2008 Football League play-offs

Football League play-offs

Season	2007–08
Champions	Hull City (Championship) Doncaster Rovers (League One) Stockport County (League Two)
Matches played	15
Goals scored	40 (2.67 per match)
Biggest home win	Doncaster 5–1 Southend (League One)
Biggest away win	Watford 0–2 Hull City (Championship) Carlisle United 0–2 Leeds (League One)
Highest scoring	Doncaster 5–1 Southend (6 goals)
Highest attendance	86,703 – Bristol City v Hull (Championship final)
Lowest attendance	6,371 – Wycombe v Stockport (League Two semi-final)
Average attendance	25,469
← 2007 2009 →

The Football League play-offs for the 2007–08 season were held in May 2008, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Championship and League One tables, and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in League Two. The semi-final winners progressed to the finals, with the winner of each match earning promotion for the following season.

Hull City won promotion to the Premier League after defeating Bristol City in the Championship final, 1–0 with a goal from their leading scorer Dean Windass. This marked the Tigers' first entry to the top division of English football in their existence.

In the League One final, another 1–0 victory saw Doncaster Rovers promoted ahead of Leeds United. Stockport County defeated Rochdale 3–2 in the League Two final. This meant all three clubs who had finished immediately below the automatic promotion places in their divisions were promoted.

Background

The Football League play-offs have been held every year since 1987. They take place for each of the three Football League divisions following the conclusion of the regular season and are contested by the four clubs finishing immediately below the automatic promotion places.

In the Championship, Hull City finished four points behind second-placed Stoke City, who were promoted with champions West Bromwich Albion. Bristol City - who were aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 1980 - finished in fourth place in their first season at Championship level for nine years. The other entrants, Crystal Palace and Watford, had both played in the Premier League before, with Palace's last spell in the top division ending in a final day relegation in 2005, a year after having won the play-offs. Watford had been relegated from the top flight in the previous season, having finished bottom, and were looking to return at the first attempt.

Championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Hull City	46	21	12	13	65	47	+18	75
4	Bristol City	46	20	14	12	54	53	0+1	74
5	Crystal Palace	46	18	17	11	58	42	+16	71
6	Watford	46	18	16	12	62	56	0+6	70

Semi-finals

First leg

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Second leg

Bristol City won 4–2 on aggregate.

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Hull City won 6–1 on aggregate.

Final

League One

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Doncaster Rovers	46	23	11	12	83	47	+24	80
4	Carlisle United	46	23	11	12	64	46	+18	80
5	Leeds United	46	27	10	9	72	38	+34	76*
6	Southend United	46	22	10	14	70	55	+15	76

• Leeds United were docked 15 points by the Football League due to the club not following Football League rules on clubs entering administration.^[1][2]

Semi-finals

First leg

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Second leg

Leeds United won 3–2 on aggregate.

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Doncaster Rovers won 5–1 on aggregate.

Final

League Two

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Stockport County	46	24	10	12	72	54	+18	82
5	Rochdale	46	23	11	12	77	54	+23	80
6	Darlington	46	22	12	12	67	40	+27	78
7	Wycombe Wanderers	46	22	12	12	56	42	+14	78

Semi-finals

First leg

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Second leg

Rochdale 3–3 Darlington on aggregate. Rochdale won 5–4 on penalties.

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Stockport County won 2–1 on aggregate.

Final

References

External links

• Football League website