2015 Football League play-offs

Football League play-offs

Season	2014–15
Champions	Norwich City (Championship) Preston North End (League One) Southend United (League Two)
Matches played	15
Goals scored	51 (3.4 per match)
Biggest home win	Middlesbrough 3–0 Brentford (Championship) Preston 3–0 Chesterfield (League One)
Biggest away win	Plymouth 2–3 Wycombe (League Two)
Highest scoring	Swindon 5–5 Sheffield United (10 goals)
Highest attendance	85,656 – Middlesbrough v Norwich (Championship Final)
Lowest attendance	5,183 – Stevenage v Southend United (League Two semi-final)
Average attendance	24,491
← 2014 2016 →

The Football League play-offs for the 2014–15 season began in May 2015 with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London.

The play-offs began at the semi-final stage with all semi-finals being played over two legs, 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 then advanced to the finals, with the winner of the final 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.

Championship

Main article: 2014–15 Football League Championship

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Norwich City	46	25	11	10	88	48	+40	86
4	Middlesbrough	46	25	10	11	68	37	+31	85
5	Brentford	46	23	9	14	78	59	+19	78
6	Ipswich Town	46	22	12	12	72	54	+18	78

Semi-finals

First leg

Brentford v Middlesbrough

8 May 2015 19:45

Brentford	1–2	Middlesbrough
Gray  54'	BBC Report	Vossen  26' Amorebieta  90+3'

Griffin Park, London Attendance: 11,691 Referee: Jonathan Moss

Ipswich Town v Norwich City

9 May 2015 12:15

Ipswich Town	1–1	Norwich City
Anderson  45'	BBC Report	Howson  41'

Portman Road, Ipswich Attendance: 29,166 Referee: Anthony Taylor

Second leg

Middlesbrough v Brentford

15 May 2015 19:45

Middlesbrough	3–0	Brentford
Tomlin  23' Kike  55' Adomah  78'	BBC Report

Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough Attendance: 33,266 Referee: Lee Mason

Middlesbrough won 5–1 on aggregate.

Norwich City v Ipswich Town

16 May 2015 12:15

Norwich City	3–1	Ipswich Town
Hoolahan  50' (pen.) Redmond  64' Jerome  76'	BBC Report	Smith  60'

Carrow Road, Norwich Attendance: 26,994 Referee: Roger East

Norwich City won 4–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2015 Football League Championship play-off Final

Middlesbrough v Norwich City

25 May 2015 15:00

Middlesbrough	0–2	Norwich City
	BBC Report	Jerome  12' Redmond  15'

Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 85,656 Referee: Mike Dean

League One

Main article: 2014–15 Football League One

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Preston North End	46	25	14	7	79	40	+39	89
4	Swindon Town	46	23	10	13	76	57	+19	79
5	Sheffield United	46	19	14	13	66	53	+13	71
6	Chesterfield	46	19	12	15	68	55	+13	69

Semi-finals

First leg

Chesterfield v Preston North End

7 May 2015 19:45

Chesterfield	0–1	Preston North End
	BBC Report	Beckford  6'

Proact Stadium, Chesterfield Attendance: 8,409 Referee: Mark Haywood

Sheffield United v Swindon Town

7 May 2015 19:45

Sheffield United	1–2	Swindon Town
Freeman  19'	BBC Report	Ricketts  51' Byrne  90+4'

Bramall Lane, Sheffield Attendance: 20,890 Referee: Darren Bond

Second leg

Preston North End v Chesterfield

10 May 2015 12:15

Preston North End	3–0	Chesterfield
Beckford  38', 87' Garner  62' (pen.)	BBC Report

Deepdale, Preston Attendance: 15,641 Referee: Andy D'Urso

Preston North End won 4–0 on aggregate.

Swindon Town v Sheffield United

11 May 2015 19:45

Swindon Town	5–5	Sheffield United
Gladwin  4', 10' Smith  18', 59' (pen.) Obika  84'	BBC Report	Thompson  19' (o.g.) Basham  38' Davies  65' Done  88' Adams  90'

County Ground, Swindon Attendance: 13,065 Referee: Keith Hill

Swindon Town won 7–6 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2015 Football League One play-off Final

Preston North End v Swindon Town

24 May 2015 17:30

Preston North End	4–0	Swindon Town
Beckford  3', 44', 57' Huntington  13'	Report

Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 48,236 Referee: Andrew Madley

League Two

Main article: 2014–15 Football League Two

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Wycombe Wanderers	46	23	15	8	67	45	+22	84
5	Southend United	46	24	12	10	54	38	+16	84
6	Stevenage	46	20	12	14	62	54	+8	72
7	Plymouth Argyle	46	20	11	15	55	37	+18	71

Semi-finals

First leg

Plymouth Argyle v Wycombe Wanderers

9 May 2015 19:45

Plymouth Argyle	2–3	Wycombe Wanderers
Ansah  86' Banton  89'	BBC Report	Hayes  10' Holloway  22' Craig  52'

Home Park, Plymouth Attendance: 14,175 Referee: Peter Bankes

Stevenage v Southend United

10 May 2015 18:35

Stevenage	1–1	Southend United
Parrett  51'	BBC Report	Corr  60'

Lamex Stadium, Stevenage Attendance: 5,183 Referee: Keith Stroud

Second leg

Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle

14 May 2015 19:45

Wycombe Wanderers	2–1	Plymouth Argyle
Hayes  7' Mawson  35'	BBC Sport	Brunt  70'

Adams Park, High Wycombe Attendance: 7,750 Referee: Nigel Miller

Wycombe Wanderers won 5–3 on aggregate.

Southend United v Stevenage

14 May 2015 19:45

Southend United	3–1 (a.e.t.)	Stevenage
Leonard  67' McLaughlin  108' Timlin  120'	BBC Sport	Pett  55'

Roots Hall, Southend-on-Sea Attendance: 8,998 Referee: Graham Scott

Southend United won 4–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 2015 Football League Two play-off Final

Southend United v Wycombe Wanderers

23 May 2015 17:30

Southend United	1–1 (a.e.t.)	Wycombe Wanderers
Pigott  120+2'	Report	Bentley  95' (o.g.)
	Penalties
Pigott Coker Leonard Payne Timlin Barrett Weston Bolger	7–6	Murphy Mawson Hayes Bloomfield Bean Jacobson Amadi-Holloway Wood

Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 38,252 Referee: Simon Hooper