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| on aggregate Charlton Athletic won after areplay | |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Date | 23 May 1987 (1987-05-23) | ||||||
| Venue | Selhurst Park,London | ||||||
| Referee | Roger Milford | ||||||
| Attendance | 16,680 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 25 May 1987 (1987-05-25) | ||||||
| Venue | Elland Road,Leeds | ||||||
| Referee | Brian Hill | ||||||
| Attendance | 31,395 | ||||||
| Replay | |||||||
| |||||||
| Afterextra time | |||||||
| Date | 29 May 1987 (1987-05-29) | ||||||
| Venue | St Andrew's,Birmingham | ||||||
| Referee | Allan Gunn | ||||||
| Attendance | 15,841 | ||||||
1988 → | |||||||
The1987 Football League Second Division play-off final was anassociation football match contested betweenLeeds United andCharlton Athletic overtwo legs on 23 May 1987 and 25 May 1987 to determine which club would play the next season in theFirst Division. Charlton Athletic had finished fourth from the bottom in the First Division, while Leeds United finished fourth in theSecond Division. They were joined in theplay-offs by the teams that had finished third and fifth in the Second Division: Charlton Athletic defeatedIpswich in their play-off semi-final, while Leeds United defeatedOldham Athletic in the other semi-final.
The first leg of the final was played atSelhurst Park inLondon, in front of a crowd of 16,680.Jim Melrose scored the game's only goal to give Charlton Athletic a 1–0 win. Two days later, atElland Road inLeeds, 31,395 fans sawBrendon Ormsby score the game's only goal as Leeds United won the match 1–0. This meant arranging a replay held atSt Andrew's inBirmingham, which was played on 29 May 1987. After full-time, the score remained 0–0. Extra-time was played withJohn Sheridan scoring first for Leeds in the 99th minute.Peter Shirtliff then scored twice in the 113th and 117th minutes to give Charlton Athletic a 2–1 victory and to preserve their place in the top tier of English football.
The following season, Charlton Athletic finished one spot above the relegation zone in the First Division ahead ofChelsea by goal-difference. Leeds United ended theirnext Second Division campaign in seventh position, eight points below theplay-offs.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Charlton Athletic | 42 | 11 | 11 | 20 | 45 | 55 | −10 | 44 |
| 20 | Leicester City | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 54 | 76 | −22 | 42 |
| 21 | Manchester City | 42 | 8 | 15 | 19 | 28 | 57 | −29 | 39 |
| 22 | Aston Villa | 42 | 8 | 12 | 22 | 45 | 79 | −34 | 36 |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derby County | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 64 | 38 | +26 | 84 |
| 2 | Portsmouth | 42 | 23 | 9 | 10 | 53 | 28 | +25 | 78 |
| 3 | Oldham Athletic | 42 | 22 | 9 | 11 | 65 | 44 | +21 | 75 |
| 4 | Leeds United | 42 | 19 | 11 | 12 | 58 | 44 | +14 | 68 |
| 5 | Ipswich Town | 42 | 17 | 13 | 12 | 59 | 43 | +16 | 64 |
Charlton Athletic finished the1986–87 season in 19th place in the First Division. They avoided automaticrelegation by defeatingQueens Park Rangers on the final day of the season and finished two points ahead of relegated teamLeicester City.[3][4]Leeds United finished the season in fourth place in the Second Division, ten points behindPortsmouth who were automatically promoted to the First Division along withDerby Country.[5] Both Charlton Athletic and Leeds United, along withOldham Athletic andIpswich Town, entered the play-offs to determine who would play in the First Division in the1987–88 season.[5]
Leeds United hosted the first leg of the semi-final atElland Road in Leeds on 14 May 1987 as they faced Oldham Athletic,[6] who were attempting to gain promotion to the top flight where they had last played in 1923.[7]Kick off was delayed by 15 minutes as a result of the large crowd of 29,742.[8] Leeds'Mark Aizlewood received abooking in the 13th minute for a late tackle while Oldham'sMike Milligan was booked a minute later.[6] The best chance of the first half fell to Sheridan whose curlingfree kick was caught byAndy Goram in the Oldham goal.[8] The only goal of the game came in the 89th minute whenKeith Edwards, who had come on as asubstitute 17 minutes earlier, scored aheader at the near post to give Leeds a one-goal advantage.[6] The second leg of the semi-final was played three days later atBoundary Park. Oldham opened the scoring in the 18th minute whenGary Williams headed in across fromDenis Irwin. It would take until the 89th minute before Oldham's substituteMike Cecere headed in from another Irwin cross to put his team ahead 2–0. A minute later, Baird knocked down a cross from Sheridan for Edwards to score through a group of players, making theaggregate score 2–2, and sending the game intoextra time. No further goals were scored, and Leeds progressed to the final on theaway goals rule.[9][10]
