2001 Football League First Division play-off final
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Date | 28 May 2001 | ||||||
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Venue | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ||||||
Referee | Uriah Rennie (Sheffield) | ||||||
Attendance | 54,328 | ||||||
The 2001 Football League First Division play-off Final was an
Played in front of a crowd of 54,328, the 2001 final was refereed by Uriah Rennie. Bolton took an early lead through Gareth Farrelly with a shot from outside the Preston penalty area. Second-half substitute Michael Ricketts doubled their lead late in the second half before Ricardo Gardner scored a third when he ran from inside his own half and shot past David Lucas in the Preston goal. The match ended 3–0 and saw Bolton promoted to the Premier League after a three-year absence.
Despite being favourites for relegation in their following season, Bolton finished sixteenth in the Premier League, two places above the relegation zone. Preston ended their next campaign in eighth place in the First Division, two places below the 2002 Football League play-offs.
Route to the final
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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1 | Fulham | 46 | 30 | 11 | 5 | 90 | 32 | +58 | 101 |
2 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 26 | 13 | 7 | 76 | 39 | +37 | 91 |
3 | Bolton Wanderers | 46 | 24 | 15 | 7 | 76 | 45 | +31 | 87 |
4 | Preston North End | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 64 | 52 | +12 | 78 |
5 | Birmingham City | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 59 | 48 | +11 | 78 |
6 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 52 | +8 | 74 |
Preston faced Birmingham City in their play-off semi-final, with the first match of the
Bolton's opponents were West Bromwich Albion and the first leg of their play-off semi-final was hosted at
Match
Background
The 2001 Football League First Division play-off Final was Bolton's third appearance in the second tier play-off final: they had lost 2–0 in the 1999 final at Wembley Stadium against Watford and had defeated Reading 4–3 after extra time in the 1995 final. They had also lost to Ipswich Town 7–5 on aggregate in the previous season's play-offs.[7][8] Preston were making their first appearance in the second tier play-off final, although they had lost 4–2 at Wembley against Wycombe Wanderers in the 1994 Third Division play-off final.[7][9] Jon Macken was Preston's top scorer in the league throughout the regular season with 19 goals, while Ricketts was Bolton's leading marksman, also with 19.[10] Bolton had last played in the top tier in the 1997–98 season when they were relegated on goal difference.[11] Preston had not featured in the highest division in English football since their relegation in the 1960–61 season.[12] This was the culmination of their first season back in the First Division, having been promoted from the Second Division the previous season.[12] In the regular season, Bolton won both matches between the teams, with a 2–0 victory at home in August 2000 and a win by the same scoreline on New Year's Day in 2001.[13]
The referee for the match was Uriah Rennie representing the Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association.[14] Prior to the final, former Preston player Mark Lawrenson noted: "If we go up it will be a great boost. And even if we go straight down again, we'll still get half the Premiership TV money for two years afterwards".[15] Eamonn McCann, writing in the Sunday Tribune, called the fixture "a victory for tradition", suggesting it would be a "rare and relaxed experience for faithful lovers of football".[15] The Bolton manager Sam Allardyce suggested his team's experience would stand them in good stead for the final: "I hope we can draw on our experience ... If we can do that then we have a fantastic chance of getting the victory we want".[16] His side's supporters were allocated the Canton End of the Millennium Stadium which had hosted fans of every winning side during the period when the play-off finals were played there as a substitute location for Wembley Stadium between 2001 and 2006.[17][18] Bolton's Paul Warhurst had recovered from a hamstring injury and was available for selection. Preston's manager David Moyes was expecting the return of three injured players in Rankine, Michael Jackson and Richard Cresswell.[16] According to the UK media, victory in the final was expected to be worth around £30 million to the winning team.[19][20] The presidents of both clubs, Tom Finney and Nat Lofthouse, were in attendance to watch the match.[21]
Summary
Bolton kicked off the match at 3 p.m. on 28 May 2001 in front of a Millennium Stadium crowd of 54,328. On five minutes, the first chance fell to Preston's Macken whose header from a Healy cross was straight at Clarke in the Bolton goal. Four minutes later, a Lee Cartwright cross found Healy at the near post but the opportunity was blocked by Hendry. Preston then had two successive corners, both cleared, before Bolton took the lead in the 16th minute. A long free kick was poorly cleared and allowed Gareth Farrelly to shoot from just outside the Preston penalty area, past David Lucas, to make it 1–0. Lucas then saved a Dean Holdsworth chance before a Bergsson header at the far post went over the goal. Bolton's domination of the game continued, and in the 32nd minute, Gardner's shot across goal was saved by Lucas. Eight minutes later, a low cross from Farrelly into the box was cleared by Preston's defence. With two minutes of the first half remaining, a mistake from Alexander allowed Hansen to take a snap shot which passed just over the Preston crossbar.[22][23]
