2011 Football League Championship play-off Final

2011 Football League Championship play-off Final
Event 2010–11 Football League Championship
Reading Swansea City
2 4
Date 30 May 2011
Venue Wembley Stadium, London
Man of the Match Scott Sinclair (Swansea City)
Referee Phil Dowd
Attendance 86,581
Weather Light rain

The 2011 Football League Championship play-off Final was a football match contested by Reading and Swansea City on 30 May 2011 at Wembley Stadium to decide the third team to be promoted from the Championship to the Premier League for the 2011–12 season.[1]

Under Championship play-off rules, the final is contested by the two teams which secured an aggregate victory over two-legged semi-finals, with the team that finished sixth in the league table (Nottingham Forest) having played third (Swansea City), and fifth (Reading) having played fourth (Cardiff City).

Swansea City won the final by a scoreline of 4–2. The Welsh side went into half-time 3–0 up thanks to two goals from Scott Sinclair and a third from Stephen Dobbie. Reading came close to bringing the score level in the early stages of the second-half through a Joe Allen own goal and a headed goal from Matt Mills. Swansea however, secured victory in the 80th minute with their second penalty kick of the game, converted by Sinclair for his second career hat-trick.[2]

Venue controversy

Due to the UEFA Champions League 2011 final being held at Wembley Stadium on 28 May 2011, it appeared that the three Football League play-off finals may have to be played at a different venue for the first time since 2007 due to the double-booking of Wembley.

Manchester United's Old Trafford had been confirmed as a possible alternative, while Arsenal's Emirates Stadium and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff were also said to be under consideration to host the Championship, League One and League Two play-off finals.[3]

It was later confirmed that Wembley would host the Championship play-off final on 30 May, while Old Trafford would host the League Two and League One finals on 28 and 29 May respectively.[4]

Route to the final

The two-legged semi-finals determined that the final would be contested by Reading and Swansea City.

First legs

Nottingham Forest 0–0 Swansea City
Report
Attendance: 27,881
Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire)
Reading 0–0 Cardiff City
Report
Attendance: 21,485

Second legs

Swansea City 3–1 Nottingham Forest
Britton  28'
Dobbie  33'
Pratley  90+3'		 Report Earnshaw  80'
Attendance: 19,816

Swansea City won 3–1 on aggregate.

Cardiff City 0–3 Reading
Report Long  28', 45' (pen.)
McAnuff  84'
Attendance: 24,081

Reading won 3–0 on aggregate.

Pre-match

Accountancy firm Deloitte calculated that the Championship play-off final would again be worth about £90,000,000 to the winner, including over £40,000,000 of higher broadcast income, gate receipts and commercial income in the 2011-12 Premier League.

A win would also see Reading return to the Premier League after a three-year absence. Swansea City last played in England's top-flight in 1983, but a victory would make them the first Welsh team to enter the contemporary 'Premier League' since its establishment in 1992.[5]

Match

Summary

A hat-trick which included two penalty kicks from Scott Sinclair helped Swansea City secure promotion to the Premier League for the first time since 1983. Two goals in two first-half minutes for Sinclair, the first a penalty, and a third from Stephen Dobbie saw the Welsh side go into the dressing room at half-time with a seemingly comfortable 3–0 advantage.[6]

Television reports suggested that in the tunnel at half-time, Reading's assistant manager Nigel Gibbs and unused substitute Jay Tabb were both sent off by referee Phil Dowd.

Reading struck back early in the second half, however, through a Noel Hunt header which deflected in off Joe Allen for an own goal and a headed goal by Matt Mills to pull the score back to 3–2. Reading came close to an equaliser when Jem Karacan's shot was deflected onto the post, but Sinclair sealed it for the Swans with an 80th-minute penalty, and in doing so completing his second career hat-trick.[7]

Details

Reading 2–4 Swansea City
Allen  49' (o.g.)
Mills  57'		 Report Sinclair  21' (pen.), 22', 80' (pen.)
Dobbie  40'
Attendance: 86,581
Referee: Phil Dowd[8]
Reading
Swansea City
GK1Adam Federici
RB2Andy GriffinYellow card 8' 84'
CB5Matt Mills (c)
CB15Zurab KhizanishviliYellow card 12'
LB23Ian Harte
CM4Jem Karacan
CM8Mikele Leigertwood
RW14Jimmy Kébé
LW11Jobi McAnuffYellow card 39'
CF9Shane Long
CF10Noel Hunt 76'
Substitutes:
GK41Alex McCarthy
DF24Shaun Cummings
DF26Alex Pearce
MF7Jay TabbRed card
MF19Hal Robson-Kanu 84'
MF20Brian Howard
FW18Simon Church 76'
Manager:
Brian McDermott
GK1Dorus de Vries
RB22Àngel Rangel
CB16Garry Monk (c)
CB2Ashley Williams
LB5Alan Tate
CM37Leon Britton 77'
CM24Joe AllenYellow card 54' 89'
RW12Nathan Dyer
AM14Stephen Dobbie 55'
LW21Scott Sinclair
CF15Fabio BoriniYellow card 12'
Substitutes:
GK25Yves Ma-Kalambay
DF17Albert Serrán
MF8Darren Pratley 55'
MF27Mark GowerYellow card 82' 77'
MF29Jazz Richards
FW9Craig Beattie
FW19Luke Moore 89'
Manager:
Brendan Rodgers

Match officials:

  • Assistant referees:
    • Scott Ledger
    • Simon Long
  • Fourth official: Lee Mason
  • Reserve referee: Andrew Halliday

Match rules:

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

Statistics

Reading Swansea City
Total shots196
Shots on target114
Ball possession47%53%
Corner kicks161
Fouls committed184
Offsides30
Yellow cards33
Red cards10

Source: BBC Sport[7]

References

  1. ↑ The Football League | Match | Key Dates | Key dates Archived 14 June 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ↑ "Reading 2 – 4 Swansea". ESPN Soccernet. 30 May 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  3. ↑ Ogden, Mark (16 April 2010). "Old Trafford considered as venue for 2010–11 Football League play-off finals". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  4. ↑ "2011 Football League Play-off Final and Semi-final Dates". London Events 2011.
  5. ↑ "Championship play-off final win 'worth £90m'". BBC News. 29 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Congratulations Stephen Dobbie" 30 May 2001 www.qosfc.com
  7. 1 2 Fletcher, Paul (30 May 2011). "Reading 2–4 Swansea". BBC Sport. Retrieved 19 May 2012.
  8. ↑ "Match Official Appointments". The Football League.
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