2002 Football League Third Division play-off final
Event | 2001–02 Football League Third Division | ||||||
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Date | 6 May 2002 | ||||||
Venue | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ||||||
Man of the Match | Martin Devaney | ||||||
Referee | Anthony Leake | ||||||
Attendance | 24,368 | ||||||
The 2002 Football League Third Division play-off Final was an association football match played on 6 May 2002 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Cheltenham Town and Rushden & Diamonds. The match determined the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Third Division, English football's fourth tier, to the Second Division. The top three teams of the 2001–02 Third Division season gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while those placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2002–03 season in the Second Division. Cheltenham Town finished in fourth place while Rushden & Diamonds ended the season in sixth position. Hartlepool United and Rochdale were the losing semi-finalists, being defeated by Cheltenham and Rushden respectively.
The referee for the match, played in front of 24,368 spectators, was Anthony Leake. Neither side dominated the early stages of the match but in the 27th minute, Cheltenham took the lead. Martin Devaney struck the ball towards the Rushden goal where it was defended by Scott Partridge. His clearance went back to Devaney who struck the ball past Rushden's goalkeeper Billy Turley from a tight angle. Within 14 seconds, the score was level at 1–1 as Paul Hall beat three Cheltenham defenders before shooting past Steve Book. Four minutes into the second half, Julian Alsop headed Anthony Griffin's cross goal-bound and despite the ball being blocked by Andy Tillson, Alsop tapped it into the net to put Cheltenham back into the lead. In the 80th minute, substitute Neil Grayson's curling shot struck the Rushden goalpost but John Finnigan scored from the rebound. The match ended 3–1 and Cheltenham were promoted to the Second Division.
Rushden & Diamonds ended their following season as champions of the Third Division and secured automatic promotion to the Second Division. Cheltenham Town's next season saw them finish in 21st position in the Second Division which meant they were relegated back to the Third Division for the 2003–04 season.
Route to the final
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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1 | Plymouth Argyle | 46 | 31 | 9 | 6 | 71 | 28 | +43 | 102 |
2 | Luton Town | 46 | 30 | 7 | 9 | 96 | 48 | +48 | 97 |
3 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 72 | 60 | +12 | 79 |
4 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 66 | 49 | +17 | 78 |
5 | Rochdale | 46 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 65 | 52 | +13 | 78 |
6 | Rushden & Diamonds | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 69 | 53 | +16 | 73 |
7 | Hartlepool United | 46 | 20 | 11 | 15 | 74 | 48 | +26 | 71 |
Cheltenham Town finished the regular 2001–02 season in fourth place in the Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two positions ahead of Rushden & Diamonds. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to the Second Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Cheltenham Town finished one point behind Mansfield Town (who were promoted in third place), nineteen behind Luton Town (who were promoted in second place), and twenty-four behind league winners Plymouth Argyle. Rushden & Diamonds ended the season five points behind Cheltenham Town.[1]
Rushden & Diamonds faced
Cheltenham's opposition for their play-off semi-final were
Match
Background
Neither side had appeared in the play-offs prior to this season.[8][9] Rushden & Diamonds were playing in their maiden Football League season, having been promoted from the Conference as champions in the previous season.[8] Cheltenham had also recently been promoted from non-League football, and had played in the Third Division since the 1999–2000 season.[9] In the matches between the clubs during the regular season, Rushden had won the game at Nene Park 1–0 in September 2001 (the first competitive League meeting ever between the sides), while the return match at Whaddon Road the following March ended in a 1–1 draw.[10] Julian Alsop was Cheltenham's top scorer during the regular season with 24 goals (20 in the league, 4 in the FA Cup), while Tony Naylor had 17 (12 in the league, 5 in the FA Cup).[11] Lowe was Rushden's leading marksman with 19 (all in the league).[12]
Neither side were clear favourites to win the match, according to bookmakers.[13] The match was shown live in the UK on ITV Sport Channel, one of the last games broadcast by the channel before it closed on 11 May 2002.[14][15][16] The referee for the match was Anthony Leake.[17] Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation and Cheltenham opted to wear their third-choice kit which was yellow in preference to their "unlucky" orange strip.[18][19]
Summary
The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 6 May 2002 in front of 24,368 spectators at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.[17] Neither side dominated the early stages of the match but in the 27th minute, Cheltenham took the lead. Martin Devaney struck the ball towards the Rushden goal where it was cleared by Scott Partridge. The ball went back to Devaney who struck it past Rushden's goalkeeper Turley from a tight angle. Within 14 seconds, the score was level as Paul Hall beat three Cheltenham defenders before shooting past Steve Book to make it 1–1.[20]
Neither side made any personnel changes during the half-time interval and the second half commenced with Cheltenham dominating. Four minutes in, Julian Alsop headed Anthony Griffin's cross goal-bound and despite the ball being blocked by Andy Tillson, Alsop tapped it into the net to put Cheltenham back into the lead. Alsop then missed a chance when he headed wide, before Cheltenham saw claims for a penalty denied after it appeared that Stuart Gray had handled the ball in the Rushden penalty area. In the 69th minute, Rushden made two substitutions, with Jon Brady and Brett Angell coming on to replace Gray and Partridge. Devaney was then substituted with an injury in the 75th minute and replaced by Neil Grayson. Five minutes later, his curling shot struck the Rushden goalpost but John Finnigan scored from the rebound. The match ended 3–1 and Cheltenham were promoted to the Second Division.[20]
Details
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Post-match
Steve Cotterill, the Cheltenham manager, suggested the play-off route to promotion was his preference: "I always said this is the way to go up ... Cheltenham will never have another season like this".[19] His counterpart Brian Talbot admitted his side was second-best and that Cheltenham "edged it and deserved to win ... On the day the best team has won and we have got to reproduce it next season."[19] Cheltenham became the eleventh consecutive team to win a final at the Millennium Stadium after being allocated the North End dressing room.[19] Devaney was named as man of the match.[19]
Rushden & Diamonds ended their following season as champions of the Third Division and secured automatic promotion to the Second Division.[21] Cotterill moved to Stoke City by the end of May 2002, replacing Guðjón Þórðarson who was sacked four days after leading Stoke to promotion in the 2002 Football League Second Division play-off final.[22] Cheltenham Town's next season saw them finish in 21st position in the Second Division which meant they were relegated back to the Third Division for the 2003–04 season.[23]
References
- ^ a b "League Two – 2001/2002 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Rushden and Diamonds v Rochdale, 27 April 2002". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ "Rushden 2–2 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 27 April 2002. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Rushden go through". BBC Sport. 30 April 2002. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Hartlepool 1–1 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 27 April 2007. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Play-off joy for Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 30 April 2002. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham Town v Hartlepool United, 30 April 2002". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Rushden & Diamonds". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 11 January 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Cheltenham Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Rushden and Diamonds football club: record v Cheltenham Town". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham squad details – 2001/02 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Rushden squad details – 2001/02 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 20 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- Newspapers.com.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ Milmo, Dan (3 May 2002). "ITV Sport to close on May 11". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Cheltenham Town v Rushden and Diamonds, 06 May 2002". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 3 March 2021. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e "Cotterill savours Cheltenham glory". BBC Sport. 6 May 2002. Archived from the original on 10 April 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ a b "Cheltenham crack Diamonds". BBC Sport. 6 May 2002. Archived from the original on 10 May 2004. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "League Two – 2002/2003 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "Cotterill unveiled by Stoke". The Daily Telegraph. 27 May 2002. Archived from the original on 25 September 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
- ^ "League One – 2002/2003 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 3 March 2021.