 The match was played atWembley Stadium. | |||||||
| Event | 2008–09 Football League Two | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Date | 23 May 2009 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Clive Oliver (Northumberland) | ||||||
| Attendance | 53,706 | ||||||
←2008 2010 → | |||||||
The2009 Football League Two play-off final was anassociation football match played atWembley Stadium on 23 May 2009, to determine the fourth and final team to gainpromotion fromLeague Two, the fourth tier of theEnglish football league system, in the2008–09 season.Gillingham, who had finished fifth during the league season, facedShrewsbury Town, who had finished seventh. The match was Shrewsbury's second appearance at the new Wembley Stadium and Gillingham's first, although both clubs had played at theprevious stadium of the same name. The teams reached the final by defeatingRochdale andBury respectively; the semi-final between Shrewsbury and Bury had to be decided by apenalty shoot-out.
The final drew a crowd of just under 54,000 and wasrefereed by Clive Oliver. Gillingham were the stronger team in the first half but only came close to scoring a goal once and at half-time the score was 0–0. Both teams attacked more strongly in the second half, requiring bothgoalkeepers to make saves, but the match remained scoreless until the last minute, whenSimeon Jackson headed inJosh Wright'scorner kick to give Gillingham the lead; Shrewsbury made a last-ditch attack but were unable to equalise. Gillingham thus won the match 1–0 to gain promotion back toLeague One one year after beingrelegated.
Post-match analysis showed that referee Oliver had wrongly awarded the corner kick from which the goal was scored, but defeated managerPaul Simpson chose not to criticise the decision in his post-match comments. Gillingham spent only one season at the higher level before being relegated back to League Two. After their Wembley defeat in 2009, Shrewsbury spent three further seasons in League Two before gaining promotion.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brentford | 46 | 23 | 16 | 7 | 65 | 36 | +29 | 85 |
| 2 | Exeter City | 46 | 22 | 13 | 11 | 65 | 50 | +15 | 79 |
| 3 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 20 | 18 | 8 | 54 | 33 | +21 | 78 |
| 4 | Bury | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 63 | 43 | +20 | 78 |
| 5 | Gillingham | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 58 | 55 | +3 | 75 |
| 6 | Rochdale | 46 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 70 | 59 | +11 | 70 |
| 7 | Shrewsbury Town | 46 | 17 | 18 | 11 | 61 | 44 | +17 | 69 |
| 8 | Dagenham & Redbridge | 46 | 19 | 11 | 16 | 77 | 53 | +24 | 68 |
In the2008–09 Football League season, the teams finishing in the top three positions inFootball League Two, the fourth tier of theEnglish football league system, gained automaticpromotion toLeague One. ChampionsBrentford,Exeter City, andWycombe Wanderers were promoted automatically. The teams finishing between fourth and seventh inclusive competed in theplay-offs for the fourth and final promotion place.[1]
Gillingham finished the season in fifth place with 75 points, three points outside the automatic promotion positions;Shrewsbury Town finished two places lower with 69 points. Shrewsbury had only qualified for the play-offs by defeatingDagenham & Redbridge in the final match of the regular season, enabling them to overtake their opponents in the league table and leave them in eighth place, one point outside the play-off places.[1][2] In the play-off semi-finals, Gillingham were paired with sixth-placedRochdale and Shrewsbury with fourth-place finishersBury. Each semi-final was played on atwo-legged basis, with one game at each team's home stadium and the result determined based on theaggregate score of the two games.[3] The first leg of Gillingham's semi-final, played at Rochdale'sSpotland Stadium on 7 May 2009, finished in a 0–0 draw;BBC Sport commented that "the two sides largely cancelled each other out".[4] The first leg of the other semi-final, played on the same day at Shrewsbury's home ground,New Meadow, was decided by a lateown goal from Shrewsbury'sNeil Ashton, who accidentallylobbed the ball over his owngoalkeeperLuke Daniels to give Bury a 1–0 win.[5][6][7]