Neither side made any changes during the half-time interval and Preston kicked off the second half. Two minutes in, Holdsworth made a run down the right and passed to Barness whose shot was too high. A minute later, a weak effort from Rankine was easily saved by Clarke. Preston began to exert pressure on Bolton with Healy in particular causing problems. In the 62nd minute, Farrelly passed to Holdsworth whose shot into the bottom left-hand corner was saved by Lucas. Three minutes later, an effort from Rankine went wide of the Bolton goal. Preston then made the first substitution of the game, with Iain Anderson coming on to replace Cartwright. In the 68th minute, Healy was denied by Clarke in the Bolton goal with a save low to his left. Bolton made their first change in the 70th minute, Hansen being substituted for Ricketts, with Allardyce changing his team's formation to a more defensive 4–4–2 from 4–3–3.[14] Nine minutes later, Robbie Elliott came on in place of Frandsen for Bolton and in the 82nd minute, Preston made their second substitution, with Cresswell replacing McKenna. Two minutes later Clarke punched away a Healy cross to concede a corner from which Cresswell failed to capitalise from close range on a missed clearance. On 86 minutes, Ricketts hit the side netting with a shot and Preston responded with Sean Gregan striking over the Bolton bar. In the 89th minute, Ricketts doubled Bolton's lead, taking the ball from Farrelly, rounding the goalkeeper and passing into an empty net. In the first minute of injury time, Mike Whitlow came on for Bolton to replace Holdsworth, before Gardner increased their lead. He dispossessed Alexander in the Bolton half, went past a tiring Colin Murdock, and scored, making it 3–0 and securing Bolton's promotion to the Premier League.[19][22][23]
Details
Bolton Wanderers | 3–0 | Preston North End |
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Farrelly 17' Ricketts 89' Gardner 90' |
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Bolton Wanderers
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Preston North End
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Post-match
Allardyce, the winning manager, was elated: "I can't quite put what I feel into words ... I feel like the world has come off my shoulders. It is a phenomenal achievement."
In their following season, Bolton finished sixteenth in the Premier League, two places and four points above the relegation zone.[31] Moyes left Preston in March 2002 to join Premier League club Everton and was replaced on an interim basis by Kelham O'Hanlon before Craig Brown was appointed the following month.[32] Preston ended their next campaign in eighth place in the First Division, two places and three points below the play-offs.[33]
References
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- ^ "Blues earn slender lead over Preston". BBC Sport. 13 May 2001. Archived from the original on 2 November 2002. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Preston shock Blues in shoot-out". BBC Sport. 17 May 2001. Archived from the original on 28 July 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Bolton battle back at West Brom". BBC Sport. 13 May 2001. Archived from the original on 28 July 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "West Bromwich Albion v Bolton Wanderers, 13 May 2001". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Bolton breeze past Baggies". BBC Sport. 17 May 2001. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Play-Off Final History & Stats". Sporting Life. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ "Magic Magilton gives Ipswich glory". BBC Sport. 17 May 2000. Archived from the original on 4 March 2003. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ Rowbottom, Mike (30 May 1994). "Football Play-Offs: Happy Wanderers go proudly about business: Preston overhauled after taking half-time lead". The Independent. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Football League First Division – 2000/01". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 12 February 2019. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Bolton Wanderers". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Preston North End". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ "Bolton Wanderers football club: record v Preston North End". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- ^ a b c "Brilliant Bolton seal Premiership return". BBC Sport. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 20 April 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ a b McCann, Eamonn (27 May 2001). "A victory for tradition". Sunday Tribune. p. 56. Retrieved 19 October 2020 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ a b Gaunt, Ken (28 May 2001). "Dad's Army on the verge of greatness". Irish Independent. p. 31. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ Ley, John (28 May 2001). "Allardyce aims to complete his ambitions". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ "Champions League: Millennium Stadium to host 2017 final". BBC Sport. 30 June 2015. Archived from the original on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Thorpe, Martin (29 May 2001). "Bolton strike it rich in field of dreams". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 May 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Division One Play-Off final: Bolton seal return to Premiership". The Daily Telegraph. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 6 December 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ Ley, John (29 May 2001). "Bolton back in big time". The Daily Telegraph. p. 2. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ a b "Clockwatch: Bolton 3–0 Preston". BBC Sport. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 24 December 2002. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Bolton Wanderers v Preston North End, 28 May 2001". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 18 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ a b "Bolton's Farrelly is forgiven". BBC Sport. 29 May 2001. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Moyes: Experience the key". BBC Sport. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- ^ Tongue, Steve (29 May 2001). "Bolton bounce back to big time; Bolton Wanderers 3 Preston North End 0: Ricketts maintains prolific goalscoring run to seal Wanderers' return to Premiership as Preston are outclassed". The Independent. p. 24. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021 – via Gale.
- ^ "Lofthouse toasts North-West revival". BBC Sport. 28 May 2001. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ Roach, Stuart (28 May 2001). "Trotters gearing up for big business". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 18 June 2003. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Bergsson urged not to retire yet". Manchester Evening News. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 23 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "Bolton squad details – 2001/02 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 5 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ "Premier League table at close of 2001–02 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
- ^ "Preston appoint Craig Brown". The Guardian. 29 April 2002. Archived from the original on 13 June 2014. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ "League Division 1 table at close of 2001–02 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.