 The match was played at Wembley Stadium. | |||||||
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| Date | 25 May 2009 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Mike Dean (Wirral) | ||||||
| Attendance | 80,518 | ||||||
| Weather | Sunny | ||||||
←2008 2010 → | |||||||
The2009 Football League Championship play-off final was anassociation football match which was played on 25 May 2009 atWembley Stadium, London, betweenBurnley andSheffield United. The match was to determine the third and final team to gainpromotion from theFootball League Championship, the second tier ofEnglish football, to thePremier League. The top two teams of the2008–09 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the clubs placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Sheffield United ended the season in third position while Burnley finished fifth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the2009–10 season in the Premier League.
The 2009 final, refereed byMike Dean, was watched by a crowd of more than 80,000 people. Burnley won 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming fromWade Elliott in the first half. SubstituteJamie Ward was sent off in the second half following two deliberate handballs, while his teammateLee Hendrie was also dismissed after the final whistle. Victory for Burnley meant they returned to top flight football for the first time in 33 years.
Burnley ended the next season in 18th place in the Premier League and were relegated back to the Championship. Sheffield United finished the following season in 8th place, five points outside the play-offs.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 27 | 9 | 10 | 80 | 52 | +28 | 90 |
| 2 | Birmingham City | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 54 | 37 | +17 | 83 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | 46 | 22 | 14 | 10 | 64 | 39 | +25 | 80 |
| 4 | Reading | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 72 | 40 | +32 | 77 |
| 5 | Burnley | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 76 |
| 6 | Preston North End | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 66 | 54 | +12 | 74 |
Sheffield United finished the regular2008–09 season in third place in theFootball League Championship, the second tier of theEnglish football league system, two places and four points ahead ofBurnley. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places forpromotion to thePremier League and instead took part in theplay-offs to determine the third promoted team. Sheffield United finished three points behindBirmingham City (who were promoted in second place) and ten behind league winnersWolverhampton Wanderers.[1][2]
Burnley facedReading in their play-off semi-final, the first leg of which took place atTurf Moor. Reading dominated the match, butKevin Doyle's shot was blocked on the line; he was latersubstituted having suffered anAchilles tendon injury. The game was decided late in the second half whenGraham Alexander scored for Burnley from thepenalty spot after a foulSteven Thompson by Reading's defenderAndré Bikey. Late into injury time, Bikey wassent off for stamping on Burnley'sRobbie Blake, and the match ended 1–0.[3] The second leg, at theMadejski Stadium, was played three days later. Goalless at half time, with Reading limited to few chances, a 51st minute strike from 25 yards (23 m) byMartin Paterson put Burnley 1–0 up in the game and 2–0 ahead onaggregate. Seven minutes later, Thompson with a loopingvolley from outside the left-hand corner of the penalty box doubled Burnley's lead but despite further chances for them, no more goals were scored and the semi-final ended 3–0 on aggregate to Burnley.[4]
In the other play-off semi-final, Sheffield United's opponents werePreston North End, with the first leg being played atDeepdale. The home team took the lead in the first half afterSean St Ledger scored, but the tie was level soon into the second half, with a volley fromBrian Howard 21 seconds after kick-off. No further goals were scored and the match ended as a 1–1 draw.[5] The return leg atBramall Lane was decided by a single goal:Greg Halford's 59th minute header secured a 1–0 win for United on the night, and a 2–1 aggregate victory.[6]
| Sheffield United | Round | Burnley | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Semi-finals | Opponent | Result | Legs |
| Preston North End | 2–1 | 1–1 away; 1–0 home | Reading | 3–0 | 1–0 home; 2–0 away | |
This was Burnley's first Championship play-off final, although they had won the third-tier1994 Football League Second Division play-off final 2–1 againstStockport County theold Wembley Stadium.[7][8] Sheffield United had lost both the1997 and2003 Football League Second Division play-off finals.[7] During the regular season, Burnley had won both matches, 3–2 away in December 2008 and 1–0 at home the following April.[9] It had been 33 years since Burnley last played top-flight football in the1975–76 Football League First Division, while Sheffield United had been most recently relegated from the highest tier in the2006–07 FA Premier League.[10] Paterson was Burnley's top scorer with twelve goals in the regular season, followed by Alexander with nine, whileCraig Beattie led the scoring charts for Sheffield United with twelve.[2] This was Burnley's 61st competitive match of their season, and Paterson was ever present throughout.[11]
The referee for the final wasMike Dean of theWirral District Football Association, with assistant referees Darren Cann and Mick McDonough, andLee Probert acting as the fourth official.[12] Dean's appointment was not without controversy: he had officiated the match in which Sheffield United were relegated from Premier League in 2007 and refereed the2006 Football League Championship play-off final whenKevin Blackwell, the Sheffield United manager, was in charge atLeeds United who lost the match 3–0.[12] Blackwell described the appointment as "inexplicable" and that he was "amazed at the stupidity of it."[13] He went on to say that he was "very, very angry about people who run the game not using their common sense and putting Mike Dean in what could be a very embarrassing position".[13] Both managers had appeared at the old Wembley Stadium as players:Owen Coyle played, and scored, inBolton Wanderers' 4–3 victory over Reading in the1995 Football League First Division play-off final while Blackwell featured forBoston United who lost againstWealdstone in the1985 FA Trophy Final.[11]
