The EFL Play-Offs came to their conclusion this weekend with each of the three play-off finals commencing and delivering moments that fans will never forget. With that being said, join me as we through the two best moments from each of the EFL’s Play-Off Finals.
A Summary Of The Play-Off Semi-Finals
Just as they had in previous years, the play-off semi finals delivered in their purest form with 12 teams vying to make the play-off final across the EFL’s respective 3 leagues.
In the Championship, Sheffield United created a comfortable first-leg lead following their defeat of Bristol City 3-0, this followed the sending off of Rob Dickie who conceded a penalty. This score was then matched in the second to put the Blades into the play-off final with a record-breaking 6-0 aggregate win.
In the other Championship semi-final, Sunderland left it late to steal the win away at Coventry in the first leg with Wilson Isidor capitalising on a mistake to give the Black Cats a lead going into the second leg. In that second leg, Coventry took the lead in the second half putting the tie level on aggregate and sending it to extra time. It wasn’t until Dan Ballard stepped up in the 120th minute to header the ball into the Sky Blues net that Sunderland were able to secure their spot at Wembley.
In League One, Leyton Orient and Stockport County played out an entertaining 2-2 first leg at Brisbane Road with Orient scoring a penalty late on to ensure the tie was level going into the second leg. In the second leg, Orient scored early through a smartly worked free kick before County equalized late in the second leg forcing the game to penalties. And, following a series of Stockport misses, Leyton Orient were able to secure their spot in the play-off final.
In the second League One semi-final, Wycombe Wanderers and Charlton Athletic played out a 0-0 draw in the first leg leaving the tie goalless going to the Valley. For large spells of the game, it looked like the tie would remain goalless until Matty Gooden stepped up to slot the ball in the back of the net and send Charlton to Wembley.
Finally, in League Two, Chesterfield entered as the in-form team out of the 4 teams in the play-offs. However, Walsall were able to wrap up a spot at Wembley following both a 2-0 win away at Chesterfield through goals from Taylor Allen and Alfie Chang. This was reinforced with a 2-1 win at the Bescot Stadium in a game that saw Charlie Lakin and Albert Admonah score.
The final EFL play-off semi-final takes us to two sides that were in the battle for automatic promotion in Notts County and AFC Wimbledon. In the first-leg, the Wombles were able to pick up a win at Meadow Lane following a Riley Harbottle header. This was further reinforced at Plough Lane where Wimbledon were able to pick up another 1-0 win to secure their spot in the League Two play-off final.
EFL Championship – Sunderland vs Sheffield United
Patterson’s Sublime Save
Our first top 6 moment fell inside the opening 2 minutes of the Championship Play-Off final with Anthony Patterson making an excellent left handed save to deny Kieffer Moore from 8 yards out who had sent a header towards the bottom right corner. In reflection, this save was crucial for the Black Cats in the Play-Off Final and hence lands itself in our top 6 moments.
The Sunderland Fightback
Our second addition to this list is the Sunderland fightback from 1-0 down. When Sheffield United finished off a lovely break through Tyreece Campbell’s chip over Patterson, it looked like the Blades were going to finally win a play-off final after several times of missing out.
However, this is Sunderland we are talking about. The side who had won their play-off semi-final in the 120th minute and the side whose slogan for their play-off campaign was “Till The End”.
And the Black Cats embraced this slogan quite literally in their play-off final performance. Firstly, an equaliser from Eliezer Mayenda inside the closing 15 minutes put the game back on level terms. Then, the unbelievable happened when Tommy Watson picked up the ball from 30 yards out, drove at the Blades defence before curling the ball into the bottom right corner to give Sunderland the lead in the 95th minute.
The scenes that followed were things football lovers dream of. Limbs in every block, Watson with his shirt off, the entire Black Cats bench running down the touchline to join the celebrations. Sunderland promoted in the most dramatic way possible to give their fans a taste of Premier League football for the first time since 2017. A deserved addition to our top 6 moments.
EFL League One – Charlton Athletic vs Leyton Orient
Macaulay’s Magic Moment
This game won’t be remembered as well as some of the other League One play-off finals we’ve had over the years (Sheffield Wednesday vs Barnsley etc) but if we are ranking it on moments, this has to fall pretty high.
In a tight affair, Macaulay Gillesphey’s free kick from around 25 yards out into the bottom right corner was the only thing that could separate the two London sides. But even with this, the nature of the free-kick, the occasion and moment it was scored in just makes it that bit better. Hence, it falls within our top 6 moments.
A Mastery In Seeing The Game Out
When 11 minutes of additional time was signalled due to an issue with the VAR system used at all play-off finals this season, some Charlton fans may have been dreading the worst.
But what followed was a mastery in seeing the game out. Nervy? Of course. But, for Charlton – who will play Championship football for the first time in 5 years – it was their final test to show that they deserved to lift the play-off trophy and that they deserved to be members of the EFL Championship next season and they delivered hence putting this moment in our list.
EFL League Two – Walsall vs AFC Wimbledon
Hippolyte’s Magic
It was always going to take a magical moment in a play-off final to secure promotion and in first half additional time, Miles Hippolyte stepped up to deliver just that with his right-footed shot deflecting in off a Walsall defender past Tommy Simkin to the reaction of limbs from the Wimbledon fans.
The goal that gave AFC Wimbledon League One status again and the strike that emulated the heroes of the Wombles 2016 Play-Off success whilst creating a spot in Wimbledon folklore for themselves – a worthy addition to this list.
Wimbledon’s Defensive Defiance
Following Hippolyte’s magic strike in the first half, a Walsall resistance and fightback would be expected and this is exactly what the Saddlers delivered with Sadler’s side coming closest to scoring in the 50th minute where Jamile Matt backheeled a shot past Owen Goodman and looked to be rolling into the net.
However, this would not be the case with play-off semi-final hero Riley Harbottle racing back to clear the shot off the line and to deny League Two’s best attack their moment at Wembley. This makes it our final addition to our list but not as less important as the 5 others that line up beside it.