2012 Football League Championship play-off final
Event | 2011–12 Football League Championship | ||||||
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Date | 19 May 2012 | ||||||
Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
Man of the Match | James Tomkins (West Ham) | ||||||
Referee | Howard Webb | ||||||
Attendance | 78,523 | ||||||
The 2012 Football League Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 19 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London, between West Ham United and Blackpool. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2011–12 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; West Ham ended the season in third place while Blackpool had finished fifth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2012–13 season in the Premier League.
The 2012 final, refereed by Howard Webb, was watched by a crowd of more than 78,000 people. West Ham United took the lead in the latter stages of the first half through Carlton Cole. Blackpool's Tom Ince scored the equaliser three minutes in the second half before Ricardo Vaz Tê's 87th minute strike secured victory and promotion for West Ham. It West Ham's second win in three play-off finals. Their defender, James Tomkins, was named man of the match.
West Ham ended the next season in mid-table in the Premier League. Blackpool finished the following season in 15th place, nine points outside the play-offs and five points above the relegation zone.
Route to the final
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
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1 | Reading | 46 | 27 | 8 | 11 | 69 | 41 | +28 | 89 |
2 | Southampton | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 85 | 46 | +39 | 88 |
3 | West Ham United | 46 | 24 | 14 | 8 | 81 | 48 | +33 | 86 |
4 | Birmingham City | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 78 | 51 | +27 | 76 |
5 | Blackpool | 46 | 20 | 15 | 11 | 79 | 59 | +20 | 75 |
6 | Cardiff City | 46 | 19 | 18 | 9 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 75 |
Blackpool faced Birmingham City in their play-off semi-finals, with the first leg being played at Bloomfield Road. A long-range shot from Tom Ince ricocheted off Birmingham defender Curtis Davies past Colin Doyle late in the first half. The match finished 1–0, securing Blackpool's tenth consecutive play-off victory.[3] In the return leg, played five days later at St Andrew's, Stephen Dobbie extended Blackpool's aggregate lead on the stroke of half time. Matt Phillips scored soon after the break to make it 3–0 on aggregate to Blackpool before Birmingham's Nikola Žigić scored midway through the second half. Davies reduced Birmingham's deficit to a single goal but the match ended without further scoring, and Blackpool qualified for the final 3–2 on aggregate.[4]
In the other play-off semi-final, West Ham United's opponents were Cardiff City, with the first leg being played at the
Blackpool | Round | West Ham United | ||||
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Opponent | Result | Legs | Semi-finals | Opponent | Result | Legs |
Birmingham City | 3–2 | 1–0 home; 2–2 away | Cardiff City | 5–0 | 2–0 away; 3–0 home |
Match
Background
This was Blackpool's second appearance in the second tier play-off final, having beaten
Blackpool went into the final without Gary Taylor-Fletcher whose injury during training prevented him from taking part.[13] During Blackpool's regular season, he had contributed ten assists and eight goals;[14][15] Phillips started in his place, and Czech striker Roman Bednář was named amongst the substitutes.[16][17] West Ham's Collinson was cleared to play, despite suffering a dislocated shoulder in the play-off semi-finals.[16]
First half
West Ham United kicked the game off around 3 p.m. in front of a Wembley crowd of 78,523.
Second half
Two minutes into the second half, Ince scored the equaliser for Blackpool. Cole lost the ball near the half-way line and a Matt Phillips pass over Winston Reid fell to Ince whose first-time strike beat Green in the West Ham goal. Kevin Phillips then played Alex Baptiste in and his lob over Green was cleared off the line by Taylor. In the 54th minute, West Ham made the first substitution of the afternoon, with George McCartney coming on to replace Gary O'Neil. Shortly after, Guy Demel was injured and was replaced by Julien Faubert. Taylor's cross was then headed high over the Blackpool bar by Collison. Vaz Tê's weak attempt was then cleared by Taylor before Gilks was forced to save a shot on the turn from Cole. In the 66th minutes, Dobbie's shot from the centre of the penalty area went wide, before Noble made a goal-line clearance to Baptiste, who struck the ball over the bar. Blackpool made their first substitution on 71 minutes, with Ludovic Sylvestre coming on to replace Kevin Phillips, and began to dominate possession. Green saved another Dobbie shot before West Ham's Nolan's volley struck the bar after Gilks' fingertip save. With three minutes to go Nolan passed to Cole who rode a challenge and collided with Gilks. Vaz Tê picked up the loose ball and hit it into the roof of the Blackpool goal, making it 2–1 to the London club. In the final minute of regular time, Dobbie and Ángel Martínez were replaced by Nouha Dicko and Bednář. Four minutes of injury time followed but with no change to the score, and West Ham were promoted back to the Premier League, one season after they were relegated.[16][17]
Details
Blackpool
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West Ham United
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Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
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Match rules:
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Statistics
Blackpool | West Ham United | |
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Total shots | 14 | 12 |
Shots on target | 7 | 4 |
Ball possession | 52% | 48% |
Corner kicks | 4 | 5 |
Fouls committed | 6 | 8 |
Offsides | 3 | 5 |
Yellow cards | 0 | 1 |
Red cards | 0 | 0 |
Post-match
The West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said: "I told you it was going to be difficult ... Blackpool were equally as good as us today but it's about taking your chances and never more so than on a day like today."[17] His captain, Nolan, agreed: "Blackpool were fantastic today but there's always got to be one loser ... We didn't play our best today but I'm absolutely delighted for everyone here."[16] Ian Holloway, the Blackpool manager, was downbeat: "We are left to regret the chances we missed. We have to get over it and bounce back."[16] West Ham United's Tomkins was selected as man of the match.[19]
West Ham ended the next season in mid-table in the Premier League, in tenth place and ten points clear of the relegation zone.[20] Blackpool finished the following season in 15th place, nine points outside the play-offs and five above the relegation zone.[21]
References
- ^ a b "League Championship end of season table for 2011–12 season". 11v11.com. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Championship – 2011/12 – regular season". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 20 April 2020. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
- ^ Johnston, Neil (4 May 2012). "Blackpool 1–0 Birmingham City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (9 May 2012). "Birmingham City 2–2 Blackpool". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Pope, Bruce (3 May 2012). "Cardiff City 0–2 West Ham United". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "West Ham United 3–0 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. 7 May 2012. Archived from the original on 3 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ Fletcher, Paul (22 May 2010). "Blackpool 3–2 Cardiff City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2018.
- ^ a b "Play-Off Final History & Stats". Sporting Life. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 9 October 2016. Retrieved 3 May 2020.
- ^ Hughes, Ian (27 May 2007). "Yeovil 0–2 Blackpool". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 13 September 2007. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "West Ham United football club match record: 2012". 11v11.com. Archived from the original on 21 April 2017. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ISBN 978-0-7553-6358-2.
- ^ "Match Official Appointments". English Football League. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ a b Fletcher, Paul (19 May 2012). "West Ham clinch Premier League return". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 16 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- The Football League. Archived from the originalon 26 June 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- The Football League. Archived from the originalon 26 June 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f Bevan, Chris (19 May 2012). "Championship play-off final as it happened". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d Fanning, Evan (19 May 2012). "Blackpool v West Ham – as it happened". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Irons in Prem after Wembley win". Sky Sports. 19 May 2012. Archived from the original on 1 June 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ a b "Tonks' final flourish". West Ham United F.C. 19 May 2012. Archived from the original on 24 May 2012. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
- ^ "Premier League table at close of 2012–13 season". 11v11.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
- ^ "League Championship table at close of 2012–13 season". 11v11.com. Retrieved 5 May 2020.