2001 Football League Third Division play-off final

2001 Football League Third Division play-off final

The Millennium Stadium hosted the final.
Blackpool Leyton Orient 4 2
Date	26 May 2001
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee	David Pugh
Attendance	23,600
← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 Football League Third Division play-off final was an association football match which was played on 26 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Blackpool and Leyton Orient. It was to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Third Division to the Second Division. The top three teams of the 2000–01 Football League Third Division, Brighton & Hove Albion, Cardiff City and Chesterfield, gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while those placed from fourth to seventh place in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2001–02 season in the Second Division. The losing semi-finalists were Hartlepool United and Hull City who had been defeated by Blackpool and Leyton Orient respectively. It was the first season that the play-off finals were contested at the Millennium Stadium during the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium.

The match was refereed by David Pugh in front of a crowd of 23,600. After 27 seconds, an error from Blackpool's goalkeeper Phil Barnes following a backpass from Brian Reid allowed Chris Tate to score, putting Leyton Orient into an early lead. In the 35th minute, the scores were level as Ian Hughes headed in Paul Simpson's corner to make it 1–1. Two minutes later, Houghton restored Leyton Orient's lead with a strike from around 20 yards (18 m) which beat Barnes. A minute before half-time, Blackpool equalised once again as Reid converted Gary Parkinson's cross, and the half ended 2–2. With 13 minutes of the match remaining, Blackpool took the lead for the first time, after Simpson scored following Brett Ormerod's through ball. In the 88th minute Omerod converted a cross from John Hills from around 6 yards (5.5 m) to make it 4–2 to Blackpool who secured promotion to the Second Division.

Blackpool ended their following season in sixteenth position in the Second Division, five places and twelve points ahead of the relegation zone. Leyton Orient's next season saw them finish in eighteenth place in the Third Division.

Route to the final

Main article: 2000–01 Football League Third Division

Football League Third Division final table, leading positions ^[1]

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	28	8	10	73	35	+38	92
2	Cardiff City	46	23	13	10	95	58	+37	82
3	Chesterfield	46	25	14	7	79	42	+37	80 [lower-alpha 1]
4	Hartlepool United	46	21	14	11	71	54	+17	77
5	Leyton Orient	46	20	15	11	59	51	+8	75
6	Hull City	46	19	17	10	47	39	+8	74
7	Blackpool	46	22	6	18	74	58	+16	72

Notes:

1. Chesterfield had 9 points deducted.

Leyton Orient finished the regular 2000–01 season in fifth position in the Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, two places and three points ahead of Blackpool. 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. Leyton Orient finished five points behind Chesterfield (who were promoted in third place, despite having been deducted nine points for financial irregularities), ^[2] seven behind Cardiff City and seventeen behind league winners Brighton & Hove Albion. ^[1] Blackpool were in fifteenth position in the league in mid-November and secured their play-off place on the final day of the season. ^[3] Leyton Orient lost just one of their final eleven league matches prior to the play-offs. ^[4]

Blackpool's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Hartlepool United with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool on 13 May 2001. ^[5] After a goalless first half, the home side took the lead on the hour mark when Brett Ormerod received a pass from Gary Parkinson and struck the ball past Hartlepool goalkeeper Anthony Williams. Seventeen minutes later Ormerod scored his and Blackpool's second goal to secure a 2–0 victory. ^[6] The return leg was held three days later at Victoria Park in Hartlepool. The visitors took the lead in the 21st minute when Ormerod headed a free kick from Parkinson past Williams. Three minutes into the second half, Hartlepool made it 1–1 when Kevin Henderson scored with a volley from Paul Stephenson's pass. John Hills restored Blackpool's lead a minute later when he headed Ormerod's cross in before Jermaine Easter, a second-half substitute for Hartlepool, was sent off for a foul on Brian Reid. In the 67th minute, Richie Wellens passed to Hills whose cross was converted by Ormerod to make it 3–1. Blackpool secured a 5–1 aggregate victory and progressed to the final. ^[7]