Both managers named starting line-ups unchanged from the second legs of their semi-finals. Burnley were playing in their awaykit of light blue, while Sheffield United wore their traditional home strip of red and white stripes. Before kick-off, both teams were presented to members of the military and formerConservative Member of Parliament andFootball League chairmanBrian Mawhinney.[10]
Sheffield United kicked the game off around 3 p.m. in sunny conditions front of a Wembley crowd of 80,518.[11][14] After early pressure, United'sKyle Walker struck the first shot on target from 20 yards (18 m) which was saved by Burnley's goalkeeperBrian Jensen. Five minutes later, Blake's weak shot was easily saved byPaddy Kenny in the Sheffield United goal. Two minutes later, aMatthew Kilgallon free kick was blocked by the Burnley wall but not cleared, allowing Howard to shoot from the edge of the penalty area which was saved by Jensen. On 13 minutes,Wade Elliott took the ball around the halfway line and started a run towards the Sheffield United goal. He passed toChris McCann who was tackled, but the ball fell to Elliott whose first-time strike from 25 yards (23 m) flew into the top-left corner of Kenny's net, making the score 1–0 to Burnley. Two minutes later, Alexander brought down Howard as he ran into the box, but the appeals of the Sheffield United players for a penalty were dismissed by Dean. In the 19th minute, McCann headed over the bar from inside the six-yard box while Howard's free kick two minutes later was too high. The first yellow card of the game was shown to Burnley'sClarke Carlisle after he fouled Halford. Burnley were forced to make the first substitution of the afternoon on 27 minutes after McCann failed to recover from a knee injury he sustained clearing the ball, withJoey Guðjónsson coming on to replace him. Paterson went close on 31 minutes, curling the ball just wide of Kenny's post from 20 yards (18 m). Heading towards half time, the game became patchy with neither side creating clear-cut chances, but on 45 minutes, Thompson's looping header went wide. Three minutes of additional time were played and the half ended 1–0 to Burnley.[10][11]
Burnley kicked off the second half and three minutes in, they were awarded acorner whichMichael Duff toe-poked just wide of the post.Stephen Quinn's run was brought to a halt by an Alexander tackle before Guðjónsson's tap-in attempt was cleared by United'sNick Montgomery. In the 58th minute, Sheffield United made their first substitution of the game, withDavid Cotterill being replaced byJamie Ward. Eight minutes later, Walker played Thompson onside, who picked out Blake. A last-second tackle from Walker did enough to distract Blake whose shot from 8 yards (7.3 m) went wide. United appealed for another penalty in the 69th minute when Walker was seemingly brought down byChristian Kalvenes, but it was not awarded. A minute later, Burnley made their second substitution with Blake, suffering from ahamstring injury, being replaced byChris Eagles. In the 72nd minute, a break from Ward allowed him to shoot from a tight angle but Jensen deflected the strike. Burnley's final substitution was made in the 74th minute withJay Rodriguez coming on for Thompson. A minute later, Ward was booked after a deliberate handball. On 77 minutes, an Eagles pass found Paterson on the wing who cut inside to shoot, but it was blocked byKyle Naughton. Ward was shown a second yellow card for another intentional handball in the 79th minute.Arturo Lupoli was then brought on by Sheffield United to replace Howard, before Quinn was substituted byLee Hendrie on 85 minutes. In the last minute of regular time, Morgan and Kalvenes clashed heads and the latter was booked. The resulting free kick was struck into the wall allowing Burnley to break but they failed to score as Montgomery cleared a poor pass from Paterson. Deep into additional time, Lupoli was booked for a foul on Elliott, and the final whistle was blown, with Burnley winning the match 1–0.[10][11]
     Burnley |    Sheffield United |
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Match rules:
| Burnley | Sheffield United | |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 11 | 11 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 9 |
| Ball possession | 44% | 56% |
| Corner kicks | 9 | 3 |
| Fouls committed | 12 | 12 |
| Offsides | 1 | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 5 |
| Red cards | 0 | 2 |
Hendrie was shown a straight red card by the referee after the match ended for foul and abusive language.[14] The Burnley manager Owen Coyle remarked "the players were magnificent. It was a great game, end-to-end. Sheffield United were brave and were coming at us even after they went down to 10 men. There's now a great adventure to look forward to. Regarding bringing in players, everybody knows our revenue. We may not have quantity but we have quality."[11] His chairmanBarry Kilby stated: "After 33 years out of the top flight, we're back. Half the population of the town were here today, and this is for them. Owen Coyle has done a fantastic, superb job on a small budget, and I'm sure he's looking forward to pitting his wits against the Premier League managers next season".[11] The Sheffield United manager Kevin Blackwell noted "It doesn't get any easier to take, but we have to take it on chin and move forward. But I gave my congratulations to Owen Coyle. I'm going to go home and think of what to do now."[11]
Burnley ended thenext season in 18th place in the Premier League, five points from safety and relegated back to the Championship for the2010–11 season.[16] Sheffield United finished thefollowing season in 8th place, five points outside theplay-offs.[17]
