2007 Football League Two play-off final

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2007 Football League Two play-off Final
Rickie Lambert taking a free kick
Rickie Lambert taking a free kick in the final
Bristol Rovers Shrewsbury Town
3 1
Date26 May 2007
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeMike Jones
Attendance61,589
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2008 →

The 2007 Football League Two play-off Final was an association football match which was on 26 May 2007 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Bristol Rovers and Shrewsbury Town to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from Football League Two to Football League One. The top two teams of the 2006–07 Football League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while those placed from third to sixth in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2007–08 season in League One.

Bristol Rovers had reached the play-off final in their sixth season back in the fourth tier of English football, having been relegated from the Second Division (equivalent of League One) in the

sent off near the end of the match for two yellow cards before Sammy Igoe
scored into an empty goal to give Bristol Rovers a 3–1 victory and promotion to League One.

Shrewsbury Town ended the next season in eighteenth position, eight points above the relegation zone. Bristol Rovers finished sixteenth in League One, five points above the relegation zone, keeping their place in the third tier.

Route to the final

See also: 2006–07 Football League
Football League Two final table, leading positions[1]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Walsall 46 25 14 7 66 34 +32 89
2 Hartlepool United 46 26 10 10 65 40 +25 88
3 Swindon Town 46 25 10 11 58 38 +20 85
4 Milton Keynes Dons 46 25 9 12 76 58 +18 84
5 Lincoln City 46 21 11 14 70 59 +11 74
6 Bristol Rovers 46 20 12 14 49 42 +7 72
7 Shrewsbury Town 46 18 17 11 68 46 +22 71

Bristol Rovers finished the regular 2006–07 season in sixth position in Football League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system, one place and one point ahead of Shrewsbury Town. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to Football League One and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Bristol Rovers finished thirteen points behind Swindon Town (who were promoted in third place), sixteen behind Hartlepool United (who were promoted in second place), and seventeen behind league winners Walsall.[1]

Shrewsbury Town faced

aggregate score.[4]

Bristol Rovers went into the play-offs having won seven and drawn two of their last eleven games.[5] Their opponents for the other play-off semi-final were Lincoln City and the first leg was held at the Memorial Stadium in Bristol on 14 May 2007. Craig Disley opened the scoring for the home side on ten minutes when headed in a cross from Rickie Lambert past Alan Marriott, the Lincoln City goalkeeper. Jeff Hughes equalised for Lincoln City in the 31st minute when he struck his free kick into the top-right corner of the Bristol Rovers goal. Nine minutes into the second half, Richard Walker scored with a volley from Steve Elliott's free kick to give Bristol Rovers the lead which they held to win the match 2–1.[6] The second leg was played three days later at Sincil Bank in Lincoln.[7] Stuart Campbell scored in the third minute for Bristol Rovers with a long-range strike and Lambert volleyed past Marriott to make it 2–0 eight minutes later. Hughes scored from Jamie Forrester's cross midway through the first half to reduce Lincoln City's deficit before Walker made it 3–1 nine minutes before half time. Mark Stallard scored for Lincoln City seven minutes later with a half-volley but a second-half Sammy Igoe goal made it 4–2 to Bristol Rovers in the 82nd minute. Sean Rigg then made it 5–2 in the 90th minute before Hughes scored his second to ensure the match ended 5–3 and Bristol Rovers progressed to the final with a 7–4 aggregate victory.[8]

Match

Background

This was Bristol Rovers' fourth appearance in the play-offs and their third final, having lost 2–1 on aggregate to Port Vale in the 1989 Football League Third Division play-off final and being defeated 2–1 by Huddersfield Town in the 1995 Football League Second Division play-off final. They had played in the fourth tier of English football after being relegated in the 2000–01 season.[9] Shrewsbury Town were making their first appearance in the English Football League play-offs but had earned promotion from the Football Conference in the 2003–04 season with a penalty shoot-out victory over Aldershot Town in the final. They had played in the fourth tier of English football since then, having last featured in the third tier in the 1996–97 season.[10] The sides had faced one another three times during the regular season: in the league, Bristol Rovers won the match 1–0 at the Memorial Stadium in August 2006 while the game at Gay Meadow the following March ended in a goalless draw.[11] Between those matches, the sides met in the southern section semi-final of the Football League Trophy where Bristol Rovers won 1–0 at Gay Meadow.[12]

Walker was Bristol Rovers' top scorer during the regular season with 19 goals (12 in the league, 4 in the FA Cup, 1 in the League Cup and 2 in the Football League Trophy).[13] The leading scorer for Shrewsbury Town was Michael Symes with a total of 13 goals (9 in the league, 4 in the Football League Trophy) while Ben Davies and Cooke both had a total of 12 goals.[14] The Racing Post considered Bristol Rovers to be favourites to win the final, but their manager Paul Trollope urged caution, noting "We probably are favourites because of the way we have gone into the final, but it is about producing a performance that is good enough to beat Shrewsbury because you don't win anything just by being favourites and turning up".[5]

The referee for the final was Mike Jones from Cheshire.[15] Shrewsbury Town's Davies was unavailable after sustaining an Achilles tendon injury in the semi-final, and goalkeeper Shearer, on loan from Bristol Rovers, was ineligible to play against his own club.[16] Luke Jones was also out injured for Shrewsbury Town, having suffered a locked knee during the warm-up preceding the final.[5] Joe Jacobson's loan period had ended so he had returned to Cardiff City from Bristol Rovers.[5] Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation for the final.[16]

Summary

Richard Walker
Richard Walker scored twice for Bristol Rovers.

