2006 Football League play-offs

Football League play-offs

Season	2005–06
Champions	Watford (Championship) Barnsley (League One) Cheltenham Town (League Two)
Matches played	15
Goals scored	31 (2.07 per match)
Biggest home win	Grimsby 2–1 Lincoln (League Two)
Biggest away win	Crystal Palace 0–3 Watford (Championship)
Highest scoring	Hud'field 1–3 Barnsley Barnsley 2–2 Swansea (4 goals)
Highest attendance	64,736 – Leeds v Watford (Championship final)
Lowest attendance	5,936 – Wycombe v Cheltenham (League Two semi-final)
Average attendance	22,720
← 2005 2007 →

The Football League play-offs for the 2005–06 season were held in May 2006, with the finals taking place at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for the last time. 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 and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the League Two table. The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the finals, with the winners of these matches gaining promotion for the following season.

Background

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

In the Championship, Watford, who were aiming to return to the top flight for the first time since 2000, finished 9 points behind second placed Sheffield United, who in turn finished 16 points behind champions Reading, who were promoted to the top flight for the first time in the club's history. Preston North End who missed out on promotion from playoffs the season before and have not been in the top flight since 1961, finished in fourth place in the table. Leeds United who are aiming to bounce back to the Premier League at the second attempt, finished in fifth place. Crystal Palace finished 3 points behind Leeds United and were looking for a place back in the Premiership after relegation on final day of last season.

Championship

Main article: 2005–06 Football League Championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Watford	46	22	15	9	77	53	+24	81
4	Preston North End	46	20	20	6	59	30	+29	80
5	Leeds United	46	21	15	11	57	38	+19	78
6	Crystal Palace	46	21	12	14	67	48	+19	75

Semi-finals

First leg

5 May 2006

19:45

Leeds United	1–1	Preston North End
Lewis 74'	Report	Nugent 48'

Elland Road, Leeds

Attendance: 35,239

Referee: Phil Crossley

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6 May 2006

12:15

Crystal Palace	0–3	Watford
	Report	King 46' Young 67' Spring 85'

Selhurst Park, London

Attendance: 22,880

Referee: Mike Jones

Second leg

8 May 2006

19:45

Preston North End	0–2	Leeds United
	Report	Hulse 56' Richardson 61'

Deepdale, Preston

Attendance: 20,383

Referee: Mike Thorpe

Leeds United win 3–1 on aggregate.

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9 May 2006

19:45

Watford	0–0	Crystal Palace
	Report

Vicarage Road, Watford

Attendance: 19,041

Referee: Steve Tanner

Watford won 3–0 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2006 Football League Championship play-off final

21 May 2006

15:00

Leeds United	0–3	Watford
	Report	DeMerit 25' Sullivan 57' (o.g.) Henderson 84' (pen.)

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 64,736

Referee: Mike Dean

League One

Main article: 2005–06 Football League One

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Brentford	46	20	16	10	72	52	+20	76
4	Huddersfield Town	46	19	16	11	72	59	+13	73
5	Barnsley	46	18	18	10	62	44	+18	72
6	Swansea City	46	18	17	11	78	55	+23	71

Semi-finals

First leg

11 May 2006

19:45

Barnsley	0–1	Huddersfield Town
	Report	Taylor-Fletcher 85'

Oakwell, Barnsley

Attendance: 16,127

Referee: Paul Taylor

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11 May 2006

19:45

Swansea City	1–1	Brentford
Ricketts 87'	Report	Tabb 29'

Liberty Stadium, Swansea

Attendance: 19,060

Referee: Keith Stroud

Second leg

14 May 2006

12:15

Brentford	0–2	Swansea City
	Report	Knight 8', 15'

Griffin Park, Brentford

Attendance: 10,652

Referee: Graham Laws

Swansea City won 3–1 on aggregate.

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15 May 2006

19:45

Huddersfield Town	1–3	Barnsley
Heckingbottom 65' (o.g.)	Report	Hayes 58' (pen.) Reid 71' Nardiello 78'

Galpharm Stadium, Huddersfield

Attendance: 19,223

Referee: Chris Foy

Barnsley won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2006 Football League One play-off final

27 May 2006

15:00

Barnsley	2–2 (a.e.t.)	Swansea City
Hayes 19' Nardiello 62'	Report	Fallon 28' Robinson 40'
Penalties
Hayes McPhail Heckingbottom Kay	4–3	Trundle Britton Akinfenwa Tudur Jones Tate

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 55,419

Referee: Lee Mason

League Two

Main article: 2005–06 Football League Two

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Grimsby Town	46	22	12	12	64	44	+20	78
5	Cheltenham Town	46	19	15	12	65	53	+12	72
6	Wycombe Wanderers	46	18	17	11	72	56	+16	71
7	Lincoln City	46	15	21	10	65	53	+12	66

Semi-finals

First leg

13 May 2006

12:05

Lincoln City	0–1	Grimsby Town
	Report	Jones 22'

Sincil Bank, Lincoln

Attendance: 8,037

Referee: Lee Mason

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13 May 2006

18:05

Wycombe Wanderers	1–2	Cheltenham Town
Mooney 90'	Report	Finnigan 43' Guinan 75'

Adams Park, High Wycombe

Attendance: 5,936

Referee: Andy Hall

Second leg

16 May 2006

19:45

Grimsby Town	2–1	Lincoln City
Futcher 60' Jones 82'	Report	Robinson 27'

Blundell Park, Grimsby

Attendance: 8,062

Referee: Mike Dean

Grimsby Town won 3–1 on aggregate.

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18 May 2006

19:45

Cheltenham Town	0–0	Wycombe Wanderers
	Report

Whaddon Road, Cheltenham

Attendance: 6,813

Referee: Nigel Miller

Cheltenham Town won 2–1 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2006 Football League Two play-off final

28 May 2006

15:00

Cheltenham Town	1–0	Grimsby Town
Guinan 63'	Report

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Attendance: 29,196

Referee: Paul Taylor

External links

• Football League website