2003 Football League First Division play-off Final

2003 Football League First Division play-off Final

Sheffield United Wolverhampton Wanderers 0 3
Date	26 May 2003
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Man of the Match	Matt Murray (Wolves)[1]
Referee	Steve Bennett (Kent)
Attendance	69,473
Weather	Mostly cloudy 14 °C (57 °F)[2]

The 2003 Football League First Division playoff final was a football match played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on 26 May 2003 at the end of the 2002–03 season. The match determined the third and final team to gain promotion from the First Division to the Premier League, and was contested by Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves won the match 3–0, with three first-half goals, taking them back to the top flight for the first time in nineteen years.

Route to the final

2002–03 First Division:
final table, leading positions

Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1.	Portsmouth	46	29	11	06	97	45	98
2.	Leicester City	46	26	14	06	73	40	92
3.	Sheffield United	46	23	11	12	72	52	80
4.	Reading	46	25	04	17	61	46	79
5.	Wolverhampton Wanderers	46	20	16	10	81	44	76
6.	Nottingham Forest	46	20	14	12	82	50	74
Pos=Position P=Games played W=Wins D=Draws L=Losses F=Goals for A=Goals against Pts=Points

Sheffield United finished the season in third place in the First Division, twelve points behind the runaway top two Portsmouth and Leicester City. They had enjoyed a successful season, being positioned in the play-off zone almost throughout and reaching the semi-finals of both the FA Cup^[3] and League Cup.^[4]

Wolves had had an inconsistent first half to the campaign after the disappointment of their late slump in form during the previous season which had lost them promotion to local rivals West Bromwich Albion. A stronger run of form in the closing months however, earned them a second successive place in the play-offs with a fifth-place finish, four points behind their opponents.

Both clubs had confirmed their play-off place with games to spare, before meeting in their penultimate league match - a 3–3 draw at Bramall Lane.^[5] In their first meeting of the season Sheffield United had won 3–1 at Molineux.^[6]

In the play-off semi-finals, Sheffield United drew at sixth-placed Nottingham Forest 1–1 in the first leg,^[7] before a thrilling 4–3 extra time victory at Bramall Lane took them to the final.^[8]

Wolves meanwhile faced Reading, winning the first leg 2–1 after coming from behind^[9] and edging a narrow 1–0 success in the away leg to progress 3–1 on aggregate.^[10] This marked their first play-off semi final success at this level in four attempts.

Match

Summary

Mark Kennedy opened the scoring in the sixth minute with a low drive into the corner of the net from 20 yards.^[11][12] Their lead was doubled sixteen minutes later when Nathan Blake headed in from close range at a corner.^[11] A three-goal lead was established moments shortly before the half time interval when Kenny Miller converted after a quick counterattack.^[11]

Sheffield United manager Neil Warnock was sent to the stands at half time after arguing with referee Steve Bennett.^[11] He saw his side offered a route back into the contest when they were awarded a penalty in the 48th minute after Wolves' defender Paul Butler was adjudged to have handled. However, Michael Brown's spotkick was pushed away by goalkeeper Matt Murray.^[11]

Details

Sheffield United v Wolverhampton Wanderers

26 May 2003 15:00 BST

Sheffield United	0–3	Wolverhampton Wanderers
	Report	Kennedy  6' Blake  22' Miller  45'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 69,473 Referee: Steve Bennett (Kent)

Sheffield United

Wolverhampton Wanderers

SHEFFIELD UNITED: GK 23 Paddy Kenny RB 36 John Curtis CB 6 Rob Page (c) CB 17 Phil Jagielka LB 2 Robert Kozluk RM 16 Peter Ndlovu  64' CM 7 Michael Brown  79' CM 26 Mark Rankine  46' LM 18 Michael Tonge  77' CF 9 Carl Asaba CF 34 Steve Kabba  74' Substitutes: GK 24 Gary Kelly MF 8 Stuart McCall  46' MF 12 Nick Montgomery FW 10 Paul Peschisolido  64' FW 14 Wayne Allison  74' Manager: Neil Warnock  45'

WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS: GK 13 Matt Murray RB 8 Denis Irwin  44' CB 5 Joleon Lescott CB 6 Paul Butler LB 3 Lee Naylor RM 7 Shaun Newton CM 10 Colin Cameron CM 23 Paul Ince (c) LM 11 Mark Kennedy CF 16 Kenny Miller  75' CF 9 Nathan Blake  88' Substitutes: GK 1 Michael Oakes DF 24 Marc Edworthy MF 4 Alex Rae FW 12 Adam Proudlock  88' FW 29 Dean Sturridge  75' Manager: Dave Jones

MATCH OFFICIALS Assistant referees: Jim Devine (Cleveland) Glenn Turner (Derbyshire) Fourth official: Rob Styles (Waterlooville)

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

References

1. "Hayward's dream come true". BBC Sport. 27 May 2003.
2. "History for Cardiff, United Kingdom". Wunderground.com. 26 May 2003.
3. "Arsenal sink brave Blades". BBC Sport. 13 April 2003.
4. "Liverpool conquer brave Blades". BBC Sport. 21 January 2003.
5. "Sheff Utd 3-3 Wolves". BBC Sport. 26 April 2003.
6. "Wolves 1-3 Sheff Utd". BBC Sport. 5 October 2002.
7. "Blades hold Forest". BBC Sport. 10 May 2003.
8. "Blades overcome brave Forest". BBC Sport. 14 May 2003.
9. "Wolves edge past Reading". BBC Sport. 10 May 2003.
10. "Wolves hold off Reading". BBC Sport. 14 May 2003.
11. "How Wolves won promotion". BBC Sport. 26 May 2003.
12. "Goal of the Week: Kennedy's corker". BBC Sport. 26 May 2003.