The second-leg matches took place three days later. At Gillingham'sPriestfield Stadium,Simeon Jackson scored from across byAndy Barcham to give Gillingham the lead in the 13th minute, only forChris Dagnall to equalise for Rochdale in the 36th minute. Jackson scored a second goal with apenalty kick in the 58th minute afterJohn Nutter had beenfouled byRory McArdle. Gillingham thus won the match 2–1 and won their semi-final on aggregate by the same score. Gillingham managerMark Stimson was quoted as saying that reaching the final was just reward for his players' commitment throughout the season.[8] At Bury'sGigg Lane, Shrewsbury goalkeeper Daniels saved a penalty kick by Bury'sPhil Jevons andKevin McIntyre scored a goal for the away team in the 88th minute to level the aggregate score at 1–1 and requireextra time to be played. Shortly after the start of the extra period, Shrewsbury'sSteve Leslie wassent off. With no further goals being scored in extra time, the semi-final ended in a draw and apenalty shoot-out was required to decide which team would advance to the final. Daniels saved penalty kicks from Bury'sAndy Bishop andDanny Racchi and Shrewsbury won the shoot-out and thus reached the final. Shrewsbury managerPaul Simpson singled out Daniels for praise and commented on his team's "sheer guts and determination".[9]
| Gillingham | Shrewsbury Town | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Round | Opponent | Result | Legs |
| Rochdale | 2–1 | 0–0 away; 2–1 home | Semi-finals | Bury | 1–1 Shrewsbury won penalty shoot-out 4–3 | 0–1 home; 1–0 away |
The match was Gillingham's first appearance at the newWembley Stadium, which opened in 2007,[10] although the club had played at theprevious stadium of the same name in play-off finals in1999 and2000.[11][12] Shrewsbury had previously played at the new Wembley in the2007 League Two play-off final and at the original in the1996 Football League Trophy Final.[13] The teams had met twice during the regular season. In September, Shrewsbury defeated Gillingham 7–0 at New Meadow, the largest margin of victory achieved by any team in League Two during the season.[1] The return match in March at Priestfield Stadium ended in a 2–2 draw.[14] Shortly before the start of the final,sports betting organisationSky Bet gave identicalodds of 6/4 on both teams to win, with 9/4 on a draw.[15]
The match drew an attendance of 53,706, the third-largest crowd ever to watch a Gillingham match and a figure significantly higher than the 35,715 registered at theprevious year's League Two play-off final.[16][17] The matchreferee was 48-year-old Clive Oliver representing theNorthumberland Football Association.[3] His 24-year-old sonMichael took charge of theLeague One play-off final the following day, the first time that a father and son had refereed Football League play-off finals in the same season.[3] Pre-match entertainment included teams fromKillamarsh Junior School andThurlby Community Primary School competing in the final of the Football Association Community Cup, a parade by members of the British armed forces, and a performance ofthe National Anthem led by operatic vocalistWill Martin.[18] The guests of honour wereLord Mawhinney, the chairman ofthe Football League, and Mark Osikoya, Head of Marketing Assets for the League's sponsors,Coca-Cola.[18] The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on theSky Sports 1 television channel with commentary provided byGarry Birtles andBill Leslie.[19]
Gillingham manager Stimson selected the same eleven players in his starting line-up as had started the second leg of the semi-final against Rochdale.[8]Adam Miller, who had missed both legs of the semi-final due to injury, was fit again, but Stimson named him as one of thesubstitutes.[20][21] Four of Gillingham's players had played at Wembley two years earlier forStevenage Borough in the2005 FA Trophy Final.[20] VeteranNicky Southall, the only member of the Gillingham squad to have played in the club's appearances at the old Wembley in 1999 and 2000,[20] was not included in the starting line-up or among the substitutes.[21] Shrewsbury manager Simpson made two changes from the team which had started the second leg of the semi-final against Bury, replacingDavid Worrall andOmer Riza withChris Humphrey andNick Chadwick; both Worrall and Riza dropped to the substitutes' bench.[22][23] Steve Leslie was not available for selection as he was serving a suspension after being sent off against Bury and bothMike Jackson andDavid Hibbert had failed to recover from injuries sustained earlier in the season.[20] Prior to the match, Jackson was Gillingham's top goalscorer with 20 goals; Shrewsbury'sGrant Holt was the season's leading scorer among all League Two players with 28 goals: 20 in the league, 1 in theFootball League Cup, and 7 in theFootball League Trophy.[1]
