2015 Conference Premier play-off Final

2015 Conference Premier play-off Final

Wembley Stadium, venue for the match
Event 2014–15 Football Conference
Bristol Rovers Grimsby Town
1 1
Bristol Rovers won 5–3 on penalties
Date 17 May 2015
Venue Wembley Stadium, London
Referee Ross Joyce
Attendance 47,029

The 2015 Conference Premier play-off Final, known as the 2015 Vanarama Conference Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match between Bristol Rovers and Grimsby Town played on 17 May 2015 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the thirteenth Conference Premier play-off Final, the eighth to be played at Wembley and the first to feature either side.

The two participants finished the regular season in 2nd and 3rd respectively to qualify for the play-offs. Bristol Rovers overcame local rivals Forest Green Rovers 3–0 over two legs while Grimsby Town disposed of Eastleigh 5–1.

Bristol Rovers won the match 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Rovers therefore became the first club since Carlisle United in 2005 to secure an immediate return to the Football League,[1] after their relegation on the last day of the previous season. For Grimsby Town, it was the third successive season that they had failed to win promotion via the play-offs and were condemned to a sixth straight season in the fifth tier. The attendance of 47,029 was a record for a Conference Premier match,[2] beating the previous best of 42,669 when Oxford United defeated York City to win promotion at the same venue in 2010.

Route to the final

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
2Bristol Rovers 46251657334+3991
3Grimsby Town 462511107440+3486
4Eastleigh 462410128761+2682
5Forest Green Rovers 46221688054+2679[lower-alpha 1]
  1. ↑ Forest Green Rovers were deducted three points for fielding an ineligible player in their win over Southport on 9 August 2014.

Semi-finals

First leg
Second leg

Match summary

Grimsby Town got off to the perfect start when a purposeful run from Nathan Arnold set up Lenell John-Lewis to shoot from inside the penalty area. His shot was saved by Bristol Rovers goalkeeper Will Puddy but it deflected off John-Lewis' face into the goal, giving the Mariners the lead after just 1:38. Grimsby kept up the pressure and were unfortunate not to be playing against ten men as Puddy handled Ollie Palmer's shot outside the area. However, referee Ross Joyce deemed the offence only worthy of a yellow card. Just over 10 minutes later and Rovers were level after Grimsby failed to deal with a Jake Gosling corner, leaving Ellis Harrison to drive the ball past James McKeown.

The second half proved a much less open affair as players tired, defenders came out on top and errors were few and far between. Extra time was much the same, as chances for Chris Lines for Rovers and John-Lewis for Grimsby came to nothing. In the last minute of the extra time, Rovers manager Darrell Clarke switched Puddy for substitute keeper Steve Mildenhall for the inevitable penalty shoot-out, in a move reminiscent of that by Dutch coach Louis van Gaal at the previous year's World Cup.[3] Clarke later stated that he felt Mildenhall would have "a better chance with his bigger frame."[3]

The first five penalties of the shoot-out were successfully converted before Jon-Paul Pittman blazed his over the bar in front of the Grimsby fans. The following two were also successful, leaving veteran Lee Mansell with the deciding spot kick, which he powered in to McKeown's left.

Match details

17 May 2015 (2015-05-17)
14:00 BST
Bristol Rovers 1 – 1 (a.e.t.) Grimsby Town
Harrison  29' Report John-Lewis  2'
  Penalties  
Lines
Taylor
Brown
Balanta
Mansell 		5 – 3 Disley
John-Lewis
Pittman
Clay
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 47,029
Referee: Ross Joyce
Bristol Rovers
Grimsby Town
GK 25 England Will Puddy  18'  120+1'
RB 4 Wales Tom Lockyer
CB 5 Northern Ireland Mark McChrystal (c)
CB 6 England Tom Parkes
LB 3 England Lee Brown
RM 11 Gibraltar Jake Gosling  75'
CM 14 England Chris Lines
CM 7 England Lee Mansell
LM 23 England Andy Monkhouse
ST 10 England Matty Taylor  35'
ST 17 Wales Ellis Harrison  80'
Substitutes:
GK 1 England Steve Mildenhall  120+1'
DF 2 England Daniel Leadbitter
MF 8 England Ollie Clarke
MF 29 Colombia Ángelo Balanta  75'
FW 27 England Nathan Blissett  80'
Manager:
England Darrell Clarke
GK 1 Republic of Ireland James McKeown
RB 6 Northern Ireland Carl Magnay  41'
CB 22 Democratic Republic of the Congo Aristote Nsiala
CB 5 England Shaun Pearson
LB 35 Scotland Gregor Robertson  74'
RM 7 Wales Jack Mackreth
CM 8 England Craig Disley (c)
CM 4 England Scott Brown  87'  99'
LM 20 England Nathan Arnold
ST 14 England Lenell John-Lewis
ST 33 England Ollie Palmer  70'
Substitutes:
DF 19 Wales Danny Parslow  74'
MF 16 England Craig Clay  99'
MF 34 England Christian Jolley
FW 10 England Ross Hannah
FW 18 England Jon-Paul Pittman  70'
Manager:
England Paul Hurst

Match officials

  • Assistant referees:
    • Paul Johnson
    • Joe Johnson
  • Fourth official: Martin Coy

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. ↑ "Bristol Rovers 1-1 Grimsby". BBC Sport. bbc.co.uk/sport. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  2. ↑ "Record Crowd See Rovers Return". Football Conference. footballconference.co.uk. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Bristol Rovers 1-1 Grimsby Town (5-3 pens): The Pirates secure promotion to League Two... and copy Holland at 2014 World Cup by changing goalkeeper in 120th minute!". Mail Sport. dailymail.co.uk. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
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