| |||||||
| Date | 18 May 2024 (2024-05-18) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Josh Murphy[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Sam Barrott | ||||||
| Attendance | 70,472 | ||||||
←2023 2025 → | |||||||
The2024 EFL League One play-off final was anassociation football match that took place on 18 May 2024 atWembley Stadium,London, to determine the third and final team to gainpromotion fromEFL League One, the third tier ofEnglish football, to theEFL Championship. The top two teams of the2023–24 EFL League One,Portsmouth andDerby County, gained automatic promotion to the Championship.[2]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Portsmouth(C, P) | 46 | 28 | 13 | 5 | 78 | 41 | +37 | 97 | Promotion to2024–25 EFL Championship |
| 2 | Derby County(P) | 46 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 78 | 37 | +41 | 92 | |
| 3 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 25 | 12 | 9 | 86 | 51 | +35 | 87 | Qualified |
| 4 | Peterborough United | 46 | 25 | 9 | 12 | 89 | 61 | +28 | 84 | Eliminated |
| 5 | Oxford United(O, P) | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 79 | 56 | +23 | 77 | Qualified |
| 6 | Barnsley | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 82 | 64 | +18 | 76 | Eliminated |
Bolton Wanderers finished the regular2023–24 season in third place inEFL League One, the third tier of theEnglish football league system, two places and 10 points ahead ofOxford United. Both, therefore, missed out on the two automatic places forpromotion to theEFL Championship and instead took part in theplay-offs to determine the third promoted team. Bolton finished finished five points behindDerby County (who were promoted in second place) and 10 behind league winnersPortsmouth. They finished 11 points ahead ofBarnsley, their opponents in the play–off semi-final. Oxford United finished seven points behindPeterborough United, their semi-final opponents.[4]
The first leg between Bolton and Barnsley took place atOakwell on 3 May.Dion Charles put Bolton ahead in the 23rd minute, scoring from aParis Maghoma cross. He scored a second on 53 minutes from the penalty spot afterLiam Roberts had fouledJosh Sheehan. Barnsley pulled one back when substituteSam Cosgrove, on forDevante Cole, scored. They were unable to find an equaliser andRandell Williams scored direct from a corner kick to make it 3–1 to Bolton, the final score.[5]
On 4 May,Elliott Moore's goal was enough to give Oxford United victory as they beat Peterborough United by a single goal at theKassam Stadium.[6]
Bolton and Barnsley played their second leg on 7 May at theToughsheet Community Stadium. Sam Cosgrove put Barnsley 1–0 up on 36 minutes.Aaron Collins scored from 25 yards (23 m) on 43 minutes and three minutes later a headed goal fromEoin Toal put the hosts 2–1 at half-time. In the second half a deflected shot fromAdam Phillips on 64 minutes and another Cosgrove goal on 76 minutes brought Barnsley within a goal of bringing the tie level. No goals followed and Bolton won 5–4 on aggregate securing their place in the final on 18 May.[7]
The return leg between Peterborough United and Oxford United at theWeston Homes Stadium on 8 May finished 1–1.Josh Knight scored for Peterborough United on 41 minutes and a goal from the penalty spot fromCameron Brannagan drew the game level. The tie finished 2–1 on aggregate in Oxford's favourtaking them to Wembley to face Bolton Wanderers.[8]
The match was Bolton's first appearance in a play-off final since 2001 when they appeared in the2001 First Division play-off final played in Cardiff, and beatPreston North End 3–0.
This was the third time Oxford United had been in a play-off final, the most recent being the2020 EFL League One play-off final which they lost toWycombe Wanderers.[9]Games between the two clubs in the 2023–24 season resulted in a goalless draw at the Kassam Stadium in November 2023 and a 5–0 Bolton victory at the Toughsheet Community Stadium in March 2024.[10][11]
The match was televised live bySky Sports on both its Football and Main Event channels and was also available for live streaming onSky Go andNOW.[12]BBC Local Radio stations covered the game for each team:BBC Radio Manchester for Bolton Wanderers andBBC Radio Oxford for Oxford United.[13][14]Talksport provided national radio commentary.[12]
| Bolton Wanderers | 0–2 | Oxford United |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Murphy 31',42' |
          Bolton Wanderers |      Oxford United |
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| Bolton Wanderers | Oxford United | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 63.4% | 36.6% |
| Goals scored | 0 | 2 |
| Shots on target | 0 | 5 |
| Shots off target | 3 | 4 |
| Fouls committed | 12 | 12 |
| Corner kicks | 7 | 3 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 1 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
