2021 EFL League One play-off Final

2021 EFL League One
play-off final

Blackpool Lincoln City 2 1
Report
Date	30 May 2021 (2021-05-30)
Venue	Wembley Stadium, London
Referee	Tony Harrington
Attendance	9,751
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The 2021 EFL League One play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 30 May 2021 at Wembley Stadium, London, to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from EFL League One, the third tier of English football, to the EFL Championship. The top two teams of 2020–21 EFL League One, Hull City and Peterborough United, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the clubs placed from third to sixth place in the table will take part in 2021 English Football League play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2021–22 season in the Championship.

Route to the final

Blackpool finished the regular 2020–21 season in third place in EFL League One, the third tier of the English football league system, two places and three points ahead of Lincoln City. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the EFL Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Blackpool finished seven points behind Peterborough United (who were promoted in second place) and nine behind league winners Hull City.

Lincoln City's opposition for their play-off semi-final were Sunderland with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at Sincil Bank in Lincoln on 19 May 2021. In a goalless first half, Brennan Johnson came closest to breaking the deadlock but his shot hit the Sunderland post. After the interval, the visitors hit the Lincoln goalframe twice within a minute before Tom Hopper scored from close range to give Lincoln a 1–0 lead. With 13 minutes to go, Johnson charged down a clearance from Sunderland goalkeeper Lee Burge to score Lincoln's second and they won the match 2–0. The second leg was held three days later at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland. Ross Stewart side-footed the ball into the Lincoln City net after 13 minutes from an Aiden McGeady cross before Charlie Wyke scored the 31st goal of his season 18 minutes later to make it 2–0 to Sunderland. Hopper scored with a header eleven minutes after half-time to half the deficit for Lincoln. In the 63rd minute, Josh Scowen's tackle on Conor McGrandles was deemed a foul, but the resulting penalty from Jorge Grant was saved by Burge. The game ended 2–1 to Sunderland but with an aggregate score of 3–2 to Lincoln City, they progressed to the final.

Blackpool faced Oxford United in their semi-final and the first leg was played at the Kassam Stadium in Oxford on 18 May 2021. Oliver Turton opened the scoring for the visitors midway through the first half when he scored from a mis-hit clearance by Josh Ruffels. Ellis Simms doubled Blackpool's lead in the 26th minute and scored his second with 16 minutes of the match remaining with a low strike past Jack Stevens in the Oxford goal, to give his side a 3–0 victory. The second leg took place three days later at Bloomfield Road in Blackpool. Matty Taylor gave Oxford the lead with a low shot in the seventh minute of the match but Elliot Embleton equalised four minutes later with a curling strike. Kenny Dougall made it 2–1 to Blackpool in the 13th minute, flicking the ball in from Dan Ballard's pass. Rob Atkinson scored seven minutes into the second half before Jerry Yates put Oxford ahead once again two minutes later. Olamide Shodipo scored in the 74th minute to make it 3–3, which was the final score, and Blackpool progressed to the final with a 6–3 aggregate victory.

Match

Background

Blackpool have made six previous appearances in finals from eight play-offs, winning five of them, most recently the 2017 EFL League Two play-off Final in which they defeated Exeter City 2–1 at Wembley. They have played in League One since that promotion and last played in the Championship in the 2014–15 season. Lincoln City have featured in six play-offs, including five in succession between 2003 and 2007, but only progressed to the final twice, losing on both occasions. They have played in League One since gaining promotion as champions of League Two in the 2018–19 season and have not featured in the second tier of English football since the 1960–61 season. In the matches between the sides during the regular season, Lincoln City won away at Bloomfield Road 3–2 in October 2020 while the return game at Sincil Bank the following April ended in a 2–2 draw. Yates is Blackpool's top scorer during the regular season with 21 goals, while Taylor led the scoring for Lincoln City with 19.

Details

30 May 2021 15:00 BST	Blackpool	2–1	Lincoln City	Wembley Stadium, London Attendance: 9,751 Referee: Tony Harrington
	Dougall  34', 54'	Report	Turton  1' (og)

Blackpool

Lincoln City

GK 1 Chris Maxwell (C) RB 20 Ollie Turton CB 26 Daniel Ballard 48' CB 3 James Husband 84' LB 29 Luke Garbutt 8' CM 39 Kevin Stewart CM 12 Kenneth Dougall 90+2' RW 15 Demetri Mitchell 69' AM 32 Elliot Embleton 79' LW 8 Keshi Anderson 79' CF 9 Jerry Yates 90' Substitutes: GK 28 Stuart Moore DF 2 Jordan Lawrence-Gabriel DF 4 Jordan Thorniley 90' DF 21 Marvin Ekpiteta MF 18 Grant Ward 79' MF 22 CJ Hamilton 79' FW 14 Gary Madine 69' Head Coach: Neil Critchley

GK 1 Alex Palmer RB 2 Regan Poole CB 22 Timothy Eyoma CB 16 Joe Walsh 88' LB 7 Tayo Edun CM 23 Liam Bridcutt (C) 66' CM 18 Conor McGrandles CM 10 Jorge Grant 80' RW 20 Brennan Johnson CF 9 Tom Hopper 63' LW 27 Morgan Rogers Substitutes: GK 31 Sam Long DF 4 Lewis Montsma 88' DF 15 Cohen Bramall MF 6 Max Sanders MF 26 Harry Anderson FW 11 Anthony Scully 80' FW 19 Callum Morton 63' Manager: Michael Appleton

Statistics

	Blackpool	Lincoln City
Possession	47%	53%
Goals scored	2	1
Shots on target	7	0
Shots off target	4	7
Fouls committed	14	12
Corner kicks	3	6
Yellow cards	4	1
Red cards	0	0

External links

• BBC Sport