2012 Football League Championship play-off final

Association football match in London December 2017 December 2017 2012 Football League Championship play-off final View from Wembley Way, Playoff Final 2012.jpg 2011–12 Football League Championship Blackpool 1 West Ham United 2 19 May 2012 Wembley Stadium London James Tomkins (West Ham) Howard Webb 78,523 2011 2013 The 2012 Football League Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 19 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London, between West Ham United and Blackpool. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2011–12 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; West Ham ended the season in third place while Blackpool had finished fifth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2012–13 season in the Premier League. The 2012 final, refereed by Howard Webb, was watched by a crowd of more than 78,000 people. West Ham United took the lead in the latter stages of the first half through Carlton Cole. Blackpool's Tom Ince scored the equaliser three minutes in the second half before Ricardo Vaz Tê's 87th minute strike secured victory and promotion for West Ham. It was West Ham's second win in three play-off finals. Their defender, James Tomkins, was named man of the match. West Ham ended the next season in mid-table in the Premier League. Blackpool finished the following season in 15th place, nine points outside the play-offs and five points above the relegation zone. Route to the final 2011–12 Football League Championship main WDL Q right auto Football League Championship final table, leading positions REA Reading SOU Southampton WHU West Ham United BIR Birmingham City BLP Blackpool CAR Cardiff City 27 8 11 69 41 26 10 10 85 46 24 14 8 81 48 20 16 10 78 51 20 15 11 79 59 19 18 9 66 53 complete West Ham United finished the regular 2011–12 season in third place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Blackpool. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. West Ham finished two points behind Southampton (who were promoted in second place) and three behind league winners Reading. Blackpool ended the season eleven points behind West Ham.https://www.11v11.com/league-tables/league-championship/2012/ League Championship end of season table for 2011–12 season 11v11.com 4 May 2020 https://int.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2011-2012/regular-season/r14844/ Soccerway 6 May 2020 Championship – 2011/12 – regular season https://web.archive.org/web/20200420191819/https://int.soccerway.com/national/england/championship/2011-2012/regular-season/r14844/ 20 April 2020 live Blackpool faced Birmingham City in their play-off semi-finals, with the first leg being played at Bloomfield Road. A long-range shot from Tom Ince ricocheted off Birmingham defender Curtis Davies past Colin Doyle late in the first half. The match finished 1–0, securing Blackpool's tenth consecutive play-off victory. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17881437 Blackpool 1–0 Birmingham City BBC Sport 4 May 2020 4 May 2012 Neil Johnston https://web.archive.org/web/20200503025001/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17881437 3 May 2020 live In the return leg, played five days later at St Andrew's, Stephen Dobbie extended Blackpool's aggregate lead on the stroke of half time. Matt Phillips scored soon after the break to make it 3–0 on aggregate to Blackpool before Birmingham's Nikola Žigić scored midway through the second half. Davies reduced Birmingham's deficit to a single goal but the match ended without further scoring, and Blackpool qualified for the final 3–2 on aggregate. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17919423 BBC Sport 4 May 2020 9 May 2012 Mandeep Sanghera Birmingham City 2–2 Blackpool https://web.archive.org/web/20200503025011/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17919423 3 May 2020 live In the other play-off semi-final, West Ham United's opponents were Cardiff City, with the first leg being played at the Cardiff City Stadium. A first-half brace from Jack Collison ensured the London club took a 2–0 lead to the return leg at the Boleyn Ground. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17881430 Cardiff City 0–2 West Ham United BBC Sport 4 May 2020 3 May 2012 Bruce Pope https://web.archive.org/web/20200503025009/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17881430 3 May 2020 live Goals from West Ham captain Kevin Nolan, Ricardo Vaz Tê and Nicky Maynard secured a 3–0 victory and an aggregate 5–0 win, and qualified the club for their first appearance at Wembley since the 1981 Football League Cup Final. Collison was taken to hospital as a precaution with a suspected dislocated shoulder. