 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup, 1 in the League Cup and 4 in the Football League Trophy) followed by Anthony Pilkington with 14 (10 in the league and 3 in the Football League Trophy). https://www.soccerbase.com/teams/team.sd?team_id=1309&teamTabs=stats&season_id=140 Soccerbase 19 March 2021 Centurycomm Huddersfield squad details – 2010/11 – Player appearances The referee for the match was Steve Tanner. https://www.11v11.com/matches/huddersfield-town-v-peterborough-united-29-may-2011-294655/ 11v11 AFS Enterprises 19 March 2021 Huddersfield Town v Peterborough United, 29 May 2011 He was assisted by Peter Bankes and Charles Breakspear, Mick Russell acted as the fourth official and Seb Stockbridge was reserve assistant referee. https://www.examinerlive.co.uk/sport/football/news/steve-tanner-referee-huddersfield-towns-4976308 Steve Tanner to referee Huddersfield Town's play-off final Doug Thomson 12 July 2013 19 March 2021 Huddersfield Daily Examiner The final was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0504228036/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=TTDA&xid=e48dae89 Gale 20 March 2021 subscription The Box 23 May 2011 The Times 79 Huddersfield adopted a 4–5–1 formation while Peterborough played as a 4–3–2–1. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/IF0504231186/TTDA?u=wikipedia&sid=TTDA&xid=9c34c47f Gale subscription The Times 20 March 2021 Ferguson's ban does the trick Tom Dart 30 May 2011 76 Summary The match kicked off around 3p.m. on 29 May 2011 at Old Trafford in front of 48,410 spectators. In the fifth minute, Mackail-Smith's shot was deflected by Kay onto the outside of Huddersfield's post from a tackle. Boyd then struck from around 30 yd off but his shot was saved by Bennett. For Huddersfield, Peltier headed a Roberts pass over the Peterborough crossbar before Jones caught Clarke's on-target header. Benik Afobe, playing as a lone striker, then missed an opportunity for Huddersfield before Mackail-Smith was denied once again by Kay. Roberts' free-kick was then tipped round the post by Jones before Afobe struck wide from 8 yd off from the resulting corner. Mackail-Smith then hit a shot wide while unmarked after receiving a pass from Boyd, and the half ended goalless. The first chance of the second half fell to McCann who struck a curling free-kick over the bar from around 20 yd off, before Ward's run down the wing ended with his shot striking the Peterborough crossbar. Kay then fouled Mackail-Smith, who was through on goal, and was shown a yellow card. In the 78th minute, Peterborough took the lead as Rowe's header from McCann's free-kick went into the Huddersfield net. In immediate response, Danny Cadamarteri was brought on for Ward as Huddersfield switched to two strikers, but Mackail-Smith doubled Peterborough's lead within two minutes, his shot deflecting into the goal off Kay. With five minutes remaining, McCann increased his side's lead with a long-range strike before Lee Tomlin's shot went over the Huddersfield crossbar. Peterborough won the match 3–0 and were promoted to the Championship. Details 29 May 2011 15:00 BST Huddersfield Town 0–3 Peterborough United Report Rowe 78Mackail-Smith 80McCann 85 Old Trafford, Manchester 48,410 Steve Tanner (Somerset) _white_stripes _whitestripes _white_stripes _top_on_white 0283d4 0283d4 0283d4 0283d4 0283d4 Huddersfield Town _whitesides 000000 000000 000000 000000 000000 Peterborough United GK 13Ian BennettDF 32Jack Hunt 39DF 8Antony Kay 76DF 5Peter Clarke (c)DF 3Gary NaysmithMF 20Kevin KilbaneMF 10Danny Ward 79MF 2Lee Peltier 34MF 16Scott Arfield 81MF 7Gary RobertsFW 24Benik Afobe 81Substitutes:GK 25Nick ColganDF 18Jamie McCombeMF 4Joey GuðjónssonFW 9Danny Cadamarteri 79FW 17Jordan Rhodes 81FW 19Alan Lee 81FW 21Lee NovakManager:Lee Clark GK 28Paul JonesDF 2Mark LittleDF 5Gabriel ZakuaniDF 16Ryan BennettDF 27Grant Basey 64MF 7James WesolowskiMF 11Grant McCann (c)MF 14Tommy Rowe 84MF 10George BoydMF 24Lee Tomlin 29 90+2FW 12Craig Mackail-SmithSubstitutes:GK 30Barry RichardsonDF 4Kelvin LangmeadDF 6Charlie Lee 65 64MF 18Chris Whelpdale 84MF 19Nathaniel Mendez-LaingMF 35Joe NewellFW 9David Ball 90+2Manager:Darren Ferguson Match officials: Assistant referees: Peter Bankes Charles Breakspear Fourth official: Mick Russell +StatisticsEmlyn Begley Huddersfield 0–3 Peterborough https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/13489373.stm BBC Sport 29 May 2011 20 March 2021 8 September 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170908161332/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/13489373.stm live Huddersfield Town Peterborough UnitedTotal shots 7 9Shots on target 3 5Ball possession 44% 56%Corner kicks 5 4Fouls committed 13 10Yellow cards 3 2Red cards 0 0 Post-match Darren Ferguson, the Peterborough manager, was quick to praise his chairman, Darragh MacAnthony, noting "he's spent money, had a right go and had the bottle to get me back at the club". He also noted that his father, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson, had not been present at the final, calling him a "jinx" and jokingly attributing Peterborough's semi-final first-leg loss to MK Dons to him. The Huddersfield manager Lee Clark said that the final score did not tell the whole story of the match: "It was just a crazy eight, ten minutes. For the first half-hour of the second half we dominated, but they had a set-piece expert... I'm hurting for the owner, for the fantastic supporters". Peterborough United ended their next season in 18th place in the Championship, four places and ten points above the relegation zone. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2011-2012/regular-season/r14844/ Soccerway 20 March 2021 Perform Group Championship – 2011/2012 – Regular season Huddersfield Town finished their following season in fourth position in League One and qualified for the 2012 Football League play-offs where they met Sheffield United in the final, winning promotion to the Championship after a penalty shootout. https://uk.soccerway.com/national/england/league-one/2011-2012/regular-season/r14865/ Soccerway 20 March 2021 Perform Group League One – 2011/2012 – 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/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 References Category:EFL League One play-off finals Play-off Final 2011 Play-off Final 2011 2 Play-off Final Category:2011 in sport in Manchester Football League One play-off final