1998 Football League Second Division play-off Final
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| Date | 24 May 1998 | ||||||
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| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | T Heilbron | ||||||
| Attendance | 62,988 | ||||||
The 1998 Football League Second Division play-off Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium, London on 24 May 1998 at the end of the 1997–98 season. The match determined the third and final team to gain promotion from Second Division to the First Division, and was contested by Grimsby Town, who finished 3rd during the league season, and Northampton Town, who finished 4th. The teams reached the final by defeating Fulham and Bristol Rovers respectively in the two-legged semi-finals.
Grimsby won the final 1-0 thanks to a goal from Kevin Donovan in the 20th minute to seal their place in the second tier of English football.[1][2] Grimsby had to wait 120 years to reach Wembley and before this game had won the Auto Windscreens Shield earlier on in the season.
Route to the final
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Grimsby Town | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 55 | 37 | +18 | 72 |
| 4 | Northampton Town | 46 | 18 | 17 | 11 | 52 | 37 | +15 | 71 |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 70 | 64 | +6 | 70 |
| 6 | Fulham | 46 | 20 | 10 | 16 | 60 | 43 | +17 | 70 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
10 May 1998 15:00 |
| Bristol Rovers | 3 – 1 | Northampton Town |
|---|---|---|
Beadle  30' (pen.)Bennett 37'Hayles 46' |
Report | Gayle 74' |
- Second leg
Grimsby Town won 2–1 on aggregate.
Northampton Town won 4–3 on aggregate.
Match details
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MATCH RULES
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See also
References
- ↑ "Soccerbase football statistics". Soccer Base. Retrieved 2013-11-15.
- ↑ "Grimsby bounce back to Division 1". BBC News. 1998-05-24. Retrieved 2013-11-15.