After the players were presented to the guests of honour, Shrewsburykicked off the match at 3:00 pm.[24] After less than a minute, GillinghamdefenderBarry Fuller was forced to hack the ball clear of hispenalty area after confusion among his teammates.[15][23] Gillingham were awarded threefree kicks in the first five minutes; the third of these was played to Barcham in a position close to the Shrewsbury goal, but hisheader made only glancing contact with the ball and it went wide of the goal.[15][25] Moments later, Fuller challenged Shrewsbury'sBen Davies for the ball in the Gillingham penalty area and appeared to catch him on the upper body with his boot, but the referee did not penalise him for it.[15][26] Early on, both teams concentrated their attacking play on the left-hand side of thepitch from their respective points of view, with Barcham and Davies featuring prominently in those areas.[15] In the 12th minute, Davies attempted to run past Fuller, who was forced the kick the ball out of play, resulting in athrow-in for Shrewsbury. The ball was quickly played out again for a second throw-in to the same team. Ashton threw the ball in to Holt, who passed it back to him, but Ashton's subsequent long ball into the penalty area evaded all his team-mates and went out for agoal kick to Gillingham.[15][27] Shortly afterwards, Gillingham defender Nutter made a long run into an attacking position but his shot rebounded off the back of Shrewsbury'sGraham Coughlan.[15][28] Holt was again involved in an attack on the 15-minute mark but Gillingham'sGarry Richards pressured him into kicking the ball out of play.[15][29]
As the opening quarter of an hour ended, Gillingham began to dominate play, repeatedly sending the ball into the Shrewsbury penalty area from long range; goalkeeper Daniels was able to gather the ball on two occasions and on a third the defenders were able to kick it clear of the area.[15] In the 19th minute, Chadwick was again forcefully challenged by a Gillingham player, this timeSimon King, but referee Oliver ruled that no offence had been committed and allowed play to continue.[15][30] Gillingham gained acorner kick midway through the first half, which reachedJosh Wright on the edge of the penalty area, but his shot went high over thecrossbar.[15][31] Gillingham continued to have the greater share of possession of the ball leading up the half-hour mark, with Shrewsbury's only attacking opportunity resulting in a free kick from McIntyre which flew high into the Gillingham penalty area but was easily caught by goalkeeperSimon Royce.[15][32] The first shot of the game to be on target came in the 31st minute; Gillingham's Wright took a corner kick which was met by Nutter, whose fierce shot for goal was palmed over the crossbar by Shrewsbury goalkeeper Daniels.[23][33][34] Two minutes later, Gillingham's Richards caught Shrewsbury's Chadwick with his elbow as the two players both jumped for a high ball. Chadwick was forced to leave the pitch for a short time to receive medical attention, but was able to return.[35]
Following the foul on Chadwick, Davies took a free kick from a position approximately 40 yards (37 m) from the Gillingham goal but it passed outside the left-hand goalpost.[15][23][36] Three minutes later, Holt took a shot which went high and wide of the goal.[15][37] On 39 minutes, Gillingham striker Jackson had his first goalscoring chance, but his shot was off target.[15][38] Shrewsbury's Coughlan was able to close down attacking moves by Gillingham'sDennis Oli andCurtis Weston, leadingSky Sports online reporter Richard Bailey to say that the defender had been "immense" for his team.[15] With only moments remaining before the half-time break, a Gillingham throw-in was cleared by the Shrewsbury defence but fell to Wright; he hit a hard shot along the ground, but Daniels dived low to his right to make what commentator Leslie called a "really good instinctive save".[33][39] At half-time the game remained goalless; Paul Fletcher of BBC Sport noted that Gillingham were the better team in the first half and that the Shrewsbury players had looked nervous and struggled to keep possession of the ball.[23]
Neither team made any substitutions during the half-time interval. Gillingham kicked off the second half,[40] and began the second period strongly; Barcham quickly had a goalbound shot tipped away by goalkeeper Daniels.[15][41] In the 49th minute, Shrewsbury's Ashton fouled Oli, resulting in a free kick to Gillingham, who sent a number of defenders forward to join the attack; Nutter took the kick but it was intercepted by Langmead, who played the ball behind thegoal line for a corner kick to Gillingham. As the kick came in, Daniels was able to punch the ball clear.[15][42] Shortly afterwards, Coughlan tangled with Gillingham's Weston, resulting in the referee showing both players ayellow card.[15][41] Shrewsbury's Murray was also cautioned moments later, after fouling Jackson.[15][43] Gillingham were struggling to retain possession of the ball and Shrewsbury had a number of attacking opportunities: Royce dived at the feet of Humphrey to gather the ball, and shortly afterwards saved a header from Chadwick.[15] Holt became the third Shrewsbury player to be cautioned after he tripped up Gillingham'sStuart Lewis.[15][44]
