2006 Football League Two play-off final
 The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff | |||||||
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| Date | 28 May 2006 | ||||||
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| Venue | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | ||||||
| Referee | Paul Taylor | ||||||
| Attendance | 29,196 | ||||||
The 2006 Football League Two play-off Final was an
The match was refereed by Paul Taylor in front of 29,196 spectators. The first half was goalless, during which both sides were forced to make a substitution after both Michael Reddy and Craig Armstrong were injured in an aerial challenge. On 63 minutes, Cheltenham took the lead after Steve Guinan shot past several defenders. Seven minutes later, Grant McCann was brought down in the Grimsby penalty area by Curtis Woodhouse and the referee awarded a penalty. McCann took the spot kick himself, but it was saved by Steve Mildenhall. The match ended 1–0 and Cheltenham secured promotion to League One.
In their following season, Grimsby finished in 15th place in League Two. Cheltenham's next season saw them end the season in 17th place in League One, four places and seven points above the relegation zone.
Route to the final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carlisle United | 46 | 25 | 11 | 10 | 84 | 42 | +42 | 86 |
| 2 | Northampton Town | 46 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 63 | 37 | +26 | 83 |
| 3 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 22 | 15 | 9 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 81 |
| 4 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 64 | 44 | +20 | 78 |
| 5 | Cheltenham Town | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 72 |
| 6 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 72 | 56 | +16 | 71 |
| 7 | Lincoln City | 46 | 15 | 21 | 10 | 65 | 53 | +12 | 66 |
Cheltenham Town's opponents in their play-off semi-final were
Grimsby Town faced
Match
Background
Grimsby had participated in the play-offs once before, gaining promotion to the First Division after winning the 1998 Football League Second Division play-off final against Northampton Town at Wembley Stadium. They had played in the fourth tier of English football since being relegated in the 2003–04 season.[7] Cheltenham had played in fourth-tier play-off finals once before: in 2002 they faced Rushden & Diamonds in the Third Division play-off final at the Millennium Stadium, winning 3–1.[8] Cheltenham had played in League Two since being relegated in the 2002–03 season.[9] In the two league games between the clubs during the regular season, Grimsby won both encounters: a 3–0 win at Whaddon Road in October 2005 was followed by a 1–0 victory at Blundell Park in April 2006.[10]
Grimsby's top scorer during the regular season was Jones with 15 goals (13 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 1 in the League Cup) followed by Michael Reddy on 14 (all in the league).[11] Kayode Odejayi was Cheltenham's leading marksman with 13 goals in the season (11 in the league and 2 in the FA Cup) followed by Grant McCann with 11 (8 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 2 in the League Cup) and Brian Wilson with 10 (9 in the league and 1 in the FA Cup).[12]
Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation.[13] Grimsby's Jones was selected in the starting eleven after a successful appeal overturned the red card he received in the second leg of the semi-final. Cheltenham made one change from their semi-final lineup, replacing Odejayi with Steven Gillespie.[14] The referee for the match was Paul Taylor.[13]
Summary
The final was
Neither side made any changes to the personnel during the interval and Grimsby kicked off the second half. They made the stronger start, but three minutes in, their goalkeeper made the first save of the half from a Caines header. On 63 minutes, Cheltenham took a 1–0 lead after Guinan shot past several defenders. Seven minutes later, Woodhouse brought down McCann in the Grimsby penalty area, and the referee awarded a penalty. McCann took the spot kick himself, but it was saved by Mildenhall. Within a minute, McCann's chip hit the Grimsby crossbar. In the 74th minute, Grimsby made their second substitution of the match, with Futcher coming on for Gary Croft, and three minutes later Cheltenham's Damian Spencer replaced Ashley Vincent. Higgs then saved a diving header from Jones in the 80th minute before Spencer was shown a yellow card for a foul on Mildenhall. Grimsby's Junior Mendes then came on for Marc Goodfellow before Woodhouse was shown the match's second yellow card, for a foul on Spencer. In the 86th minute, Jones shot wide and with a minute of regular time remaining, Woodhouse asked for a penalty after being brought down by Bell but the referee waved play on. After five minutes of stoppage time, the referee blew the final whistle with Cheltenham securing a 1–0 victory and promotion to League One.[14]
Details
      Grimsby Town
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 Cheltenham Town
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Post-match
John Ward, the winning manager, said he was "thrilled", and added that his club's success was "the best thing I've ever done. We've probably overachieved in a short space of time but I'm really looking forward to seeing these players in League One".[13] His counterpart Russell Slade said his side should have been awarded a first-half penalty: "Andy Parkinson is a very honest player and he said it was a stonewall penalty. Big moments change games and we felt that was a big moment".[13] However, he admitted that "To be fair we possibly did not deserve it on the day ... Cheltenham started tremendously well but we didn't get into the game until the 30th minute."[16] Winning goalscorer Guinan suggested that he had been "lucky" and that he had not meant to score.[13]
In their following season, Grimsby finished in 15th place in League Two.[17] Cheltenham's next season saw them end the season in 17th place in League One, four places and seven points above the relegation zone.[18]
References
- ^ a b "League Two – 2005/2006 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Reg, Arindam (8 May 2006). "Grimsby face play-off ordeal after late, late heartbreak". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "Wycombe 1–2 Cheltenham". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham 0–0 Wycombe (agg 1–2)". BBC Sport. 18 May 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Lincoln 0–1 Grimsby". BBC Sport. 13 May 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Grimsby 2–1 Lincoln (agg 3–1)". BBC Sport. 16 May 2006. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Grimsby Town". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ Foster 2015, p. 212.
- ^ "Cheltenham Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 19 July 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham Town football club: record v Grimsby Town". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Grimsby squad details – 2005/06 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham squad details – 2005/06 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
- ^ a b c d e Anstead, Mike (29 May 2006). "Guinan's lucky strike gives Cheltenham final lift". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ a b c "How Lge 2 play-off final unfolded". BBC Sport. 28 May 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "Cheltenham Town v Grimsby Town, 28 May 2006". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "We did not deserve to win – Slade". BBC Sport. 28 May 2006. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
- ^ "League Two – 2006/2007 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
- ^ "League One – 2006/2007 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
Bibliography
- Foster, Richard (2015). The Agony & The Ecstasy (A Comprehensive History of the Football League Play-Offs). Ockley Books. ISBN 978-1-910906-00-2.