In the second semi-final, Leyton Orient faced Hull City and the first match was played at Boothferry Park, Hull's home ground, on 13 May 2001. ^[8] The first half ended goalless with the best chance coming when a flick-on from Kevin Francis found Mark Greaves whose shot struck the Leyton Orient crossbar. John Eyer came on as a substitute for Francis midway through the second half and within minutes had put Hull ahead. Leyton Orient failed to clear a Hull corner and Eyre's shot from the edge of the penalty area beat Ashley Bayes to make it 1–0. ^[9] The second leg took place three days later at Brisbane Road in Leyton. The home side took the lead a minute before half-time when Steve Watts headed in a cross from Scott Houghton from around 10 yards (9.1 m). Leyton Orient dominated the game and doubled their lead midway through the second half when Matt Lockwood scored from 30 yards (27 m) direct from a free kick. It gave them a 2–1 aggregate victory and saw them progress to the final. ^[10]

Match

Background

Brett Ormerod (pictured in 2010) scored four times in the play-off semi-finals and once in the final.

This was Blackpool's fourth appearance in the play-offs and their third final: they lost to Torquay United on penalties in the 1991 Football League Fourth Division play-off final at the old Wembley Stadium and defeated Scunthorpe United in a penalty shootout in the following season's final. Blackpool had been relegated to the fourth tier of English football the previous season and were aiming for an immediate return to the Second Division. ^[11] Leyton Orient were making their third appearance in the final of the play-offs, and had won just once, in the 1989 Football League Fourth Division play-off final which was played over two legs against Wrexham. ^[12] Orient's defeat came in the 1999 Football League Third Division play-off final against Scunthorpe United at the old Wembley Stadium. ^[13] Leyton Orient had played in the fourth tier of English football since being relegated in the 1994–95 season. ^[14]

In the matches between the sides during the regular season, the first ended in a 2–2 at Bloomfield Road in August 2000 while Leyton Orient won their home game 1–0 the following March. ^[15] Carl Griffiths was the leading scorer for Leyton Orient with 19 goals in the regular season (15 in the league and 4 in the FA Cup) followed by Watts on 9 (8 in the league and 1 in the League Cup). ^[16] John Murphy led the scoring for Blackpool with 23 goals (18 in the league, 1 in the FA Cup and 4 in the League Cup) followed by Ormerod with 22 (18 in the league, 2 in the FA Cup, 1 in the League Cup and 1 in the Football League Trophy). ^[17]

The referee for the match was David Pugh. ^[18] Both sides adopted a 4–4–2 formation for the final. ^[19] Blackpool were considered favourites to win the match by the Racing Post . ^[4] As a result of the redevelopment of Wembley Stadium, it was the first time the English Football League play-offs had taken place at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. ^[20]

Summary

The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 26 May 2001 at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff in front of 23,600 spectators. ^[18] After 27 seconds, an error from Blackpool's goalkeeper Phil Barnes following a backpass from Reid allowed Chris Tate to score, putting Leyton Orient into an early lead. In the sixth minute, Tate's header from an Andy Harris cross went over the Blackpool crossbar. Three minutes later Bayes saved Danny Coid's attempt to score from close range, before diving to keep out a 25-yard (23 m) strike from Coid in the 13th minute. Parkinson's free kick from 35 yards (32 m) went high over the Leyton Orient bar in the 19th minute before Barnes tipped over a diving header from David McGhee. Another McGhee header was saved by Barnes in the 27th minute. Seven minutes later the scores were level as Ian Hughes headed in Paul Simpson's corner to make it 1–1. Two minutes later, Houghton restored Leyton Orient's lead with a strike from around 20 yards (18 m) which beat Barnes. A minute before half-time, Blackpool equalised once again as Reid converted Parkinson's cross, and the half ended 2–2. ^[21]

Neither side made any change to their personnel during the interval and three minutes into the second half, Jabo Ibehre's strike from inside the Blackpool penalty area struck the goalpost. In the 58th minute, Murphy's shot from around 20 yards (18 m) cleared the Leyton Orient crossbar. Seven minutes later, Leyton Orient made their first substitutions of the game, with Tate and Wim Walschaerts being replaced by Ahmet Brković and Steve Castle. With 13 minutes of the match remaining, Blackpool took the lead for the first time, after Simpson scored following Ormerod's through ball. In the 82nd minute, Houghton was then substituted for John Martin. Six minutes later Omerod converted a cross from Hills from around 6 yards (5.5 m) to make it 4–2 to Blackpool. With a minute to go, Mike Milligan and Jamie Milligan were brought on for Ormerod and Simpson and after three minutes of injury time, the final whistle was blown, with Blackpool securing promotion to the Second Division with a 4–2 victory. ^[21]