On the one-hour mark, Gillingham goalkeeper Royce made his first significant save of the match, stopping a left-footed shot from Shrewsbury's Davies; moments later Oli attempted to set up Jackson but Shrewsbury's Coughlan intercepted the ball.[15][23] In the 64th minute, Shrewsbury'sKelvin Langmead played the ball to McIntyre, but he was unable to capitalise on what reporter Bailey considered the best opportunity of the game and his header went wide of the target.[15][23] Shrewsbury continued to apply pressure; Gillingham's King cut out a pass from Ashton to Chadwick and Davies had a shot saved by Royce and shortly afterwards was tackled by Richards when in an attacking position.[15][33] After 73 minutes, Shrewsbury manager Simpson used the first of his three permitted substitutions, bringing on Worrall in place ofPaul Murray.[15][45] At this point, the pace of the game was slowing and the players were beginning to exhibit signs of fatigue.[15] Worrall quickly received the ball and eluded a Gillingham defender but lingered on the ball for too long and the attacking opportunity passed. Shortly afterwards, Holt met a pass from Ashton with a header but Royce was first to the ball and caught it.[15][46]
In the 78th minute, Simpson brought on Riza as a substitute in place of Chadwick; Riza immediately got involved in the action, but was penalised for fouling Gillingham's Richards.[15][47] Gillingham defender Lewis attempted to launch the next attack, but he took too long to pass to Jackson, who was caught in anoffside position.[15][48] Jackson was involved in several more attacks over the subsequent ten minutes, but each time the Shrewsbury defenders were able to close down the move.[15] In the final minute of the game, Barcham tussled with a Shrewsbury defender; the ball went out of play and the referee awarded a corner kick to Gillingham. Wright took the corner and Jackson headed the ball into the goal to give Gillingham the lead. Defender Ashton, standing on the goal line, attempted to keep the ball from entering the goal but was unsuccessful.[33][49] Shrewsbury launched a last-ditch attack in a bid to equalise, and Davies crossed the ball to team captain Coughlan in a potential goalscoring position, but his header went over the crossbar and Gillingham held on to claim victory.[23][33][50]
      Gillingham |    Shrewsbury Town |
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| Gillingham | Shrewsbury Town | |
|---|---|---|
| Goals scored | 1 | 0 |
| Total shots | 10 | 7 |
| Shots on target | 4 | 1 |
| Ball possession | 57% | 43% |
| Corner kicks | 9 | 1 |
| Fouls committed | 10 | 18 |
| Offsides | 1 | 1 |
| Yellow cards | 1 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
After the match, Gillingham captain Fuller received the winners' trophy from the guests of honour and the club's players and officials celebrated on the pitch.[51] Gillingham centre-back King was named man of the match.[52] Despite his team having been defeated, BBC Sport's interactive Player Rater, which allowed fans to award marks out of 10 to players, rated Shrewsbury goalkeeper Daniels the man of the match.[23] Post-match analysis showed that referee Oliver had wrongly awarded the corner kick from which the winning goal was scored, as the ball had last made contact with Gillingham's Barcham before going out of play, and therefore a goal kick should instead have been awarded to Shrewsbury.[49][53] Paul Simpson referred to this in his post-match comments, but said that "if we look at things like that we will be clutching at straws".[23] He also conceded that "over the 90 minutes they passed the ball better than us and created the better opportunities so I have to take my hat off to them".[50] Mark Stimson stated that he would need to improve the quality of his playing squad for the subsequent season at the higher level and highlighted the financial benefits of his team's promotion, noting that large crowds would be expected for matches in League One againstLeeds United,Norwich City andSouthampton.[23] Paul Doyle, writing forThe Guardian, predicted that promotion would be worth an additional £1 million in revenue for the club.[50] Two days after the final, the victorious players took part in a celebratory open-top bus parade fromRochester Castle to Priestfield Stadium. The leader ofMedway Council attended the event and told the press "I think that this is a tremendous result, a tremendous fillip for the club and also for Medway as a whole".[54]
As a result of their victory, Gillingham gained promotion back to League One a year after being relegated at the end of the2007–08 season.[55] The team spent only one season at the higher level, however, before once again being relegated to League Two, after which manager Stimson was dismissed from his job.[56] Shrewsbury initially challenged for promotion in the2009–10 season but a series of bad results in the latter stages of the season meant that the team finished in mid-table, after which manager Simpson had his contract terminated.[57] Shrewsbury spent two further seasons in League Two before gaining automatic promotion in the2011–12 season.[58]