The match

corner for which their goalkeeper MacKenzie came up the pitch. Bristol Rovers broke from the corner and Igoe was able to run with the ball before striking it into an empty goal. The match ended 3–1 to Bristol Rovers who were promoted to League One.[15]

Details

26 May 2007
15:00 BST
Bristol Rovers3–1Shrewsbury Town
Walker 21', 35'
Igoe 90'		 (Report) Drummond 3'
Wembley, London
Attendance: 61,589
Referee: Mike Jones
Bristol Rovers
Shrewsbury Town
GK 1 Steve Phillips
RB 2 Ryan Green
CB 6 Steve Elliott
CB 15 Byron Anthony
LB 11 Chris Carruthers
RM 4 Sammy Igoe
CM 7 Stuart Campbell (c) Yellow card
CM 20 Craig Disley
LM 26 Lewis Haldane downward-facing red arrow 64'
CF 9 Rickie Lambert
CF 10 Richard Walker Yellow card
Substitutes:
GK 31 Mike Green
DF 17 Andy Sandell
DF 32 Aaron Lescott
MF 22 Chris Lines
FW 27 Sean Rigg upward-facing green arrow 74'
Manager:
Paul Trollope
GK 21 Chris Mackenzie
RB 12 Ben Herd downward-facing red arrow 84'
CB 5 Richard Hope (c)
CB 8 Kelvin Langmead
LB 23 Marc Tierney Red card 89'
RM 10 Derek Asamoah
CM 2 Danny Hall
CM 4 Stewart Drummond
LM 3 Neil Ashton
CF 9 Andy Cooke Yellow card downward-facing red arrow 73'
CF 24 Michael Symes downward-facing red arrow 80'
Substitutes:
GK 1 Ryan Esson
DF 28 Sagi Burton upward-facing green arrow 84'
MF 18 Steve Leslie
MF 22 Chris Humphrey upward-facing green arrow 73'
FW 29 Leo Fortune-West upward-facing green arrow 80'
Manager:
Gary Peters

Post-match

Sammy Igoe rolls in Bristol Rovers' third goal to seal their promotion to League One.

The attendance of 61,589 was a record for the fourth tier play-off final and it was estimated in The Guardian that more than 37,000 of the crowd were Bristol Rovers supporters.[19] Trollope, who had featured in three play-off semi-final defeats as a player, described the victory as "the greatest day of my career."[18] He did, however, note his belief that the two-goal margin of victory somewhat flattered his side. Walker said "I knew it was going to be the biggest game of my life ... We didn't doubt ourselves when they scored, we believed in our ability, we clawed our way back into the game and it was a fantastic thing to win."[20] He went on to express his summer holiday plans: "I'm going to drink for six weeks".[16] Gary Peters, the Shrewsbury Town manager, admitted "Had we had Walker on our side, it might have been different. They had two chances and took them, we had four and didn't put them away ... I think the season's caught up with us. We had four more games than anybody else."[20]

Shrewsbury Town ended the next season in 18th place, eight points above the relegation zone.[21] Bristol Rovers finished 16th in the 2007–08 Football League One, five points above the relegation zone, keeping their place in the third tier.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b "League Two – 2006/2007 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  2. ^ Henderson, Charlie (14 May 2007). "Shrewsbury 0–0 MK Dons". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 7 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  3. ^ "Milton Keynes Dons v Shrewsbury Town, 18 May 2007". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  4. ^ Fletcher, Paul (18 May 2007). "MK Dons 1–2 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  5. ^ a b c d Childs, Dan (26 May 2007). "Shrews will miss crucial midfield duo". Racing Post. p. 4. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021 – via Gale.
  6. ^ "Bristol Rovers 2–1 Lincoln City". BBC Sport. 12 May 2007. Archived from the original on 6 October 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Lincoln City v Bristol Rovers, 17 May 2007". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 3 August 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  8. ^ "Lincoln City 3–5 Bristol Rovers". BBC Sport. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 8 September 2007. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Bristol Rovers". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Shrewsbury Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Bristol Rovers football club: record v Shrewsbury Town". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  12. ^ "Shrewsbury Town v Bristol Rovers, 30 January 2007". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Bristol R squad details – 2006/07 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Shrewsbury squad details – 2006/07 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  15. ^ a b Bevan, Chris (26 May 2007). "Bristol Rovers 3–1 Shrewsbury". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 27 August 2017. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  16. ^ a b c Dart, Tom (28 May 2007). "Rovers drink in moment as Walker enjoys taste of glory". The Times. p. 62. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021 – via Gale.
  17. ^ "Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town, 26 May 2007". 11v11. AFS Enterprise. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  18. ^ a b Jackson, Jamie (27 May 2007). "Walker brace tames Shrews as Rovers enjoy final flourish". The Observer. p. 6. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021 – via Gale.
  19. ^ Wilson, Jeremy (28 May 2007). "Walker applies finishing touch to Rovers' revival". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  20. ^ a b Glanville, Brian (27 May 2007). "Walker leads Rovers to glory". The Sunday Times. p. 13. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021 – via Gale.
  21. ^ "League Two – 2007/2008 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  22. ^ "League One – 2007/2008 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 11 July 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
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