2005 Football League One play-off final
The 2005 Football League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 29 May 2005 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, between Hartlepool United and Sheffield Wednesday. It determined the third and final team to gain promotion from Football League One to the Football League Championship. The top two teams of the 2004–05 Football League One season, Luton Town and Hull City, gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table took part in play-off semi-finals. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2005–06 season in the Championship. The losing semi-finalists were Tranmere Rovers and Brentford. The referee for the match, which kicked off in front of 59,808 spectators, was Phil Crossley. Late in the first half, Craig Rocastle played a one-two with Lee Peacock before crossing to Jon-Paul McGovern who scored to put Sheffield Wednesday ahead at half-time. Early in the second half, a long throw-in from Ritchie Humphreys found first-half substitute Eifion Williams who equalised for Hartlepool. Jon Daly, who had been on the pitch for a minute, scored to put Hartlepool into the lead with a header from Gavin Strachan's free-kick in the 71st minute. In the 81st minute, Drew Talbot was brought down in the penalty area by Chris Westwood which the referee adjudged to have been a foul: he awarded a penalty to Sheffield Wednesday and sent off Westwood. Steven MacLean took the spot kick which Hartlepool goalkeeper Dimitrios Konstantopoulos was unable to keep out. With three minutes remaining, McGovern shot over the Hartlepool bar and regular time ended with score at 2–2, sending the match into extra time. Four minutes into the first period of additional time, Glenn Whelan scored it 3–2 to Sheffield Wednesday and Talbot secured the victory for Sheffield Wednesday when he scored in the 120th minute to make it 4–2 to see his side promoted to the Championship. In their following season, Sheffield Wednesday finished in 19th place in the Championship, three places above the relegation zone. Hartlepool ended their next season in 21st position in League One and were relegated to League Two for the 2006–07 season. Route to the final Sheffield Wednesday finished the regular 2004–05 season in fifth place in Football League One, the third tier of the English football league system, one place ahead of Hartlepool United. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Football League Championship and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third team to be promoted. Sheffield Wednesday finished fourteen points behind Hull City (who were promoted in second place) and twenty-six behind league winners Luton Town. Hartlepool United's opponents in their play-off semi-final were Tranmere Rovers with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place on 13 May 2005 at Victoria Park in Hartlepool. In the 32nd minute, Jon Daly flicked on a long throw from Ritchie Humphreys, and Adam Boyd struck a shot past goalkeeper