1997 Football League Second Division play-off final
![]() The match took place at Wembley Stadium. | |||||||
| |||||||
Date | 25 May 1997 | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Referee | Uriah Rennie (Sheffield) | ||||||
Attendance | 34,149 | ||||||
The 1997 Football League Second Division play-off final was an
The referee for the match, played in front of 34,149 spectators, was Uriah Rennie from Sheffield. Crewe dominated the early stages of the match and in the 34th minute, Steve Macauley passed Murphy's cross to Shaun Smith who struck from close range to make it 1–0 to Crewe. Within two minutes, McCauley headed a corner from Rivers against the Brentford crossbar. Midway through the second half, Bob Taylor thought he had scored the equaliser for Brentford but his shot was saved by Crewe goalkeeper Jason Kearton. In the 74th minute, Brentford were reduced to ten men after Brian Statham was sent off having been shown a second yellow card. Dele Adebola's shot hit the crossbar of the Brentford goal and two attempts from Colin Little were stopped on the Crewe goal-line by Carl Hutchings. The match ended 1–0 and Crewe were promoted to the First Division.
Brentford's following season saw their manager David Webb resign in August to be replaced by Eddie May. May himself left the club three months later, and was replaced by Micky Adams, who led them to a 21st place in the Second Division and relegation to the Third Division. Crewe ended their next season in eleventh position in the First Division, five places and fifteen points below the play-offs.
Route to the final
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bury | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 62 | 38 | +24 | 84 |
2 | Stockport County | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 59 | 41 | +18 | 82 |
3 | Luton Town | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 71 | 45 | +26 | 78 |
4 | Brentford | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 56 | 43 | +13 | 74 |
5 | Bristol City | 46 | 21 | 10 | 15 | 69 | 51 | +18 | 73 |
6 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 22 | 7 | 17 | 56 | 47 | +9 | 73 |
Crewe's opposition for their play-off semi-final were
Brentford faced
Match
Background
Brentford had appeared in the play-offs on two previous occasions, in 1991 and 1995, but had lost in the semi-finals. They had played in the Second Division since suffering relegation from the First Division in the 1992–93 season.[4] This was Crewe Alexandra's fifth play-off appearance, and their third in a row. It was their second final, having lost to York City in a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium in the 1993 Football League Third Division play-off final. They had played in the Second Division since gaining promotion in the 1993–94 season and had last played in the second tier of English football 101 years before, in the 1895–96 Football League season, after which they were not re-elected.[5] During the regular 1996–97 season, Crewe won both games between the side, with 2–0 victories at Gresty Road in October 1996 and at Griffin Park the following April.[6]
The Brentford manager David Webb suggested that should his side win the final, the club would consider a flotation on the stock market in order to "organise the club so that if we do go up, it can cope".[7] His counterpart, Dario Gradi, who had managed Crewe for 14 years,[8] was waiting on the fitness of Danny Murphy who had a thigh injury, noting that his side's "plans will revolve around his fitness".[9]
The referee for the match was Uriah Rennie from Sheffield.[10] Brentford adopted a 4–4–2 formation while Crewe played as a 4–3–3.[11] The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports.[12]
Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 25 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 34,149.[10] Crewe dominated the early stages of the match. In the 32nd minute, Murphy played a one-two with Gareth Whalley but his shot hit the Brentford goalpost. Three minutes later, Steve Macauley passed Murphy's cross to Shaun Smith who struck from close range to make it 1–0 to Crewe. Within two minutes, McCauley headed a corner from Rivers against the Brentford crossbar.[11][13][14]
Brentford made their first substitution at half-time when Bent was replaced by Scott Canham. Midway through the second half, Taylor thought he had scored the equaliser for Brentford with a low strike and began to celebrate only to see his shot saved by Crewe goalkeeper Jason Kearton. Dele Adebola's shot hit the crossbar of the Brentford goal in the 73rd minute and a minute later Brentford were reduced to ten men after Brian Statham was sent off having been shown a second yellow card. Two attempts from Little, including one in the last minute of the match, were stopped on the Crewe goal-line by Carl Hutchings.[11][13][14]
Details
Crewe Alexandra | 1–0 | Brentford |
---|---|---|
Smith ![]() |
Report |
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Crewe
|
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Brentford
|
|
|
Post-match
Writing in The Times, Brian Glanville described the match as "almost embarrassingly one-sided".[11] Webb conceded that his team could have suffered a heavier defeat: "Our game went backwards and their game went forwards ... They looked much better equipped than us today to go up to be a first division team."[11] Gradi looked to the next season: "We can look forward now to Manchester City and Middlesbrough ... we really haven't dared think about it until now".[8] He accepted that certain players in his squad were likely to be playing for other teams by then,[13] and opined "If they get a chance to go, well, good luck to them".[11] Murphy moved to Liverpool for a deal reportedly worth up to £3 million six weeks later.[15]
Webb resigned before the start of Brentford's following season to become chief executive of the club.[16] He was replaced by Eddie May whose reign lasted until November 1997, when both he and Webb left the club after they had dropped from third in the league to bottom. Micky Adams was appointed as the new manager, and led them to 21st place in the Second Division and relegation to the Third Division, one place from safety.[17][18] Crewe ended their next season in eleventh position in the First Division, five places and fifteen points below the play-offs.[19]
References
- ^ a b "League One – 1996/1997 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Brentford". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Crewe Alexandra". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 5 August 2020. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Crewe Alexandra football club: record v Brentford". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
- ^ Kempson, Russell (24 May 1997). "Palace fortified by Wembley ordeal". The Times. p. 49. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ a b "Gradi dreams on no more". The Independent. 26 May 1997. p. S7. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ Hodgson, Guy (24 May 1997). "Ready for the agony and the ecstasy". The Independent. p. 31. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ a b "Brentford v Crewe Alexandra, 25 May 1997". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f Glanville, Brian (26 May 1997). "Play-off success fuels Gradi's fears of change at Crewe". The Times. p. 33. Retrieved 1 March 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ "French connection points to Wimbledon approach". Liverpool Echo. 24 May 1997. p. 44. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Wembley joy for Dario's young stars". Liverpool Echo. 26 May 2007. p. 35. Retrieved 2 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ "League One – 1997/1998 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 1 March 2021.
- ^ "Championship – 1997/1998 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 1 March 2021.