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17890891 West Ham United 3–0 Cardiff City BBC Sport 4 May 2020 7 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20200503025005/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/17890891 3 May 2020 live BlackpoolRoundWest Ham UnitedOpponentResultLegsSemi-finalsOpponentResultLegsBirmingham City3–2 1–0 home; 2–2 awayCardiff City5–0 2–0 away; 3–0 home Match right|thumb|alt=Carlton Cole| Carlton Cole (pictured in 2014) scored the opening goal of the 2012 play-off final. thumb|right|alt=Kevin Nolan lifting a trophy|Kevin Nolan lifts the trophy at the end of the game Background This was Blackpool's second appearance in the second tier play-off final, having beaten Cardiff City 3–2 in the 2010 Football League Championship play-off final.https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8692465.stm Blackpool 3–2 Cardiff City BBC Sport Paul Fletcher 22 May 2010 10 February 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20120320150930/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8692465.stm 20 March 2012 live Blackpool had also had beaten Yeovil Town at Wembley in the third-tier 2007 Football League One play-off final. https://web.archive.org/web/20161009214128/https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/9864357/play-off-final-history-stats https://www.sportinglife.com/football/news/article/165/9864357/play-off-final-history-stats 9 October 2016 25 May 2015 Sporting Life 3 May 2020 Play-Off Final History & Stats https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_2/6686991.stm Yeovil 0–2 Blackpool Ian Hughes 4 May 2020 27 May 2007 BBC Sport https://web.archive.org/web/20070913111424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_2/6686991.stm 13 September 2007 live West Ham also had play-off final experience having lost the 2004 Football League First Division play-off final against Crystal Palace but winning the following season's play-off final against Preston North End. During the regular season, West Ham dominated Blackpool, winning 4–0 at the Boleyn Ground in October 2011, and 4–1 at Bloomfield Road the following February. https://www.11v11.com/teams/west-ham-united/tab/matches/season/2012/ 11v11.com 4 May 2020 West Ham United football club match record: 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20170421110526/http://www.11v11.com/teams/west-ham-united/tab/matches/season/2012/ 21 April 2017 live West Ham's Vaz Tê was the division's top scorer, with 22 goals to his name, including 10 while he was at Barnsley earlier in the season. Blackpool's top scorer was Kevin Phillips who netted 16 times during the regular season. https://books.google.com/books?id=7PM02rEQCw0C&pg=PP37 37 Playfair Football Annual 2012–2013 Glenda Jack Rollin Rollin 2 August 2012 Headline 978-0-7553-6358-2 The referee for the final was Howard Webb, with assistant referees Peter Kirkup and Mike Mullarkey, and Kevin Friend acted as the fourth official. 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 Blackpool went into the final without Gary Taylor-Fletcher whose injury during training prevented him from taking part. During Blackpool's regular season, he had contributed ten assists and eight goals; https://web.archive.org/web/20120626141129/http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalAssists/0,,10794~20117,00.html 26 June 2012 http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalAssists/0,,10794~20117,00.html 4 May 2020 Divisional assists – 2011/12 The Football League https://web.archive.org/web/20120626185945/http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalScorers/0,,10794~20117,00.html http://www.football-league.co.uk/page/DivisionalScorers/0,,10794~20117,00.html 26 June 2012 Divisional scorers – 2011/12 4 May 2020 The Football League Phillips started in his place, and Czech striker Roman Bednář was named amongst the substitutes. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/may/19/blackpool-west-ham-playoff-final-live The Guardian 4 May 2020 Blackpool v West Ham – as it happened Evan Fanning 19 May 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20160407025951/http://www.theguardian.com/football/2012/may/19/blackpool-west-ham-playoff-final-live 7 April 2016 live West Ham's Collinson was cleared to play, despite suffering a dislocated shoulder in the play-off semi-finals. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18131326 Championship play-off final as it happened Chris Bevan 19 May 2012 4 May 2020 BBC Sport https://web.archive.org/web/20190617142223/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18131326 17 June 2019 live First half West Ham United kicked the game off around 3p.m. in front of a Wembley crowd of 78,523. https://www.skysports.com/football/blackpool-vs-west-ham/259272 Sky Sports 5 May 2020 19 May 2012 Irons in Prem after Wembley win https://web.archive.org/web/20190601083440/https://www.skysports.com/football/blackpool-vs-west-ham/259272 1 June 2019 live Almost immediately, the first chance fell to West Ham's Carlton Cole but Nolan's pass was too long and was picked up by the Blackpool goalkeeper Matt Gilks. At the other end, a mistake from Matthew Taylor allowed Dobbie to shoot but it was blocked by Green onto the post. Another chance for Blackpool came in the 14th minute: Matt Phillips was played in by Dobbie but he shot straight at Green who saved once again. Four minutes later, Vaz Tê's shot hits the side netting after a pass from Mark Noble. Collison’s shot then sailed high and wide of Blackpool's goal. On the half-hour mark, a series of four consecutive corners for West Ham came to nothing, but in the 34th minute the deadlock was broken. Taylor made a cross-field pass to Cole who took one touch to control the ball before shooting past Gilks to make the score 1–0. Another shot went wide from Vaz Tê three minutes later, and after