1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final
The 1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final was a two-legged football match played on 31 May and 3 June 1989, between Port Vale faced Bristol Rovers to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division. The top two teams of the 1988–89 Football League Third Division season gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 1989–90 season in the Second Division. From 1990 onwards, play-off finals would be one-legged affairs decided at Wembley Stadium, or an appropriate neutral stadium.
 Vale Park pictured in July 2006. | |||||||
| Event | 1988–89 Football League Third Division | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| First leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 31 May 1989 | ||||||
| Venue | Twerton Park, Bath | ||||||
| Referee | Allan Gunn (Sussex) | ||||||
| Attendance | 9,042 | ||||||
| Second leg | |||||||
| |||||||
| Date | 3 June 1989 | ||||||
| Venue | Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent | ||||||
| Referee | Keith Hackett (Sheffield & Hallamshire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 17,343 | ||||||
It was the first time either Port Vale or Bristol Rovers played a play-off final, with play-offs only being introduced to English football for the first time two years previously. However Rovers' rivals Bristol City had been defeated in last year's play-off finals after losing the replay 4–0. In the semi-finals, Vale defeated Preston North End and Bristol Rovers beat Fulham. The first leg of the final finished 1–1, with Vale's talisman Robbie Earle equalising in the 73rd-minute after Gary Penrice had given Rovers the lead in the first half. In the second leg, Earle was the hero once again, scoring the only goal of the match with a 52nd-minute header.
Port Vale ended the following season eleventh in the Second Division, 13 points outside the play-offs and 13 points above the relegation zone. Bristol Rovers went on to secure promotion as champions of the Third Division, finishing two points ahead of Bristol City in second and six points ahead of third-placed Notts County.
Route to the final
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 46 | 26 | 14 | 6 | 96 | 49 | +47 | 92 |
| 2 | Sheffield United | 46 | 25 | 9 | 12 | 93 | 54 | +39 | 84 |
| 3 | Port Vale | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 84 |
| 4 | Fulham | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 69 | 67 | +2 | 75 |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 74 |
| 6 | Preston North End | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 79 | 60 | +19 | 72 |
| Pos=Position, P=Games played, W=Wins, D=Draws, L=Losses, F=Goals for, A=Goals against, GD=Goals difference, Pts=Points | |||||||||
Port Vale had finished the regular 1988–89 season in third place in the Third Division, the third tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Rovers. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic promotion places and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Vale had finished level on points with second-place Sheffield United, but their inferior goal difference cost them automatic promotion.[2] Rovers finished fifth, ten points behind the Vale.[1] Over the course of 46 matches both clubs had only lost ten matches, Vale's superior goal scoring helped them to win five matches more than Rovers.
Vale's opponents for the play-off semi-final were Preston North End, managed by Rudge's predecessor John McGrath, and the first leg was played on the plastic pitch at Deepdale in Preston. Vale sold their 3,500 allocation for the game in three days.[2] Preston's Nigel Jemson put the home side in front on 16 minutes, before Robbie Earle levelled the score at 1–1 after a John Jeffers cross was flicked on by Darren Beckford.[2][3] There was a pitch invasion by the Preston fans after a fire erupted under the wooden slats of their stands. Stoke-on-Trent North MP Joan Walley called for an enquiry at Parliament, but no enquiry was made.[4] The return leg was held at Vale Park three days later.[2] Beckford opened the scoring on 11 minutes after latching on to a Ron Futcher flick on, only for Mark Patterson to again level the tie just two minutes later.[2] Futcher had the chance to take the lead with a penalty, only to hit the bar, before Beckford scored two goals in quick succession to claim a hat-trick and secure a 4–2 aggregate victory.[2]
Rovers faced Fulham in their semi-final play-off, and the first leg was played at Twerton Park, Bath, a place Bristol Rovers had called their home ground since being forced to leave Eastville Stadium in 1986. Rovers claimed a 1–0 win thanks to a goal from Gary Penrice.[5] The second leg was played three days later at Craven Cottage, London. Fulham's record of conceding a further 16 goals than Rovers over the course of the season showed and the Bristol team went through in emphatic style, winning 4–0 away with goals from Billy Clark, Ian Holloway, Dennis Bailey and Andy Reece.[6]
| Bristol Rovers | Round | Port Vale | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Legs | Semi-finals | Opponent | Result | Legs |
| Fulham | 5–0 | 1–0 home; 4–0 away | Preston North End | 4–2 | 1–1 away; 3–1 home | |
Match
Background
It was the first time either Port Vale or Bristol Rovers played a play-off final. Vale had previously posted two mid-table finishes following their promotion into the third tier in 1986. Rovers meanwhile had spent most of the decade in the third tier following relegation from the second tier in 1981. In the two league matches played between the clubs during the regular season, the two teams played out a 2–2 draw at Twerton Park in April, before Vale won the home fixture 1–0 in what was the penultimate game of the campaign. Port Vale had conceded fewer goals than any other team in the Third Division in the 1988–89 season.[7] No team in the Football League had picked up as many home league draws as Rovers, with 11, whereas only the bottom two clubs of the Third Division had won fewer home fixtures. The referee for the home match was Allan Gunn from Sussex and the referee for the away fixture was 1981 FA Cup final referee and Sheffield & Hallamshire County Football Association representative Keith Hackett.[8][9] Vale quickly sold out their 1,500 ticket allocation at the cramped Twerton Park, whilst 4,000 Rovers fans secured tickets at the more spacious Vale Park.[2] Simon Mills had to postpone his honeymoon to play in the final.[2] The second leg would be the first time Port Vale would play a competitive fixture in June.[2] Port Vale were strong favourites.[2]
