1988 Football League play-offs

The Football League play-offs for the 1987–88 season were held in May 1988, with the two-legged finals taking place at the finalists home stadiums. The play-off semi-finals were also played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th and 5th place in the Football League Second Division and Football League Third Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th placed teams in the Football League Fourth Division table, along with a team from the league above. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches either gaining promotion or avoiding relegation for the following season.

Football League play-offs

Season	1987–88
Champions	Middlesbrough (Second Division) Walsall (Third Division) Swansea City (Fourth Division)
Matches played	19
Goals scored	50 (2.63 per match)
Biggest home win	Walsall 4–0 Bristol City (Third Division)
Biggest away win	Notts County 1–3 Walsall (Third Division) Bristol City 1–3 Walsall (Third Division)
Highest scoring	Torquay 3–3 Swansea (6 goals)
Highest attendance	40,550 – Chelsea v Middlesbrough (Second Division final)
Lowest attendance	4,602 – Torquay v Scunthorpe (Fourth Division semi-final)
Average attendance	16,094
← 1987 1989 →

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. For the first three seasons the final was played over two legs but this was changed to a single match at Wembley Stadium from 1990. Additionally, for the 1986–87 and 1987-88 play-offs the semi-finals included a team from the next league who had finished above the relegation positions up, e.g. one team from the first tier and three teams from the second tier. The team from the higher division would be relegated if they failed to win the play-offs, with the play-off winner being promoted in their place.

Second Division

Main article: 1987–88 Football League Second Division

First Division relegation places

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
18	Chelsea	40	9	15	16	50	68	–18	42
19	Portsmouth	40	7	14	19	36	66	–30	35
20	Watford	40	7	11	22	27	51	–24	32
21	Oxford United	40	6	13	21	44	80	–36	31

Second Division play-off places

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Middlesbrough	44	22	12	10	63	36	+27	78
4	Bradford City	44	22	11	11	74	54	+20	77
5	Blackburn Rovers	44	21	14	9	68	52	+16	77

Semi-finals

First leg

15 May 1988

12:00

Bradford City	2–1	Middlesbrough
Goddard 67' McCall		Senior 68'

Valley Parade, Bradford

Attendance: 16,017

Referee: David Scott

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15 May 1988

15:00

Blackburn Rovers	0–2	Chelsea
		Durie 46' Nevin 68'

Ewood Park, Blackburn

Attendance: 16,568

Referee: John Key

Second leg

18 May 1988

19:30

Chelsea	4–1	Blackburn Rovers
K. Wilson 26', 77' Dixon 55' Durie 83'		Sellars 61'

Stamford Bridge, London

Attendance: 22,757

Referee: Allan Gunn

Chelsea won 6–1 on aggregate.

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18 May 1988

19:30

Middlesbrough	2–0 (a.e.t.)	Bradford City
Slaven 35' Hamilton 91'

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 25,868

Referee: Joe Worrall

Middlesbrough won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 1988 Football League Second Division play-off final

First leg

25 May 1988

19:30

Middlesbrough	2–0	Chelsea
Slaven 30' Senior 81'

Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough

Attendance: 25,531

Referee: Keith Hackett

Second leg

28 May 1988

15:00

Chelsea	1–0	Middlesbrough
Durie 18'

Stamford Bridge, London

Attendance: 40,550

Referee: Brian Hill

Middlesbrough won 2–1 on aggregate and were promoted to the First Division. Chelsea was relegated to the Second Division.

Third Division

Main article: 1987–88 Football League Third Division

Second Division relegation places

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
21	Sheffield United	44	13	7	24	45	74	–29	46
22	Reading	44	10	12	22	44	70	–26	42
23	Huddersfield Town	44	6	10	28	41	100	–59	28

Third Division play-off places

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
3	Walsall	46	23	13	10	68	50	+18	82
4	Notts County	46	23	12	11	82	49	+33	81
5	Bristol City	46	21	12	13	77	62	+15	75

Semi-finals

First leg

15 May 1988

15:30

Notts County	1–3	Walsall
Yates		Kelly Shakespeare

Meadow Lane, Nottingham

Attendance: 11,522

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15 May 1988

18:00

Bristol City	1–0	Sheffield United
Walsh

Ashton Gate, Bristol

Attendance: 25,335

Second leg

18 May 1988

19:30

Sheffield United	1–1	Bristol City
Morris 49'		Shutt 17'

Bramall Lane, Sheffield

Attendance: 19,056

Referee: George Courtney

Bristol City won 2–1 on aggregate.

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18 May 1988

19:30

Walsall	1–1	Notts County
Christie 60'		Yates 12'

Fellows Park, Walsall

Attendance: 8,901

Walsall won 4–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 1988 Football League Third Division play-off final

First leg

25 May 1988

19:45

Bristol City	1–3	Walsall
Walsh 40'		Christie 60' Kelly 78', 90'

Ashton Gate, Bristol

Attendance: 25,128

Referee: Joe Worrall

Second leg

28 May 1988

15:00

Walsall	0–2	Bristol City
		Newman 31' Shutt 64'

Fellows Park, Walsall

Attendance: 13,941

Referee: George Tyson

Walsall 3–3 Bristol City on aggregate - Walsall won 4-2 on pens to decide who would host the replay.

Replay

30 May 1988

15:00

Walsall	4–0	Bristol City
Kelly 12', 17', 63' Hawker 19'

Fellows Park, Walsall

Attendance: 13,007

Referee: George Courtney

Fourth Division

Main article: 1987–88 Football League Fourth Division

Third Division relegation places

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
21	Rotherham United	46	12	16	18	50	66	–16	52
22	Grimsby Town	46	12	14	20	48	58	–10	50
23	York City	46	8	9	29	48	91	–43	33
24	Doncaster Rovers	46	8	9	29	40	84	–44	33

Fourth Division play-off places

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
4	Scunthorpe United	46	20	17	9	76	51	+25	77
5	Torquay United	46	21	14	11	66	41	+25	77
6	Swansea City	46	20	10	16	62	56	0+6	70

Semi-finals

First leg

15 May 1988

12:00

Torquay United	2–1	Scunthorpe United
Dobson Caldwell		Flounders 71'

Plainmoor, Torquay

Attendance: 4,602

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15 May 1988

15:00

Swansea City	1–0	Rotherham United
McCarthy 85'

Vetch Field, Swansea

Attendance: 9,148

Second leg

18 May 1988

19:30

Rotherham United	1–1	Swansea City
Johnson 46'		McCarthy 19'

Millmoor, Rotherham

Attendance: 5,558

Swansea City won 2–1 on aggregate.

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18 May 1988

19:30

Scunthorpe United	1–1	Torquay United
Lister 81' (pen.)		Loram

Old Showground, Scunthorpe

Attendance: 6,483

Torquay United won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

Main article: 1988 Football League Fourth Division play-off final

First leg

25 May 1988

19:30

Swansea City	2–1	Torquay United
McCarthy Love 25'		McNichol 90'

Vetch Field, Swansea

Attendance: 10,825

Referee: Roger Milford

Second leg

28 May 1988

15:00

Torquay United	3–3	Swansea City
McNichol Caldwell		Raynor McCarthy .' (pen.) Davies

Plainmoor, Torquay

Attendance: 5,000

Swansea City won 5–4 on aggregate.

External links

• Football League website