Background

Rotherham United had featured in one play-off final prior to 2014, losing the 2010 Football League Two play-off final 3–2 to Dagenham & Redbridge at Wembley Stadium.^[7] This was Leyton Orient's fourth appearance in the final of the play-offs, although they had won just once,^[5] in the 1989 Football League Fourth Division play-off final which was played over two legs against Wrexham.^[8] Orient's two defeats came in the 1999 Football League Third Division play-off final against Scunthorpe United at the old Wembley Stadium and in the 2001 Football League Third Division play-off final against Blackpool at the Millennium Stadium.^[9][10] The Leyton Orient manager Russell Slade had play-off final experience when his Grimsby Town team were beaten by Cheltenham Town in the 2006 Football League Two play-off final at the Millennium Stadium.^[11] He also lost at Wembley Stadium in the following season's Football League One play-off final as manager of Yeovil Town, who lost 2–0 against Blackpool.^[12]

During the regular season, Rotherham had lost their away match at Leyton Orient 1–0 in October 2013 but won their home match 2–1.^[13] The two clubs had faced each other in the play-offs previously, with Leyton Orient prevailing in the 1998–99 fourth tier play-off semi-final after a penalty shootout.^[14] Leyton Orient had played in League One since gaining promotion from the third tier in the 2005–06 season,^[15] while Rotherham United were seeking back-to-back promotions, having finished the 2012–13 season in second place in League One.^[16] Agard was Rotherham's highest scorer with 25 goals, while Dave Mooney was the top marksman for Leyton Orient with 19, followed by Kevin Lisbie on 16.^[1]

The referee for the match was David Coote, representing the Nottinghamshire County Football Association.^[17] He had officiated Rotherham's 1–0 home win against Port Vale the previous month and had sent off Rotherham defender Richard Smallwood.^[18][19] He also took charge of Leyton Orient's draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers in December 2013.^[20] Coote was assisted by Adam Nunn and Michael Salisbury, with Mick Russell acting as the fourth official.^[21] Leyton Orient named a squad for the final which was unchanged from their second leg semi-final play-off victory over Peterborough United, while Rotherham made one change, with Richard Brindley replacing Daniel Rowe on the bench.^[4][6][22] Both managers considered their opposition team to be the favourites to win the match, while bookmakers Betfair gave marginally shorter odds on Rotherham than Leyton Orient to take the victory.^[11][14]

First half

The match kicked off in front of a Wembley Stadium crowd of 43,401 at around 3 p.m. An early free kick from Ben Pringle after Frecklington was fouled was cleared by Leyton Orient. A minute later, Revell was brought down in the Rotherham box by Nathan Clarke but no penalty was awarded. In the 8th minute, the Rotherham goalkeeper Adam Collin took a free kick which Craig Morgan headed down to Thomas whose shot was gathered by Jamie Jones in the Leyton Orient goal. Rotherham continued to send in high balls into their opposition's area but to no avail. On 31 minutes, Scott Cuthbert received the first yellow card of the game after a foul on Pringle. Three minutes later, Rotherham's Morgan was also booked for his foul on Lisbie. Dean Cox took the resulting free kick which Clarke headed out, only for Odubajo to strike the ball left-footed through a crowd of players into the roof of the Rotherham goal to put Leyton Orient into a 1–0 lead after 34 minutes. After scoring, he removed his shirt and was shown Leyton Orient's second yellow card of the afternoon for excessive celebration. Five minutes later, a long ball was won by Mooney who lost control of it on the turn which allowed James Tavernier to head it clear only for Odubajo to take control of the ball. He took it to the byline and passed it across the six-yard box to for Cox to tap it in at the far post, doubling Leyton Orient's lead. Mathieu Baudry's header went over the crossbar two minutes later, and in stoppage time, Pringle's strike from outside the area was too high. The half finished with Leyton Orient holding a 2–0 lead.^[17][22]