In the second play-off semi-final, Charlton Athletic's opponents were Ipswich Town with the first leg being held atPortman Road in Ipswich on 14 May 1987. It was the clubs' first league meeting in nearly twenty years.[11] In the tenth minute, Ipswich's goalkeeperPaul Cooper made his fifthpenalty save of the season after denyingColin Walsh's spot kick.[12] The Charlton goalkeeperBob Bolder made a save fromKevin Wilson beforeJim Melrose hit the Ipswich crossbar. Bolder then made a double save, first fromJason Dozzell and then denying the headed rebound fromTony Humes, and the match ended 0–0.[11] The second leg took place at Selhurst Park three days later. Melrose scored the opening goal of the game with a 15-yard (14 m) header from aJohn Humphrey cross. Two minutes later Melrose doubled the lead with another header, this time from aPaul Miller pass. In the 85th minute, Ipswich midfielderSteve McCall scored after a shot fromMich d'Avray rebounded from the post, but Charlton Athletic qualified for the play-off final 2–1 on aggregate.[13][14]
This was the inaugural season of theEnglish Football League play-offs which was introduced as part of the "Heathrow Agreement", a ten-point proposal to restructure the Football League,[15] which included this mechanism by which the number of clubs in the First Division could be reduced from 22 to 20. For the first two years of the play-offs, one relegation place was decided upon using asingle-elimination tournament where each round was played as atwo-legged tie: one club from the First Division competed with three clubs from the Second Division for a place in thetop tier of English football.[16] The play-offs were not universally lauded: Oldham Athletic managerJoe Royle was scathing of them after losing to Leeds in the semi-final, saying "We finished seven points clear of Leeds. So to go out on away goals to them means there is something unjust. I welcomed the play-offs but possibly hadn't considered the long-term ramifications."[16]
Leeds United had played in the second tier of English football since they were relegated in the1981–82 season.[17]Billy Bremner had been appointed as theirmanager in October 1985, replacingEddie Gray.[18] After leading the club to 14th position in the league that season, Bremner made a number of changes to playing staff, including bringing in at least ten players. Along with the fourth-place finish in the league, Bremner oversaw Leeds' run to the semi-final of the1986–87 FA Cup where they lost toCoventry City.[19] Charlton Athletic had been promoted to the First Division theprevious season, having spent five seasons in the Second Division.[20] Their managerLennie Lawrence had been moved into thecaretaker role at the club in November 1982 afterKen Craggs was sacked with them fifth-from-bottom in the Second Division.[21] Despite finishing in 18th place in the First Division, Lawrence's team had made it to the1987 Full Members' Cup Final where they were defeated by Second DivisionBlackburn Rovers 1–0 atWembley Stadium.[22]
The first leg of the play-off final was delayed from a scheduled Friday evening kick-off to a Saturday afternoon game to avoid traffic congestion at a supermarket local to Selhurst Park.[23] The match was played in front of a crowd of 16,680 in damp conditions and was refereed byRoger Milford.[24][25]Andy Peake's strike from outside the penalty area just flew over the Leeds crossbar before Melrose headed a cross from Walsh goalbound which was saved byMervyn Day in the Leeds goal.[26] The game was described inThe Guardian by Michael Ralph as "an unending series of squabbles" in which both Charlton's Miller and Leeds' Aizlewood were booked.[26]