Details

26 May 2001

15:00 BST

Blackpool	4–2	Leyton Orient
Hughes 35' Reid 45' Simpson 77' Ormerod 88'	(Report)	Tate 1' Houghton 37'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 23,600

Referee: David Pugh

Blackpool

Leyton Orient

GK 1 Phil Barnes DF 3 John Hills DF 33 Gary Parkinson DF 5 Ian Hughes DF 6 Brian Reid MF 12 Danny Coid MF 14 Richie Wellens  88' MF 8 Phil Clarkson MF 25 Paul Simpson  88' FW 16 Brett Ormerod  89' FW 9 John Murphy Substitutes: DF 23 Neil Murphy DF 17 Phil Thompson  89' MF 4 Steve Bushell MF 7 Mike Milligan  88' MF 32 Jamie Milligan  88' Manager: Steve McMahon

GK 1 Ashley Bayes DF 2 Matt Joseph DF 3 Matt Lockwood DF 4 Dean Smith DF 6 Simon Downer MF 15 Wim Walschaerts  67' MF 7 Andy Harris MF 5 David McGhee MF 27 Scott Houghton  82' MF 8 Jabo Ibehre FW 30 Chris Tate  66' Substitutes: GK 12 Scott Barrett MF 17 John Martin  82' MF 14 Steve Castle  67' MF 10 Ahmet Brković  66' MF 16 Billy Beall Manager: Tommy Taylor

Post-match

The Blackpool manager Steve McMahon "was in total disbelief when the first goal went in" but suggested although his side "didn't play brilliantly but I think we were the best team." ^[22] His counterpart Tommy Taylor said that his opponents were "the better side in the second half" and that they "deserved to win it." ^[22] The opening goal, timed at 27 seconds, was the fastest ever scored in a play-off final. ^[3]

Blackpool ended their following season in sixteenth position in the Second Division, five places and twelve points ahead of the relegation zone. ^[23] Leyton Orient's next season saw them finish in eighteenth place in the Third Division. ^[24]

References

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2. "Chesterfield's points deduction confirmed". BBC Sport. 3 May 2001. Archived from the original on 5 November 2002. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
3. Foster 2015, p. 168.
4. Johnson, Paul (26 May 2001). "Blackpool to illuminate final thriller" . Racing Post . p. 127. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021– via Gale.
5. "Blackpool v Hartlepool United, 13 May 2001". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 1 June 2017. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
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11. "Blackpool". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
12. "Leyton Orient v Wrexham, 03 June 1989". 11v11.com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 12 June 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
13. "Garcia strike takes Iron up". BBC Sport. 29 May 1999. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
14. "Leyton Orient". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
15. "Leyton Orient football club: record v Blackpool". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 18 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
16. "Leyton Orient squad details – 2000/01 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
17. "Blackpool squad details – 2000/01 – Player appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
18. "Blackpool v Leyton Orient, 26 May 2001". 11V11.Com. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
19. Brodkin, John (28 May 2001). "Blackpool's winning day trip is perfect end to roller-coaster season" . The Guardian . p. 4. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2021– via Gale.
20. Rees, Paul; Chaudhary, Vivek (4 January 2001). "Cardiff to host next three FA Cup finals" . The Guardian . p. 28. Archived from the original on 4 February 2021. Retrieved 31 January 2021– via Newspapers.com.
21. "Clockwatch: Blackpool 4–2 Orient". BBC Sport. 26 May 2001. Archived from the original on 24 February 2003. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
22. "McMahon: The best team won". BBC Sport. 26 May 2001. Archived from the original on 24 February 2003. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
23. "League Two – 2001/2002 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
24. "League One – 2001/2002 – Regular season". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 6 April 2021.

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.