1992 Football League play-offs

Football League play-offs
Season 1991–92
Champions Blackburn Rovers
(Second Division)
Peterborough United
(Third Division)
Blackpool
(Fourth Division)
Matches played 15
Goals scored 41 (2.73 per match)
Biggest home win Leicester 5–0 Cambridge
(Second Division)
Biggest away win Huddersfield 1–2 Peterborough
(Third Division)
Highest scoring Blackburn 4–2 Derby
(6 goals)
Highest attendance 68,147 – Blackburn v Leicester
(Second Division final)
Lowest attendance 5,629 – Barnet v Blackpool
(Fourth Division semi-final)
Average attendance 18,510
← 1991
1993 →

The Football League play-offs for the 1991–92 season were held in May 1992, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium. The play-off semi-finals were also played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Second Division, the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division and the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place teams in the Football League Fourth Division table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches gaining promotion for the following season.

Second Division

The Second Division season finished with Ipswich Town as champions and Middlesbrough as runners-up gaining automatic promotion to the new FA Premier League. This left Derby County and Blackburn Rovers, the two biggest spending teams in the division, facing each other in the one playoff semi-final, while the other was contested between Leicester City and a Cambridge United side who successful style of long ball play had taken them to the brink of a unique third successive promotion, while Leicester had made their first serious promotion challenge since being relegated from the First Division five years earlier.

Blackburn won the first leg 4-2 at Ewood Park, and Derby's 2-1 win in the return leg at the Baseball Ground was not enough to prevent the Lancastrian side from going through to the final. In the other semi-final, Cambridge held Leicester to a 1-1 draw at the Abbey Stadium before losing the return leg 5-0 at Filbert Street.

The final - and a place in the new Premier League - was settled by a single goal as Blackburn beat Leicester thanks to a penalty by former Leicester striker Mike Newell, securing Blackburn's return to the top flight of English football after 26 years away.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3Derby County 46239146951+1878
4Leicester City 46238156255+777
5Cambridge United 461917106547+1874
6Blackburn Rovers 462111147053+1774

Semi-finals

First leg

10 May 1992
12:00
Cambridge United 1–1 Leicester City
O'Shea  76' Russell  44'
Abbey Stadium, Cambridge
Attendance: 9,225
Referee: John Martin

10 May 1992
15:00
Blackburn Rovers 4–2 Derby County
Sellars  35'
Newell  44'
Speedie  66', 70'		 Gabbiadini  2'
Johnson  14'
Ewood Park, Blackburn
Attendance: 19,677
Referee: Keith Hackett
Second leg

13 May 1992
19:45
Derby County 2-1 Blackburn Rovers
Comyn  23'
McMinn  74'		 Moran  49'
Baseball Ground, Derby
Attendance: 22,920
Referee: David Elleray

Blackburn Rovers won 5–4 on aggregate.

13 May 1992
19:45
Leicester City 5–0 Cambridge United
Wright  29', 60'
Thompson  35'
Russell  59'
Ormondroyd  64'
Filbert Street, Leicester
Attendance: 21,024
Referee: Martin Bodenham

Leicester City won 6–1 on aggregate.

Final

25 May 1992
15:00
Blackburn Rovers 1–0 Leicester City
Newell  27' (pen.)
Wembley Stadium, London
Attendance: 68,147
Referee: George Courtney

Third Division

Huddersfield Town's fourth season in the Third Division since relegation in 1988 saw their most serious promotion challenge in that time, but a third-place finish meant that they had to navigate a playoff semi-final clash with a Peterborough United side in the hunt for a second successive promotion. Peterborough went through, while Stockport County overcame Stoke City in the other semi-final to set up a playoff final clash between two teams who had both been promoted from the Fourth Division only a year earlier. Peterborough won the final 2-1 to reach the second tier of English football for the first time in their history; they were still among the newest ten clubs in the Football League having joined in 1960.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3Huddersfield Town 462212125938+2178
4Stoke City 462114116949+2077
5Stockport County 462210147551+2476
6Peterborough United 462014126558+774

Semi-finals

First leg

10 May 1992
12:00
Stockport County 1–0 Stoke City
Ward  41'
Edgeley Park, Stockport
Attendance: 7,537
Second leg

13 May 1992
19:45
Stoke City 1–1 Stockport County
Stein  81' Beaumont  1'
Victoria Ground, Stoke-on-Trent
Attendance: 16,170

Stockport County won 2–1 on aggregate.

Peterborough United won 4–3 on aggregate.

Final

Fourth Division

A year after losing the Fourth Division playoff final on penalties to Torquay United, Blackpool returned to Wembley for a showdown with Scunthorpe United and this time were the winning side as they triumphed on penalties after a 1-1 draw. The Seasiders had overcome league newcomers Barnet in their semi-final, with Scunthorpe overcoming Crewe Alexandra in the other semi-final.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
4Blackpool 422210107145+2674
5Scunthorpe United 42219126459+572
6Crewe Alexandra 422010126651+1570
7Barnet 42216158161+2069

Semi-finals

First leg

10 May 1992
13:00
Barnet 1–0 Blackpool
Carter  29'
Underhill, London
Attendance: 5,629

10 May 1992
15:00
Crewe Alexandra 2–2 Scunthorpe United
Hignett  6'
Naylor  39'		 Helliwell  17', 35'
Gresty Road, Crewe
Attendance: 6,063
Second leg

13 May 1992
19:30
Blackpool 2–0 Barnet
Groves  41'
Garner  57' (pen.)
Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Attendance: 7,588

Blackpool won 2–1 on aggregate.

13 May 1992
19:30
Scunthorpe United 2–0 Crewe Alexandra
Martin  83'
Hamilton  89'
Glanford Park, Scunthorpe
Attendance: 7,938

Scunthorpe United won 4–2 on aggregate.

Final

External links

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