1992_Football_League_play-offs
1992 Football League play-offs
Football league season
The Football League play-offs for the 1991–92 season were held in May 1992, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium. The play-off semi-finals were also played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Second Division, the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division and the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place teams in the Football League Fourth Division table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches gaining promotion for the following season.
 |
| Season | 1991–92 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Blackburn Rovers (Second Division) Peterborough United (Third Division) Blackpool (Fourth Division) |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 41 (2.73 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Leicester 5–0 Cambridge (Second Division) |
| Biggest away win | Huddersfield 1–2 Peterborough (Third Division) |
| Highest scoring | Blackburn 4–2 Derby (6 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 68,147 – Blackburn v Leicester (Second Division final) |
| Lowest attendance | 5,629 – Barnet v Blackpool (Fourth Division semi-final) |
| Average attendance | 18,510 |
← 1991 1993 → | |
The Second Division season finished with Ipswich Town as champions and Middlesbrough as runners-up gaining automatic promotion to the new FA Premier League. This left Derby County and Blackburn Rovers, the two biggest spending teams in the division, facing each other in the one playoff semi-final, while the other was contested between Leicester City and a Cambridge United side who successful style of long ball play had taken them to the brink of a unique third successive promotion, while Leicester had made their first serious promotion challenge since being relegated from the First Division five years earlier.
Blackburn won the first leg 4-2 at Ewood Park, and Derby's 2-1 win in the return leg at the Baseball Ground was not enough to prevent the Lancastrian side from going through to the final. In the other semi-final, Cambridge held Leicester to a 1-1 draw at the Abbey Stadium before losing the return leg 5-0 at Filbert Street.
The final - and a place in the new Premier League - was settled by a single goal as Blackburn beat Leicester thanks to a penalty by former Leicester striker Mike Newell, securing Blackburn's return to the top flight of English football after 26 years away.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Derby County | 46 | 23 | 9 | 14 | 69 | 51 | +18 | 78 |
| 4 | Leicester City | 46 | 23 | 8 | 15 | 62 | 55 | 0+7 | 77 |
| 5 | Cambridge United | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 74 |
| 6 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 21 | 11 | 14 | 70 | 53 | +17 | 74 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
| Cambridge United | 1–1 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
O'Shea  76' |
Russell 44' |
| Blackburn Rovers | 4–2 | Derby County |
|---|---|---|
| Sellars 35' Newell 44'Speedie 66', 70' |
Gabbiadini 2' Johnson 14' |
- Second leg
| Derby County | 2–1 | Blackburn Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Comyn 23' McMinn 74' |
Moran 49' |
Blackburn Rovers won 5–4 on aggregate.
| Leicester City | 5–0 | Cambridge United |
|---|---|---|
| Wright 29', 60' Thompson 35'Russell 59'Ormondroyd 64' |
Leicester City won 6–1 on aggregate.
Final
| Blackburn Rovers | 1–0 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| Newell 45' (pen.) |
Huddersfield Town's fourth season in the Third Division since relegation in 1988 saw their most serious promotion challenge in that time, but a third-place finish meant that they had to navigate a playoff semi-final clash with a Peterborough United side in the hunt for a second successive promotion. Peterborough went through, while Stockport County overcame Stoke City in the other semi-final to set up a playoff final clash between two teams who had both been promoted from the Fourth Division only a year earlier. Peterborough won the final 2-1 to reach the second tier of English football for the first time in their history; they were still among the newest ten clubs in the Football League having joined in 1960.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 59 | 38 | +21 | 78 |
| 4 | Stoke City | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 69 | 49 | +20 | 77 |
| 5 | Stockport County | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 75 | 51 | +24 | 76 |
| 6 | Peterborough United | 46 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 65 | 58 | 0+7 | 74 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
| Peterborough United | 2–2 | Huddersfield Town |
|---|---|---|
| Charlery 46' Halsall 88' |
Onuora 28' Robinson 68' (o.g.) |
- Second leg
Stockport County won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Huddersfield Town | 1–2 | Peterborough United |
|---|---|---|
| Starbuck 2' |
Sterling 69' Cooper 86' |
Peterborough United won 4–3 on aggregate.
Final
| Peterborough United | 2–1 | Stockport County |
|---|---|---|
| Charlery 51', 89' |
Francis 87' |
A year after losing the Fourth Division playoff final on penalties to Torquay United, Blackpool returned to Wembley for a showdown with Scunthorpe United and this time were the winning side as they triumphed on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The Seasiders had overcome league newcomers Barnet in their semi-final, with Scunthorpe overcoming Crewe Alexandra in the other semi-final.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Blackpool | 42 | 22 | 10 | 10 | 71 | 45 | +26 | 74 |
| 5 | Scunthorpe United | 42 | 21 | 9 | 12 | 64 | 59 | 0+5 | 72 |
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 66 | 51 | +15 | 70 |
| 7 | Barnet | 42 | 21 | 6 | 15 | 81 | 61 | +20 | 69 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
| Crewe Alexandra | 2–2 | Scunthorpe United |
|---|---|---|
| Hignett 6' Naylor 39' |
Helliwell 17', 35' |
- Second leg
Blackpool won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Scunthorpe United | 2–0 | Crewe Alexandra |
|---|---|---|
| Martin 83' Hamilton 89' |
Scunthorpe United won 4–2 on aggregate.
Final
| Blackpool | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Scunthorpe United |
|---|---|---|
| Bamber 40' |
Daws 52' |
|
| Penalties | ||
Cook  Groves Garner Eyres |
4–3 | Hamilton Longden Elliott Alexander White |