2006 Football League Championship play-off Final

2006 Football League Championship play-off Final

Leeds United Watford 0 3
Date	21 May 2006
Venue	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Referee	Mike Dean (Cheshire)
Attendance	64,736
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The 2006 Football League Championship play-off Final was an association football match played at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 21 May 2006. It determined the third and final team in the 2005–06 football season to be promoted to the Premier League, the highest division in the English football league system. It was the last play-off final to be held at the Millennium Stadium, as the new Wembley Stadium was completed in time for the 2007 final.

The final featured Watford, who had finished third in the Football League Championship, and Leeds United, who finished fifth. In the semi finals, Leeds and Watford defeated Preston North End and Crystal Palace respectively. Watford won the match 3–0, with opening goalscorer Jay DeMerit named[man of the match. Leeds goalkeeper Neil Sullivan scored an own goal to make the score 2–0 to Watford after 60 minutes, and the final goal was a penalty kick scored by Darius Henderson. Watford gained promotion

Route to the final

Watford finished the 2005–06 Football League Championship in third place with 81 points, two places and 3 points above Leeds. In the play-off semi finals, Watford faced London side Crystal Palace, who had finished in sixth position. The first leg was held at Crystal Palace's ground, Selhurst Park, on 6 May 2006. Goals from Watford players Marlon King, Ashley Young and Matthew Spring gave them a 3–0 win. The second leg at Watford's Vicarage Road stadium finished 0–0, thus giving Watford a 3–0 aggregate victory and a place in the final.

Leeds' semi final opponents were Preston, who had finished the Championship season in fourth position. Leeds hosted the first leg, but it was Preston who took the lead with a goal from David Nugent in the 48th minute. Eddie Lewis equalised for Leeds in the 74th minute to salvage a 1–1 draw. In the second leg, at Preston's home Deepdale, Rob Hulse and Frazer Richardson scored for Leeds, handing them a 2–0 win on the day and a 3–1 aggregate victory.

Watford			Round	Leeds
Opponent	Result	Legs	Semi-finals	Opponent	Result	Legs
Crystal Palace	3–0	3–0 away; 0–0 home		Preston	3–1	1–1 home; 2–0 away

Match

Details

21 May 2006 15:00 BST	Leeds United	0 – 3	Watford	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 64,736 Referee: Mike Dean (Cheshire)
		Report	DeMerit  25' Sullivan  57' (o.g.) Henderson  84' (pen.)

Leeds United

Watford

LEEDS UNITED: GK 1 Neil Sullivan RB 2 Gary Kelly CB 6 Paul Butler (c) CB 8 Sean Gregan 84' LB 26 Matthew Kilgallon RM 15 Frazer Richardson 45' CM 20 Jonathan Douglas CM 21 Shaun Derry CM 17 Liam Miller 62' LM 11 Eddie Lewis CF 10 Rob Hulse Substitutes: GK 13 Ian Bennett MF 14 Steve Stone MF 19 Eirik Bakke 84' FW 28 Robbie Blake 45' FW 9 David Healy 62' Manager: Kevin Blackwell

WATFORD: GK 26 Ben Foster RB 12 Lloyd Doyley CB 4 Malky Mackay CB 6 Jay Demerit LB 3 Jordan Stewart RM 2 James Chambers 72' CM 25 Matthew Spring CM 8 Gavin Mahon (c) LM 15 Ashley Young CF 9 Marlon King CF 29 Darius Henderson Substitutes: GK 1 Alec Chamberlain DF 23 Adrian Mariappa MF 7 Chris Eagles MF 20 Al Bangura 72' FW 18 Hameur Bouazza Manager: Adrian Boothroyd

MATCH RULES 90 minutes. 30 minutes of extra-time if necessary. Penalty shootout if scores still level. 5 named substitutes. Maximum of 3 substitutions.

Statistics

	Leeds	Watford
Goals scored	0	3
Shots on target	6	7
Shots off target	6	4
Ball possession	44%	56%
Corner kicks	8	9
Fouls committed	18	14
Offsides	2	3
Yellow cards	3	3
Red cards	0	0

Source: Watford F.C.

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