1989 Football League Second Division play-off final
| Event | 1988–89 Football League Second Division | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| First leg | |||||||
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| Date | 31 May 1989 | ||||||
| Venue | Ewood Park, Blackburn | ||||||
| Referee | Joe Worrall | ||||||
| Attendance | 16,421 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
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| After extra time | |||||||
| Date | 3 June 1989 | ||||||
| Venue | Selhurst Park, London | ||||||
| Referee | George Courtney | ||||||
| Attendance | 26,358 | ||||||
The 1989 Football League Second Division play-off Final was an
The first leg of the final took place at Blackburn's
Crystal Palace ended the following season in fifteenth position in the First Division. Blackburn's next season saw them finish in fifth position in the Second Division and qualify for the play-offs where they lost to Swindon Town.
Route to the final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea | 46 | 29 | 12 | 5 | 96 | 50 | +46 | 99 |
| 2 | Manchester City | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 77 | 53 | +24 | 82 |
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 71 | 49 | +22 | 81 |
| 4 | Watford | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 74 | 48 | +26 | 78 |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 77 |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 68 | 53 | +15 | 76 |
Blackburn Rovers faced Watford in their play-off semi-final, with the first leg taking place at Ewood Park in Blackburn on 21 May 1989. The game was described by Stephen Bierley in The Guardian as "hot, hectic and mostly horrible."[2] The home side made the better start but the match ended goalless with misses from Howard Gayle and Scott Sellars, while Neil Redfearn's shot for Watford in the second half was saved by Terry Gennoe.[2] The return leg was played three days later at Vicarage Road in Watford. Simon Garner put Blackburn ahead after beating Paul Miller and Kenny Jackett and striking the ball past Tony Coton in the Watford goal. Redfearn equalised on 29 minutes with a long-range strike which took a deflection off John Millar to beat Gennoe.[3] Ending 1–1, the game moved into extra time but with no further change to the score, Blackburn progressed to the play-off final on the away goals rule.[4]
In the other play-off semi-final, Crystal Palace's opponents were Swindon Town, and the first leg was played at the
Match
Background
Neither side had featured in a play-off final although Blackburn Rovers had lost in the semi-finals during the 1988 Football League play-offs.[7] Crystal Palace had played in the second tier of English football since being relegated in the 1980–81 season, while Blackburn had been in the Second Division since they were promoted in the 1979–80 season.[8][9] During the regular 1988–89 season, Blackburn Rovers had won their home game between the two sides 5–4 in October, while the clubs played out a 2–2 draw at Vicarage Road the following February.[10] Garner was Blackburn's leading scorer during the regular season with 23 goals across all competitions (20 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 2 in the League Cup), followed by Gayle who scored 20 in total (19 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup).[11] The leading marksman for Crystal Palace was Wright who had scored 30 goals during the regular season comprising 24 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup, and 5 in the League Cup.[12]
First leg
Pre-match
In a training session leading up to the first leg of the final, the Blackburn manager Don Mackay tore ankle ligaments, but suggested it had helped to relax his players: "There was a lot of tension in the air until the players saw me hobbling about."[13] He had a fully fit squad to choose from. Crystal Palace had Gavin Nebbeling available for selection after suspension.[13]
Summary
The first leg of the final took place at Blackburn's Ewood Park on 31 May 1989 in front of a crowd of 16,421 and was refereed by Joe Worrall.[14][15] In the 13th minute, a chance fell to Garner as he volleyed a cross from Chris Sulley, but Perry Suckling in the Crystal Palace goal saved the shot. Eight minutes later, Garner flicked on a cross from Sellars and Gayle scored to make it 1–0 to Blackburn. In the 27th minute, Gayle doubled his side's lead with a half-volley from just outside the Palace penalty area after David Burke had failed to clear the ball.[15][16]