Charlton dominated the match but it took until the 87th minute when Melrose scored the opening goal of the afternoon, and his seventeenth of the season, to give them a 1–0 lead. Charlton manager Lennie Lawrence said after the match, "I can't recall us having less room to play any time this season."[25][26]
          Charlton Athletic |    Leeds United |
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The second leg was played on 25 May 1987 Elland Road in front of a crowd of 31,395 and was refereed byBrian Hill.[27] Leeds'John Pearson was ruled out with an injury and was replaced in the starting eleven byBob Taylor.[28]
The first half saw several robust challenges with former Charlton player Aizlewood receiving a yellow card after he fouled Peake. Leeds held possession for most of the first half, but Taylor missed a rebound that came from a Sheridan challenge with Charlton goalkeeper Bolder.[29] But the ball hit the woodwork and Taylor missed the rebound. In the second half, Leeds United forwardBrendon Ormsby scored in the 53rd minute; it was to be the only goal of the game. The aggregate score of 1–1 meant a replay had to be played four days later atSt Andrew's in Birmingham, a neutral venue.[30] Lawrence reflected on the nature of the match: "It was fiercely contested but you cannot help that when there's so much at stake. It was a good game and we haven't played better than that and lost all season ... there are worse sides in the First Division."[28]
Leeds United |    Charlton Athletic |
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The replay was held at St Andrew's, the home ofBirmingham City, on 29 May 1987 in front of a crowd of 15,841, and was refereed byAllan Gunn.[31][32] Lawrence chose a blue kit for Charlton for the replay, as he believed that should any neutral supporters be present at the ground, they would support the team in the same colour as the host club.[22] TheWest Midlands Police had mobilised at least 300 officers, some mounted and some with dogs, in anticipation of the arrival of at least 13,000 Leeds United supporters. Two years prior, Leeds United fans had rioted at St Andrew's, causing a wall to collapse and resulting in injuries to 96 policemen. Only 2,000 Charlton fans were expected to make the journey to Birmingham. Leeds were hoping that Pearson had recovered from a rib injury while Charlton's only selection dilemma was between Shirtliff and Thompson who was recovering from an Achilles injury.[33]
During normal time Charlton dominated, but after 90 minutes the game remained goalless with Crooks and Melrose having chances to score. Leeds were a defender down after their captain Ormsby left the field before half-time with an injured leg. In the ninth minute of extra time, Sheridan scored from a free kick to give Leeds the lead. But in the second half of extra time, two goals from Shirtliff made it 2–1 to Charlton. First, in the 113th minute, he struck a low shot past Day in the Leeds goal. His second goal came in the 117th minute from a Peake free kick as his header was unchallenged. The match ended 2–1 to Charlton who retained their place in the top tier of English football.[34]
| Leeds United | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Charlton Athletic |
|---|---|---|
Sheridan 99' | Report | Shirtliff 113',117' |
Leeds United |   Charlton Athletic |
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MATCH RULES
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After the result, the Charlton manager Lawrence said in an interview, "The play-offs are exciting. I just think the format is wrong."[35] Shirtliff had scored 15 goals in his 17-year career before scoring the two in the play-off final replay.[16] He later said "I had never scored more than one goal in a game before and have never done it since! We were by far the better side so we just carried on playing and showed good patience."[36]
The following season, Charlton Athletic finished in 17th place, one place above the relegation zone after finishing their season with a 1–1 draw to Chelsea with only goal difference separating the two teams.[37][38] Leeds United finished the following campaign in seventh place, eight points behind the play-off spots and it would not be until 1990 where they were automatically promoted into the top flight.[39]