Second half

No changes were made to either side during the half-time break, although Rotherham's assistant manager Paul Raynor was sent to the stands. The first chance of the second half fell to Tavernier whose direct free kick from 25 yards (23 m) cleared the Leyton Orient wall but also the crossbar. In the 52nd minute, a similar free kick from Pringle flew over the Rotherham goal. Two minutes later, Rotherham made their first substitution of the game, with Brindley coming on to replace Thomas. On 54 minutes, a foul by Clarke saw a free kick awarded. Jones dropped the long ball and it fell to the former Leyton Orient player Revell who struck it into an empty net, halving Rotherham's deficit.^[17][22] Five minutes later, Revell doubled his tally from around 35 yards (32 m) and brought the game level at 2–2; receiving the ball knocked down by Lisbie from a Pringle pass, he struck what Jonathan Liew of The Daily Telegraph described as a "remarkable volley that looped over Jones and into the net".^[23] On 64 minutes, Clarke was shown a yellow card for a foul. In the 74th minute, Leyton Orient made their first substitution of the afternoon, Cox being replaced by Shaun Batt. Two minutes later, Dagnall came on for Lisbie who was injured in an earlier tackle, before Rotherham's Joe Skarz was substituted for Robert Milsom for Rotherham. Tavernier was booked in the 78th minute and three minutes later, Agard sliced his shot wide of the Leyton Orient goal. Pringle was then booked in the 87th minute for a foul on Batt before both Agard and Tavernier missed with headers. Into stoppage time, Leyton Orient had a series of corners, none of which came to anything and the full-time whistle was blown with the game tied at 2–2.^[17][22]

Extra time and penalties

Both teams remained unchanged from the end of regular time, and three minutes into the first half of extra time, Mooney became the fourth Leyton Orient player to be booked after a foul on Frecklington. Two minutes later, Rotherham were denied a third goal when Jones tipped over a Cuthbert deflection from a Revell shot. Haris Vučkić, Rotherham's third and final substitute, came on to replace Revell in the last minute of the first half of extra time. Mooney was taken off at the start of the second half of extra time, with John Lundstram coming on. In a half of few chances, both sides saw shots blocked but no clear opportunities to score, and extra time ended 2–2, sending the final to a penalty shootout.^[17][22]

Rotherham's Agard opened the shootout, scoring down the centre, with Lloyd James equalising with a strike into the top-right corner of the net. Frecklington's attempt was saved by Jones down to his left before Lundstram put Leyton Orient into a 2–1 lead with a high shot to the middle of the goal. Pringle then levelled the score before Clarke's strike into the bottom right-hand corner of the net once again saw Leyton Orient lead. Tavernier then scored in the top-left corner before Baudry saw his shot saved by Collins, with the score at 3–3 after four rounds of penalties. Smallwood's right-footed shot into the bottom-left corner put Rotherham ahead before Dagnall's strike down the centre was saved, and the penalty shootout ended 4–3 to Rotherham United.^[17][22]

Details

More information Leyton Orient, 2–2 (a.e.t.) ...

Leyton Orient	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Rotherham United
Odubajo 34' Cox 39'	BBC report	Revell 55', 60'
Penalties
James Lundstram Clarke Baudry Dagnall	3–4	Agard Frecklington Pringle Tavernier Smallwood

Close

Leyton Orient

Rotherham United

1 Jamie Jones 5 Scott Cuthbert  31' 6 Mathieu Baudry 15 Nathan Clarke (c)  64' 2 Elliot Omozusi 11 Moses Odubajo  35' 4 Romain Vincelot 8 Lloyd James 7 Dean Cox  74' 9 Kevin Lisbie  76' 10 Dave Mooney  93'  106' Substitutes: 12 Jake Larkins 3 Gary Sawyer 21 Marvin Bartley 24 John Lundstram  106' 14 Shaun Batt  74' 23 Chris Dagnall  76' 25 Robbie Simpson Manager: Russell Slade

21 Adam Collin 27 James Tavernier  78' 20 Craig Morgan (c)  34' 4 Kári Árnason 3 Joe Skarz  77' 22 Kieran Agard 8 Lee Frecklington 36 Richard Smallwood 18 Ben Pringle  87' 26 Wes Thomas  54' 9 Alex Revell  105' Substitutes: 1 Scott Shearer 2 Richard Brindley  54' 5 Claude Davis 10 Michael O'Connor 15 Robert Milsom  77' 28 Haris Vučkić  105' 35 Tom Hitchcock Manager: Steve Evans

Statistics