2012 Football League One play-off final

Edit links
This is a good article. Click here for more information.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

2012 Football League One play-off final
Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United flags at Wembley
Huddersfield Town Sheffield United
0 0
Huddersfield won 8–7 on penalties
Date26 May 2012
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchPeter Clarke (Huddersfield)
RefereeRoger East
Attendance52,100
WeatherSunny and warm
← 2011
2013 →

The 2012 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 26 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Huddersfield Town and Sheffield United to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2011–12 Football League One season, Charlton Athletic and Sheffield Wednesday, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth position in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2012–13 season in the Championship.

extra time. With no goals in the additional period of play, the match had to be decided with a penalty shootout. Eight of the first ten penalties were missed or saved and the subsequent twelve were all scored. With the match level at 7–7, Huddersfield's goalkeeper Alex Smithies scored past his counterpart Steve Simonsen
to give them the advantage. Simonsen then struck his penalty high over Smithies' crossbar and the shootout ended 8–7, with Huddersfield gaining promotion to the Championship.

Sheffield United ended their next season in fifth position in League One and participated in the play-offs where they lost to Yeovil Town in the semi-final. Huddersfield Town's following season saw them finish in 19th place in the Championship, three positions and four points above the relegation zone.

Route to the final

Main article: 2011–12 Football League One
Football League One final table, leading positions[1][2]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Charlton Athletic 46 30 11 5 82 36 +46 101
2 Sheffield Wednesday 46 28 9 9 81 48 +33 93
3 Sheffield United 46 27 9 10 92 51 +41 90
4 Huddersfield Town 46 21 18 7 79 47 +32 81
5 Milton Keynes Dons 46 22 14 10 84 47 +37 80
6 Stevenage 46 18 19 9 69 44 +25 73

Sheffield United finished the regular 2011–12 season in third place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Huddersfield Town. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Sheffield United finished three points behind local rivals Sheffield Wednesday (who were promoted in second place) and eleven behind league winners Charlton Athletic. Huddersfield Town ended the season nine points behind Sheffield United.[1]

Sheffield United's opponents for their play-off semi-final were

Matthew Lowton cross to secure a 1–0 victory and progression for Sheffield United to the final.[4]

Huddersfield Town faced

aggregate victory.[6]

Match

Background

Jordan Rhodes
Jordan Rhodes (pictured in 2013) had scored 36 league goals in 40 matches for Huddersfield Town during the regular season.

This match was Huddersfield Town's fourth play-off final, their previous three coming in 1995 (a 2–1 win over Bristol Rovers), 2004 (a 4–1 penalty shoot-out win over Mansfield Town) and 2011 (a 3–0 loss to Peterborough United), and completed their eighth Football League play-off campaign.[7] Manager Simon Grayson had previously achieved promotion success as a manager from the Football League One play-offs with Blackpool in the 2007 final.[8] Sheffield United had been involved in six previous play-off campaigns, but had never won a play-off final despite attempts in 1997, 2003 and 2009.[9]

The matches between the two teams during the regular season ended in an away win in both matches. Huddersfield secured a 3–0 victory away at Bramall Lane in September 2011, with goals from Oscar Gobern and a brace from Novak, while Sheffield United won 1–0 away at the Kirklees Stadium the following February with Neill Collins scoring the only goal.[10][11] Ched Evans was top scorer for Sheffield United with 35 goals during the regular season (29 in the league, 5 in the FA Cup and 1 in the Football League Trophy).[12] However he was unavailable for selection after being convicted of rape in April 2012; the conviction was quashed four years later following a retrial.[13][14] Huddersfield Town's leading scorer was Rhodes who had scored 36 league goals in 40 appearances and 2 in the League Cup.[15]

Huddersfield's goalkeeper

fourth official while Mark Scholes was the reserve assistant referee.[18] The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports.[19] Huddersfield Town adopted a 4–4–2 formation while Sheffield United played as a 4–4–1–1.[20]

Summary

Regular time

Sheffield United kicked off the match around 3 p.m. on 26 May 2012 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 52,100.[21][22] In the 9th minute, Huddersfield's Hunt made a run down the right wing and crossed but Higginbotham's volley went wide of Sheffield United's goal. Two minutes later, a long pass deep into Huddersfield territory was mis-headed by Peter Clarke and allowed Cresswell to shoot but his attempt was blocked. On 17 minutes, Stephen Quinn headed a cross from Lowton but Huddersfield's goalkeeper Smithies punched it clear. Rhodes saw his header gathered by the Sheffield United goalkeeper Steve Simonsen in the 32nd minute. Three minutes later Smithies came out to clear a cross from Quinn but missed the ball which was cleared, before Matt Hill's goal-bound strike from the edge of the penalty area was blocked by Clarke. With six minutes of the half remaining, Hunt cut inside from the right wing and shot from 20 yards (18 m) but his strike was wide of the goal. In injury time of the first half, Huddersfield made a quick break following a Sheffield United corner, but Rhodes ran the ball off the pitch and the half ended 0–0.[22]