one minute of stoppage time, the half was brought to an end with West Ham leading by the single goal. Second half Two minutes into the second half, Ince scored the equaliser for Blackpool. Cole lost the ball near the half-way line and a Matt Phillips pass over Winston Reid fell to Ince whose first-time strike beat Green in the West Ham goal. Kevin Phillips then played Alex Baptiste in and his lob over Green was cleared off the line by Taylor. In the 54th minute, West Ham made the first substitution of the afternoon, with George McCartney coming on to replace Gary O'Neil. Shortly after, Guy Demel was injured and was replaced by Julien Faubert. Taylor's cross was then headed high over the Blackpool bar by Collison. Vaz Tê's weak attempt was then cleared by Taylor before Gilks was forced to save a shot on the turn from Cole. In the 66th minutes, Dobbie's shot from the centre of the penalty area went wide, before Noble made a goal-line clearance to Baptiste, who struck the ball over the bar. Blackpool made their first substitution on 71 minutes, with Ludovic Sylvestre coming on to replace Kevin Phillips, and began to dominate possession. Green saved another Dobbie shot before West Ham's Nolan's volley struck the bar after Gilks' fingertip save. With three minutes to go Nolan passed to Cole who rode a challenge and collided with Gilks. Vaz Tê picked up the loose ball and hit it into the roof of the Blackpool goal, making it 2–1 to the London club. In the final minute of regular time, Dobbie and Ángel Martínez were replaced by Nouha Dicko and Bednář. Four minutes of injury time followed but with no change to the score, and West Ham were promoted back to the Premier League, one season after they were relegated. Details 19 May 2012 15:00 BST Blackpool West Ham United 1–2 Ince 48 Cole 34Vaz Tê 87 Wembley Stadium, London 78,523 Howard Webb (South Yorkshire) Report _blackpool1112A _blackpool1112A _blackpool1112A _blackpool1112a ff5e00 Blackpool _westhamutd1112h _westhamutd1112h _westhamutd1112h _westhamutd1112h _westham1112hl 3399ff 970045 3399ff FFFFFF FFFFFF West Ham United GK 1 Matt GilksDF 5 Neal EardleyDF 6 Ian EvattDF 15 Alex BaptisteDF 3 Stephen CraineyMF 23 Matt PhillipsMF 16 Barry Ferguson (c)MF 31 Ángel Martínez 90FW 7 Stephen Dobbie 90FW 9 Kevin Phillips 71FW 36 Tom InceSubstitutes:DF 20 Craig CathcartMF 4 Keith SouthernMF 14 Ludovic Sylvestre 71MF 32 Nouha Dicko 90FW 35 Roman Bednář 90Manager:Ian Holloway GK 1 Robert GreenDF 20 Guy Demel 57DF 2 Winston ReidDF 5 James TomkinsDF 14 Matthew TaylorMF 10 Jack CollisonMF 16 Mark NobleMF 4 Kevin Nolan (c)MF 32 Gary O'Neil 53FW 9 Carlton ColeFW 12 Ricardo Vaz Tê 89Substitutes:GK 13 Stephen HendersonDF 3 George McCartney 53DF 18 Julien Faubert 57MF 22 Henri LansburyFW 8 Nicky MaynardManager:Sam Allardyce Man of the Match: James Tomkins (West Ham United) Assistant referees: Peter Kirkup Mike Mullarkey Fourth official: Kevin FriendMatch rules: 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra time if necessary. Penalty shoot-out if scores still level. Five named substitutes. Maximum of three substitutions. Statistics 750px|thumb|right|alt=Inside Wembley before the final|A panorama of Wembley before the 2012 final +StatisticsPaul Fletcher West Ham clinch Premier League return https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18044378 BBC Sport 19 May 2012 5 May 2020 live https://web.archive.org/web/20160316080346/https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/18044378 16 March 2016 Blackpool West Ham UnitedTotal shots 14 12Shots on target 7 4Ball possession 52% 48%Corner kicks 4 5Fouls committed 6 8Offsides 3 5Yellow cards 0 1Red cards 0 0 Post-match The West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said: "I told you it was going to be difficult... Blackpool were equally as good as us today but it's about taking your chances and never more so than on a day like today." His captain, Nolan, agreed: "Blackpool were fantastic today but there's always got to be one loser... We didn't play our best today but I'm absolutely delighted for everyone here." Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager, was downbeat: "We are left to regret the chances we missed. We have to get over it and bounce back." West Ham United's Tomkins was selected as man of the match.Tonks' final flourish http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120519/tonks-final-flourish_2236884_2777599 West Ham United F.C. 7 June 2012 https://web.archive.org/web/20120524044843/http://www.whufc.com/articles/20120519/tonks-final-flourish_2236884_2777599 24 May 2012 live 19 May 2012 West Ham ended the next season in mid-table in the Premier League, in tenth place and ten points clear of the relegation zone. https://www.11v11.com/teams/west-ham-united/tab/leagueTables/2013/ 11v11.com 5 May 2020 Premier League table at close of 2012–13 season Blackpool finished the following season in 15th place, nine points outside the play-offs and five above the relegation zone. https://www.11v11.com/teams/blackpool/tab/leagueTables/2013/ 11v11.com 5 May 2020 League Championship table at close of 2012–13 season References Category:EFL Championship play-off finals 1 play Play-off Final 2012 Play-off Final 2012 Football League Championship play-off final Football League Championship play-off final