1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final

The 1987 Football League Third Division play-off final was an association football match contested by Gillingham and Swindon Town over two-legs on 22 May 1987 and 25 Mat 1987 to determine which club would play the next season in the second division. Gillingham had finished in fifth while Swindon finished in third as they both competed in the third division. They were joined in the play-offs by 21st place from the division above in Sunderland and Wigan Athletic who finished fourth that season. Gillingham defeated Sunderland in their play-off by away goals while Swindon Town defeated Wigan Athletic in the other play-off.[1]

1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final

Event	1986–87 Football League Third Division
Gillingham Swindon Town 2 2
Swindon Town won 2–0 in a replay
First leg
Gillingham Swindon Town 1 0
Date	22 May 1987
Venue	Priestfield, Gillingham
Attendance	16,775
Second leg
Swindon Town Gillingham 2 1
Date	25 May 1987
Venue	County Ground, Swindon
Attendance	14,382

The first leg of the final was played at Priestfield Stadium, in front of a crowd of 16,775. Dave Smith scored the only goal of the game to give Gillingham a one goal lead heading into the second leg. Three days later at County Ground, 14,382 people saw the match head into a replay after Karl Elsey scored the opening goal of the game in the 17th minute. This was followed by two goals from Peter Coyne and Charlie Henry to give Swindon the 2-1 victory in the match. This meant that a replay was held at the Selhurst Park where two goals from Steve White secured Swindon Town spot in the second division.

The following season, Swindon Town finished in 12th position in the second division while Gillingham finished the following season in the third division in 13th, only nine points ahead of the relegation zone.

Match Details

First leg

Gillingham v Swindon Town

22 May 1987	Gillingham	1–0	Swindon Town	Priestfield Stadium, Gillingham
	Smith  81'			Attendance: 16,775

1 Phil Kite 2 Paul Haylock 3 Graham Pearce 4 Les Berry 5 Trevor Quow 6 Colin Greenall 7 Howard Pritchard 8 Dave Shearer 9 Dave Smith 10 Karl Elsey 11 Tony Cascarino Manager: Keith Peacock

1 Fraser Digby 2 Dave Hockaday 3 Phil King 4 Leigh Barnard 5 Tim Parkin 6 Colin Calderwood 7 Mark Jones 8 Chris Kamara 9 Jimmy Quinn 10 Dave Bamber 11 Steve Berry Substitutes: 12 Charlie Henry Manager: Lou Macari

Second leg

Swindon Town v Gillingham

25 May 1987	Swindon Town	2–1 (2–2 agg.)	Gillingham	County Ground, Swindon
	Coyne  61' Henry  80'		Elsey  17'	Attendance: 14,382

1 Fraser Digby 2 Dave Hockaday 3 Phil King 4 Peter Coyne 5 Tim Parkin 6 Colin Calderwood 7 Dave Bamber 8 Chris Kamara 9 Steve Berry 10 Steve White 11 Leigh Barnard Substitutes: 12 Charlie Henry Manager: Lou Macari

1 Phil Kite 2 Paul Haylock 3 Graham Pearce 4 Les Berry 5 Trevor Quow 6 Colin Greenall 7 Howard Pritchard 8 Dave Shearer 9 Steve Lovell 10 Karl Elsey 11 Tony Cascarino Substitutes: 12 Dave Smith Manager: Keith Peacock

Replay

Swindon Town v Gillingham

29 May 1987	Swindon Town	2–0	Gillingham	Selhurst Park, Croydon
	White  2', 65'			Attendance: 18,491

1 Fraser Digby 2 Dave Hockaday 3 Phil King 4 Peter Coyne 5 Tim Parkin 6 Colin Calderwood 7 Dave Bamber 8 Steve Berry 9 Charlie Henry 10 Steve White 11 Leigh Barnard Manager: Lou Macari

1 Phil Kite 2 Paul Haylock 3 Graham Pearce 4 Les Berry 5 Trevor Quow 6 Colin Greenall 7 Howard Pritchard 8 Dave Shearer 9 Martin Robinson 10 Karl Elsey 11 Tony Cascarino Substitutes: 12 Dave Smith Manager: Keith Peacock

References

1. 1987 Football League Third Division play-off Final at the English National Football Archive (subscription required)