Blackburn continued to dominate the match in the second half, with Hopkins almost scoring an own goal and Millar striking a shot wide of the Palace goal. On 57 minutes, Palace made the only substitution of the game, with Glenn Pennyfather coming on for Madden. In the 70th minute, Hopkins brought Gayle down in the box and a penalty was awarded. Gayle took the spot kick himself but missed out on his hat-trick after he struck his shot wide of the goal. With four minutes of regular time remaining, Palace made it 2–1.[15] John Pemberton's free kick was headed on by Wright to Eddie McGoldrick who scored his first goal of the season from close range.[16] Garner restored the two-goal lead in injury time with a tap-in from a Gayle cross, ending the match 3–1.[15][16] After the match, Garner warned that, despite the lead, that his team would "be treating the second leg as if the score was 0–0."[17]
Details
        Blackburn Rovers
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  Crystal Palace
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Second leg
Pre-match
Crystal Palace had been hoping to temporarily increase the capacity of Selhurst Park by 7,000 to 38,000.[13] Geoff Thomas, the Palace captain, was available for selection after an extended period of absence as a result of a stomach operation. Blackburn's Hendry was carrying a leg injury.[18]
Summary
The second leg of the final took place at Selhurst Park on 3 June 1989 and was refereed by George Courtney in front of a crowd of 26,358.[11][19] Blackburn started the game strongly but Palace's defence kept the score goalless.[20] Palace took the lead through Wright who scored from after 17 minutes from an Alan Pardew cross.[19] Wright then saw his volley from the edge of the box tipped round the post by Gennoe, before a header from McGoldrick went wide of the Blackburn goal.[20] A minute after half time, Atkins tripped McGoldrick in the box to concede a penalty from which Madden scored, sending the Blackburn goalkeeper Gennoe the wrong way.[19] Six minutes later, a poor backpass from Gary O'Reilly was claimed from Garner's feet by the Palace goalkeeper Suckling.[20] On 56 minutes, Sean Curry came on to replace Miller in the first substitution of the game. With Palace 2–0 ahead at the end of regular time, the aggregate score was 3–3 and the game went into extra time. On 105 minutes, Blackburn made their second change of the game with Gayle being replaced by Alan Ainscow. With three minutes of the match remaining, Wright scored his 33rd goal of the season heading the ball from a McGoldrick cross past Gennoe. The match ended 3–0 and Palace were promoted to the First Division with a 4–3 aggregate victory.[19][21]
Details
  Crystal Palace
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     Blackburn Rovers
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Post-match
Coppell stated that he had a fulfilled his five-year ambition at Crystal Palace: "It is five years tomorrow since I joined the club as manager. I said then that promotion was a five-year job."[19] Wright, who had signed from non-League club Greenwich Borough five years earlier, had been confident of promotion: "I had faith in the club. I knew we could do it. We are ready for the First Division."[22]
Crystal Palace ended the following season in fifteenth position in the First Division, having conceded more goals than any other team.[23] Blackburn's next season saw them finish in fifth position in the Second Division and qualify for the 1990 Football League play-offs where they lost 4–2 on aggregate to Swindon Town.[24][25]
References
- ^ a b "League Division Two end of season table for 1988–89 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Wright result for Palace". Newcastle Journal. 25 May 1989. p. 16. Retrieved 16 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Play-Off Final History & Stats". Sporting Life. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Crystal Palace". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 12 May 2019. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ "Blackburn Rovers football club: record v Crystal Palace". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 19 May 2016. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-85983-709-2.
- ^ "Top Scorers". Crystal Palace F.C. 4 July 2012. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Foster, p. 198
- ^ a b c d Ross, Ian (1 June 1989). "Blackburn take a cushion". The Times. p. 43. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tie still so tight says hero Garner". Aberdeen Evening Express. 1 June 1989. p. 29. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Palace in fightback". Aberdeen Evening Express. 3 June 1989. p. 20. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Harling, Nicholas (5 June 1989). "Palace's tactical expertise yields upward mobility". The Times. p. 45. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ "Wright's faith rewarded as Palace go up". The Journal. 5 June 1989. p. 18. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "League Division One table at close of 1989–90 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Foster, Richard (2015). The Agony & The Ecstasy. Ockley Books. ISBN 978-1-910906-00-2.