Neither side made any changes to their personnel during the interval. Two minutes into the second half, a poor clearance from Sheffield United found Danny Ward whose shot from the edge of the penalty area struck the top of the crossbar. In the 54th minute, Lowton won a corner for Sheffield United which Harry Maguire headed wide of the Huddersfield goal. Clarke then headed a Huddersfield corner wide before Higginbotham was shown the first yellow card of the match in the 62nd minute for a late tackle on Lowton. Seven minutes later, Rhodes passed to Higginbotham whose first-time volley missed the target. In the 79th minute, Huddersfield made their first substitution of the match with Gary Roberts coming on to replace Higginbotham. With seven minutes remaining, Huddersfield won a corner after Maguire cleared the ball behind, from which Tommy Miller's header was pushed out by Simonsen before Clarke's follow-up shot was cleared off the Sheffield United goal-line by Michael Doyle. Rhodes then headed a cross from Calum Woods wide of the goal before Sheffield United made their first change of the game with Porter coming on for Cresswell in the 85th minute. Porter's first contribution was to head the ball wide of the Huddersfield post. In the last minute of the match Roberts appeared to have been brought down in the Sheffield United penalty area by Ryan Flynn but no foul was awarded. The match ended 0–0 and went into extra time.[22]

Extra time and penalty shootout

Huddersfield kicked off the first period of extra time and the first chance came in the fourth minute when Porter headed Quinn's cross goal-bound but it was blocked by Woods. In the 8th minute, Sean Morrison blocked Quinn's volley to keep the match goalless, and a minute later Alan Lee came on for Ward in Huddersfield's second substitution. In stoppage time in the first half of extra time, a run from Quinn ended with his low shot being pushed away by Smithies, before Maguire was booked. The half ended with the score still at 0–0. Three minutes in the second period of extra time, Sheffield Untied's Michael O'Halloran replaced Flynn before Lee's strike from 6 yards (5.5 m) was saved by Simonsen. In the 112th minute, Nick Montgomery cleared Clarke's header off the Sheffield United goal-line. Soon after, Damien Johnson was booked for a foul on Quinn the edge of the Huddersfield penalty area but the resulting free kick from Lee Williamson was easily gathered by Smithies. With four minutes remaining, Scott Arfield came on to replace Novak and just before the final whistle, Andy Taylor was brought on for Montgomery, as the game went to a penalty shootout.[22]

The penalties were taken in front of the Huddersfield Town fans, with their side starting the shootout. Miller's strike was easily saved by Simonsen before Smithies pushed Williamson's spot kick away. Johnson's strike was wide of the goal before Collins opened the scoring after sending Smithies the wrong way. Lee then had his penalty saved by Simonsen before Lowton's strike was easily caught by Smithies. Clarke scored before Taylor's shot hit the post, making it 1–1 after four penalties each side. The next twelve spot kicks were scored and with the score at 7–7 after 20 penalties, only the goalkeepers remained. Smithies strike went in before Simonsen's shot was high over the crossbar. The final score was 8–7 to Huddersfield who were promoted to the Championship.[22]

Details

Huddersfield Town0–0 (a.e.t.)Sheffield United
Report
Penalties
Miller soccer ball with red X
Johnson soccer ball with red X
Lee soccer ball with red X
Clarke soccer ball with check mark
Arfield soccer ball with check mark
Rhodes soccer ball with check mark
Roberts soccer ball with check mark
Woods soccer ball with check mark
Hunt soccer ball with check mark
Morrison soccer ball with check mark
Smithies soccer ball with check mark		 8–7 soccer ball with red X
Lowton
soccer ball with red X Taylor
soccer ball with check mark Porter
soccer ball with check mark Quinn
soccer ball with check mark Maguire
soccer ball with check mark Doyle
soccer ball with check mark O'Halloran
soccer ball with check mark Hill
soccer ball with red X Simonsen
Attendance: 52,100
Referee: Roger East
Huddersfield Town
Sheffield United
GK 1 England Alex Smithies
DF 32 England Jack Hunt
DF 15 England Sean Morrison
DF 5 England Peter Clarke (c)
DF 2 England Calum Woods
MF 27 England Kallum Higginbotham Yellow card 62' downward-facing red arrow 79'
MF 14 Northern Ireland Damien Johnson Yellow card 113'
MF 18 England Tommy Miller
MF 11 England Danny Ward downward-facing red arrow 98'
FW 17 England Jordan Rhodes
FW 21 England Lee Novak downward-facing red arrow 116'
Substitutes:
GK 25 Republic of Ireland Nick Colgan
DF 12 England Tom Clarke
MF 7 England Gary Roberts upward-facing green arrow 79'
MF 16 Scotland Scott Arfield upward-facing green arrow 116'
FW 19 Republic of Ireland Alan Lee upward-facing green arrow 98'
Manager:
England Simon Grayson
GK 1 England Steve Simonsen
DF 2
Matthew Lowton
DF 15 Scotland Neill Collins
DF 19 England Harry Maguire Yellow card 105+1'
DF 32 England Matt Hill
MF 4 England Nick Montgomery downward-facing red arrow 120'
MF 8 Republic of Ireland Michael Doyle (c)
MF 11 Scotland Ryan Flynn downward-facing red arrow 108'
MF 14 England Lee Williamson
MF 28 Republic of Ireland Stephen Quinn
FW 17 England Richard Cresswell downward-facing red arrow 85'
Substitutes:
GK 13 England Mark Howard
DF 16 England Andy Taylor upward-facing green arrow 120'
MF 20 Republic of Ireland David McAllister
FW 21 England Chris Porter upward-facing green arrow 85'
FW 29 Scotland Michael O'Halloran upward-facing green arrow 108'
Manager:
England Danny Wilson

