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1999 Football League Second Division play-off final

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1999 Football League Second Division play-off Final
Event1998–99 Football League Second Division
Manchester City Gillingham
2 2
Manchester City won 3–1 on penalties
Date30 May 1999
VenueWembley Stadium, London
Man of the MatchVince Bartram (Gillingham)[1]
RefereeMark Halsey (Lancashire)
Attendance76,935
← 1998
2000 →

The 1999 Football League Second Division play-off Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 30 May 1999, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Second Division to the First Division of the Football League in the 1998–99 season. Gillingham faced Manchester City.

Route to the final

Football League Second Division final table, leading positions
Pos Team P W D L F A Pts
1. Fulham 46 31 8 7 79 32 101
2. Walsall 46 26 9 11 63 47 87
3. Manchester City 46 22 16 8 69 33 82
4. Gillingham 46 22 14 10 75 44 80
Pos=Position P=Games played W=Wins D=Draws
L=Defeats F=Goals for A=Goals against Pts=Points

The match was Gillingham's first ever appearance at the Wembley Stadium.[2] Manchester City, by comparison, had played there on eleven previous occasions in FA Cup and League Cup finals.[3] The teams reached the final by defeating Preston North End and Wigan Athletic respectively in the semi-finals.

Manchester City Gillingham
Opponent Result Legs Round Opponent Result Legs
Wigan Athletic 2–1 1–1 away; 1–0 home Semi-finals Preston North End 2–1 1–1 away; 1–0 home

Match

Summary

The match was scoreless until the 81st minute, when Carl Asaba gave Gillingham the lead. Robert Taylor added a second five minutes later. With only a few minutes of normal time left, and two goals behind in the game, many City fans considered the game had been lost and began to make their way to the exits. However, Kevin Horlock scored for City to halve the deficit in the 90th minute and, in the fifth minute of added time, Paul Dickov scored an equaliser to send the game into extra time. With no further goals being scored, the match was decided by a penalty shoot-out, which City won to gain promotion.[4]

Given the match's importance as a final to determine league promotion and the highly unlikely turnaround in the final minutes, the game has been regarded as one of the most exciting in English football history[5] and highlights of the game have been repeatedly shown on television. Manchester City fans and other commentators also regard the game as a crucial first step in the club's revival from the third tier of English football to its current status as yearly contenders for the Premier League championship.[6] Gillingham, under new manager Peter Taylor, returned to the play-offs the following year and this time won in extra-time against Wigan. Dickov's goal (after six minutes and nine seconds of injury time) remains the latest goal ever scored prior to the final whistle in a match at the old Wembley Stadium.[citation needed] In a strange coincidence, the Gillingham keeper he scored past, Vince Bartram, had also been the best man at Dickov's wedding.[7] Prior to City's first goal, Bartram had been awarded the man of the match award for making several important saves. Manchester City keeper Nicky Weaver saved two Gillingham penalties and, following his save from Guy Butters which sealed the victory, celebrated wildly with his teammates.

Details

Manchester City2–2 (a.e.t.)Gillingham
Horlock 90'
Dickov 90+5'		 Report Asaba 81'
Taylor 87'
Penalties
Horlock soccer ball with check mark
Dickov soccer ball with red X
Cooke soccer ball with check mark
Edghill soccer ball with check mark		 3–1 soccer ball with red X Smith
soccer ball with red X Pennock
soccer ball with check mark Hodge
soccer ball with red X Butters
Attendance: 76,935
Manchester City
Gillingham
GK 1 Nicky Weaver
RB 2 Lee Crooks downward-facing red arrow 85'
LB 3 Richard Edghill
CB 4 Gerard Wiekens Yellow card
CB 5 Andy Morrison (c) downward-facing red arrow 61'
LM 6 Kevin Horlock
CM 7 Michael Brown downward-facing red arrow 61'
CM 8 Jeff Whitley
CF 9 Paul Dickov
CF 10 Shaun Goater
RM 11 Terry Cooke
Substitutes:
FW 12 Gareth Taylor Yellow card upward-facing green arrow 85'
DF 13 Tony Vaughan upward-facing green arrow 61'
MF 14 Ian Bishop upward-facing green arrow 61'
Manager:
Joe Royle
GK 1 Vince Bartram
RWB 2 Nicky Southall
CB 3 Barry Ashby
CM 4 Paul Smith
CB 5 Guy Butters
CB 6 Adrian Pennock
LWB 7 Mark Patterson downward-facing red arrow 105'
CM 8 Andy Hessenthaler (c)
CF 9 Carl Asaba downward-facing red arrow 87'
CM 10 Mick Galloway downward-facing red arrow 56'
CF 11 Robert Taylor Yellow card
Substitutes:
MF 12 John Hodge upward-facing green arrow 105'
MF 13 Mark Saunders upward-facing green arrow 56'
DF 14 Darren Carr Yellow card upward-facing green arrow 87'
Manager:
Tony Pulis

Man of the Match:
Vince Bartram (Gillingham)[1]

Match rules:

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Three named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

See also

1999 Football League play-offs

References

  1. ^ a b Parry, Haydn (2000). Never Look Back: The Official Account of The Gills 1999/2000 Promotion Season. Gillingham Football Club plc. p. 14.
  2. ^ Grant, Michael (30 May 1999). "Manchester's Wembley march aims to dispose of City's blues". Sunday Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 11 August 2008 – via FindArticles.
  3. ^ "Manchester City". Football Club History Database. Richard Rundle. Archived from the original on 28 June 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Shoot-out success for City". BBC Sport. 30 May 1999. Retrieved 11 August 2008.
  5. ^ "Premier League final day as it happened". BBC Sport. 13 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 August 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  6. ^ "The Joy of Six: Football League play-off finals". The Guardian. London. 24 May 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  7. ^ "Football: Dickov: May best man win". Sunday Mirror. London. 30 May 1999. Retrieved 30 October 2013 – via TheFreeLibrary.com.
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