1993 Football League Second Division play-off final
Event | 1992–93 Football League Second Division | ||||||
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Date | 30 May 1993 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Referee | Roger Milford (Gloucestershire) | ||||||
Attendance | 53,471 | ||||||
The 1993 Football League Second Division play-off final was a
West Bromwich Albion had no experience of the play-offs before 1993, while Port Vale had won promotion through the third tier play-offs after winning the
West Bromwich Albion ended the following season in 21st place in the First Division, above the relegation zone on goal difference. Port Vale's next season saw them secure promotion in second place in the Second Division, three points above the play-offs and one point behind the league champions.
Route to the final
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Stoke City | 46 | 27 | 12 | 7 | 73 | 34 | +39 | 93 |
2 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 27 | 9 | 10 | 80 | 41 | +39 | 90 |
3 | Port Vale | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 79 | 44 | +35 | 89 |
4 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 88 | 54 | +34 | 85 |
5 | Swansea City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 73 |
6 | Stockport County | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 81 | 57 | +24 | 72 |
7 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 21 | 9 | 16 | 69 | 53 | +16 | 72 |
8 | Reading | 46 | 18 | 15 | 13 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 69 |
Port Vale's opponents for the play-off semi-final were
West Bromwich Albion faced Swansea City in their semi-final play-off, and the first match of the two-legged tie was played at Vetch Field, Swansea. West Bromwich Albion lost the match 2–1 after Andy McFarlane and Martin Hayes scored twice in the 20 minutes after the second half kick-off, only for McFarlane to give the visitors a lifeline with an own goal on 72 minutes.[5] The second leg was played three days later at The Hawthorns, West Brom's home ground. Andy Hunt and Ian Hamilton put the home side in control of the tie with goals on 10 and 20 minutes, and no further goals ensured West Bromwich Albion of a 3–2 aggregate victory.[6]
Port Vale | Round | West Bromwich Albion | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Opponent | Result | Legs | Semi-finals | Opponent | Result | Legs |
Stockport County | 2–1 | 1–1 away; 1–0 home | Swansea City | 3–2 | 1–2 away; 2–0 home |
Match
Background
This was West Bromwich Albion's first attempt to be promoted via the play-offs. Port Vale had won promotion through the third tier play-offs after winning the 1989 play-off final. West Bromwich Albion had scored 88 goals in the 1992–93 season, more than any other team in the Second Division; 30 of these goals came from the division's top scorer Bob Taylor.[7][8] West Bromwich Albion had dropped into the third tier of the English Football League for the first time in their history in 1991 and recorded their lowest ever finish of seventh in the third tier in the 1991–92 season. Port Vale had been relegated out of the second tier in 1992 and were looking for an immediate return. In the two league matches played between the clubs during the regular season, Port Vale won both matches: 1–0 away in October 1992 and 2–1 at home the following February. The referee for the match was Roger Milford, representing the Gloucestershire County Football Association, who was described as "the players' friend" as he was yet to send a player off in the 1992–93 season.[9] Port Vale team coach driver David Durber sat on the squad bench for the match as manager John Rudge had run out of his allocated tickets.[10] Port Vale took 11,000 supporters to Wembley, who were heavily outnumbered by the 42,300 West Bromwich Albion supporters.[11]
Summary
The first half finished goalless, with Port Vale showing patience and possession according to
Details
West Bromwich Albion
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Port Vale
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Post-match
West Bromwich Albion manager Osvaldo Ardiles had secured his fourth success at Wembley as a player and manager, and said that: "This is the best place in the world to win, but when you lose it looks empty and dirty. Here, the winner takes all."[9] The victory was estimated to win his club £2 million from season-ticket sales and TV rights.[9] Port Vale manager John Rudge said that: "You can't ask much more of a team than to get 89 points, which would have won us the Championship last year. It's a cruel game."[9] Speaking in 2018, Bob Taylor described the feeling of "massive relief" and how "the parties ensued afterwards ... my memory’s a bit fuzzy, but we stopped off halfway through at some hotel, had a few drinks there, and then carried on back. It went on into the daylight hours."[11]
West Bromwich Albion spent nine more seasons outside the top division but avoided a return to the third tier. Instead, after narrowly avoiding relegation the next season, they steadily improved until achieving promotion to the Premier League by finishing second in the 2001–02 season.[14] Port Vale won promotion as runners-up in the following season, and spent the next six seasons in the second tier. But after a high of eighth in 1996–97 they returned to the third tier for the new millennium after relegation at the end of the 1999–2000 season.[15]
Ardiles left West Bromwich Albion to return to manage
References
- ^ a b "11v11 league table generator". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ Andrews, Phil (23 October 2011). "Football: Glover pushes Vale back into the frame: Barclays League". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "TAKE FIVE… County and the Play-Offs". Stockport County. 1 May 2018. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "The Autoglass Trophy final, 1993". onevalefan. 30 January 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-4456-8128-3.
- ^ Howell, Bill (11 February 2015). "West Brom v Swansea: Three games that rocked". BirminghamLive. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
- ^ "English League Leading Goalscorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-9508981-9-3.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Shaw, Phil (31 May 1993). "Football / Play-Off: Albion exploit Vale's misfortune: Swan's". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- ^ Baggaley, Michael (21 May 2018). "Are you on our pictures? Port Vale win Autoglass at Wembley 25 years ago today". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b Wilson, Matt (30 May 2018). "Remembering West Brom's Wembley winners 25 years later". Express and Star. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-84454-660-2.
- ISBN 978-0-7553-1146-0.
- ^ "England 2001/02". RSSSF. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "England 1999/00". RSSSF. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Osvaldo Ardiles". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
- ^ a b c Wollaston, Steve (1 December 2016). "Nostalgia: West Brom's 1993 promotion side revisited". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
- ^ Baggaley, Michael (18 January 2019). "Twenty years today – Port Vale part company with greatest manager John Rudge". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
- ^ "Bob Taylor". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
- ^ "Nicky Reid – Biography 1978/79–1986/87 – Manchester City FC". Sporting Heroes. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
- ^ "Brighouse Soccer School". Kevin Donovan Pro Coaching. Retrieved 13 May 2020.