Man of the Match:
Peter Clarke (Huddersfield Town)

Assistant referees:
Harry Lennard
Matthew Wilkes
Fourth official:
Danny McDermid
Reserve Assistant Referee:
Mark Scholes

Alex Smithies
Alex Smithies, the Huddersfield Town goalkeeper, scored the 21st penalty of the shootout.
Statistics[23]
Huddersfield Town Sheffield United
Total shots 18 18
Shots on target 5 7
Ball possession 50% 50%
Corner kicks 8 9
Fouls committed 19 15
Offsides 1 3
Yellow cards 2 1
Red cards 0 0

Post-match

Grayson, the winning manager, conceded that there was little between the sides during the final: "There was nothing in the game whatsoever ... What an unbelievable end to the game and I really feel for Sheffield United. Hopefully they can come up next year ... The best way to get promoted is by winning at Wembley"[23] His counterpart Wilson refused to blame Simonsen for the defeat after his penalty miss: "To save the penalties like Steve did, who would have thought it would come down to that? He nearly got his hand to two others but that's the way it goes sometimes. I don't know if that's fate but for him to miss the penalty, it's blameless".[23] Montgomery revealed that Simonsen "was devastated" but that "there's no blame attached to him ... it's a heartbreaking way to end it, but we've just got to try and come back stronger next season".[20]

Sheffield United ended their next season in fifth position in League One and participated in the play-offs where the lost to Yeovil Town in the semi-final.[24][25] Huddersfield Town's following season saw their manager Grayson sacked in January 2013 after a 12-game winless streak.[26] Mark Robins was appointed as his replacement the following month and he led Huddersfield to a 19th place finish in the Championship, three positions and four points above the relegation zone.[27][28]

References

  1. ^ a b "League One – 2011/12 – regular season". Soccerway. Archived from the original on 22 November 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  2. ^ "League One end of season table for 2011–12 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  3. ^ Osborne, Chris (11 May 2012). "Stevenage 0–0 Sheffield Utd". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 31 October 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  4. ^ Woodcock, Ian (14 May 2012). "Sheffield Utd 1–0 Stevenage (agg 1–0)". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  5. ^ Osborne, Chris (12 May 2012). "MK Dons 0– Huddersfield". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 10 September 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  6. ^ Woodcock, Ian (15 May 2012). "Huddersfield 1–2 MK Dons (agg 3–2)". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  7. ^ "Huddersfield Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  8. ^ Szczepanik, Nick (28 May 2007). "Parker inspires polished Blackpool and evokes memories of Matthews". The Times. p. 62. Retrieved 25 February 2021 – via Gale.
  9. ^ "Sheffield United". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  10. ^ "Sheffield United v Huddersfield Town, 13 September 2011". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  11. ^ "Huddersfield Town v Sheffield United, 14 February 2012". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  12. ^ "Sheff Utd squad details – 2011/12 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 4 September 2012. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  13. ^ Morris, Steven (20 April 2012). "Sheffield United striker Ched Evans found guilty of rape". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 20 November 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  14. ^ Morris, Steven; Topping, Alexandra (14 October 2016). "Ched Evans: footballer found not guilty of rape in retrial". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  15. ^ "Huddersfield squad details – 2011/12 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  16. ^ "Sheff Utd: Pre-match analysis". Huddersfield Town A.F.C. 25 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2012.
  17. ^ "Huddersfield v Sheff Utd preview". Sky Sports. 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  18. ^ "Match Official Appointments". English Football League. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  19. ^ "The Box". The Times. 21 May 2012. p. 103. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via Gale.
  20. ^ a b Mellor, Jason (28 May 2012). "Simonsen in tears after final twist". The Times. p. 89. Retrieved 8 March 2021 – via Gale.
  21. ^ "Huddersfield Town v Sheffield United, 26 May 2012". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  22. ^ a b c d e Steinberg, Jacob (26 May 2012). "Huddersfield v Sheffield United – as it happened". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 23 October 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  23. ^ a b c Begley, Emlyn (26 May 2012). "Huddersfield have been promoted". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 22 January 2016. Retrieved 7 June 2012.
  24. ^ "League One – 2012/2013 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 26 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  25. ^ Mitchell, Brendon (6 May 2013). "Yeovil Town 2–0 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Simon Grayson sacked by Huddersfield Town". BBC Sport. 24 January 2013. Archived from the original on 17 October 2013. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  27. ^ "Huddersfield Town appoint Mark Robins as manager". BBC Sport. 14 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
  28. ^ "Championship – 2012/2013 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2012_Football_League_One_play-off_final&oldid=1211626080"