Summary
First leg
The Port Vale first 11 were largely the same eleven that defeated Preston, but with Gary West starting in place of Alan Webb.[10] John Jeffers saw a good chance to open the scoring go begging on the 30th minute mark following a Darren Beckford flick-on from a corner kick.[11] It was Rovers that were the first to score; keeper Nigel Martyn smashed the ball upfield and Gary Penrice volleyed home over a stranded Mark Grew following a Devon White flick-on.[11] Futcher headed into the net just before half-time only to find his goal disallowed for offside.[11] Vale dominated the second half and it was Earle who equalised seventeen minutes from time to level the tie, heading home a Futcher cross.[11] The Vale nearly won the match in the dying moments, only for Beckford's header to be cleared off the goal-line.[11] Rovers manager Gerry Francis bemoaned Futcher being yellow-carded for an altercation with a defender when he believed a red was more appropriate, saying "It was an out and out nut!"[2]
Second leg
Port Vale manager John Rudge announced an unchanged team from the eleven that held Rovers to a 1–1 draw in the first leg.[10] The first half finished goalless despite large periods of pressure from the Vale, with Martyn in fine form in the Rovers goal.[2] Martyn saved a fine 30-yard strike from Dean Glover, whilst Beckford and Earle both came close to taking the lead.[2] The second half saw the "MBE" combination pay off, resulting in a Earle headed goal in the fifty-second minute (ironically Earle would be made an MBE years later); it was his 19th goal of the season and fourth headed goal against Bristol Rovers that season.[2] The "MBE" move was a Simon Mills corner, flicked on by Beckford and knocked into the net by Earle.[12] It was to prove the only goal of the match and a good-natured pitch invasion ensued.[2]
"We practised corners for hours, and it certainly paid off. Millsy could put in a brilliant delivery and as soon as it went toward Becky I knew it was coming my way. At the end of the game it was a huge feeling of relief that we had proved a point – we were good enough for promotion. We knew as a group of players we could play at a higher level and this gave us a chance to do so. I had a great time at Vale, and this was the greatest of them all.
Details
First leg
| Bristol Rovers | 1 – 1 | Port Vale |
|---|---|---|
Penrice  |
Earle |
          Bristol Rovers
|
 Port Vale
|
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Second leg
| Port Vale | 1 – 0 | Bristol Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Earle |
  Port Vale
|
Bristol Rovers
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Post-match
Rovers recovered excellently from the loss and the following season joined Port Vale in the second tier, coming up as champions.[13] Port Vale lasted in the second tier until 1991–92, when they were relegated in last-place.[14] Rovers suffered the same fate at the end of the 1992–93 season.[15] Goalkeeper Nigel Martyn would go on to bigger things, winning 23 caps for England and spending many seasons in the Premier League with Crystal Palace, Leeds United and Everton.[16] Midfielder Ian Holloway went on to manage Rovers in May 1996, with Gary Penrice as his assistant,[17] in the first job of a long managerial career.[18] Gerry Francis went on to manage Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, though would end his management career after a second spell at Rovers in 2001.[19]
Robbie Earle was sold on to Wimbledon for £775,000 in July 1991 and later appeared in the 1998 FIFA World Cup for Jamaica.[20] The man that effectively put Vale in the final, Darren Beckford, was himself sold to Norwich City for £925,000 in June 1991.[21] Mastermind of the success John Rudge continued to manage Vale until January 1999, when he was dismissed in a controversial decision by chairman Bill Bell.[22]
References
- "11v11 league table generator". www.11v11.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- Sherwin, Phil (1 June 2019). "Port Vale win 1989 play-off final to kick-off the best decade in club's history". Stoke Sentinel. Retrieved 3 June 2020.
- "Preston North End v Port Vale, 22 May 1989". 11v11.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- Kent, Jeff. The Valiants' Years: The Story of Port Vale. Witan Books. p. 286. ISBN 0-9508981-4-7.
- "Bristol Rovers v Fulham, 21 May 1989". 11v11.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- "Fulham v Bristol Rovers, 25 May 1989". 11v11.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- "Football Statistics Archive". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- "Bristol Rovers v Port Vale, 31 May 1989". 11v11.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- "Port Vale v Bristol Rovers, 03 June 1989". 11v11.com. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
- Kent, Jeff. The Port Vale Record 1879–1993. Witan Books. p. 225. ISBN 0-9508981-9-8.
- Sherwin, Phil (28 August 2010). "Memory Match: Bristol Rovers 1 Port Vale 1 May 31, 1989". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
- "Vale heroes completed mission thanks to MBE". The Sentinel. Stoke-on-Trent. 30 October 2009. Retrieved 31 October 2009.
- "1989-90 Season Final Football Tables". www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- "1991-92 Season Final Football Tables". www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- "1992-93 Season Final Football Tables". www.englishfootballleaguetables.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- "Nigel Martyn | Booking Agent | Talent Roster". MN2S. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- Murply, Alex (1 June 2005). Jones, Richard; Faragher Steve (eds.). Let's Have Coffee: The Tao of Ian Holloway. Bristol: Naked Guides Ltd. ISBN 0-9544177-9-8.
- "Managers: Ian Holloway". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
- Francis 1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final management career statistics at Soccerbase
- "1989 Football League Third Division play-off Final". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 10 July 2016.
- "Flown From the Nest - Darren Beckford". www.ex-canaries.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2020.
- Shaw, Phil (30 January 2011). "No grudge for Rudge, only old golden memories". The Independent. Retrieved 30 January 2011.