1999 Football League Second Division play-off Final

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1999 Football League Second Division play-off Final
Event 1998–99 Football League Second Division
Manchester City Gillingham
2 2
Manchester City won 3–1 on penalties
Date 30 May 1999
Venue Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match Vince Bartram (Gillingham)[1]
Referee Mark Halsey (Lancashire)
Attendance 76,935
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The 1999 Football League Second Division playoff 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 Division Two 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 Football 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 approximately nine minutes from the end, 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 four 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 team-mates.

Match

Details

30 May 1999
15:00 BST
Manchester City 2–2 (a.e.t.) Gillingham
Horlock Goal 90'
Dickov Goal 90+5'		 Report Asaba Goal 81'
Taylor Goal 87'
  Penalties  
Horlock Penalty scored
Dickov Penalty missed
Cooke Penalty scored
Edghill Penalty scored		 3–1 Penalty missed Smith
Penalty missed Pennock
Penalty scored Hodge
Penalty missed Butters
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 76,935
Referee: Mark Halsey (Hertfordshire)
Manchester City
Gillingham
GK 1 England Nicky Weaver
RB 2 England Lee Crooks Substituted off 85'
LB 3 England Richard Edghill
CB 4 Netherlands Gerard Wiekens Booked
CB 5 Scotland Andy Morrison (c) Substituted off 61'
LM 6 Northern Ireland Kevin Horlock
CM 7 England Michael Brown Substituted off 61'
CM 8 Northern Ireland Jeff Whitley
CF 9 Scotland Paul Dickov
CF 10 Bermuda Shaun Goater
RM 11 England Terry Cooke
Substitutes:
FW 12 Wales Gareth Taylor Booked Substituted in 85'
DF 13 England Tony Vaughan Substituted in 61'
MF 14 England Ian Bishop Substituted in 61'
Manager:
England Joe Royle
GK 1 England Vince Bartram
RWB 2 England Nicky Southall
CB 3 England Barry Ashby
CM 4 England Paul Smith
CB 5 England Guy Butters
CB 6 England Adrian Pennock
LWB 7 England Mark Patterson Substituted off 105'
CM 8 England Andy Hessenthaler (c)
CF 9 England Carl Asaba Substituted off 87'
CM 10 England Mick Galloway Substituted off 56'
CF 11 England Robert Taylor Booked
Substitutes:
MF 12 England John Hodge Substituted in 105'
MF 13 England Mark Saunders Substituted in 56'
DF 14 England Darren Carr Booked Substituted in 87'
Manager:
Wales Tony Pulis

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

MATCH RULES

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

References

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  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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