1996 Football League play-offs

The Football League play-offs for the 1995–96 season were held in May 1996, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League First Division and Football League Second Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches gaining promotion for the following season.

Football League play-offs
Season1995–96
ChampionsLeicester City
(First Division)
Bradford City
(Second Division)
Plymouth Argyle
(Third Division)
Matches played15
Goals scored32 (2.13 per match)
Biggest home winPlymouth 3–1 Colchester
(Third Division)
Biggest away winBlackpool 0–3 Bradford
(Second Division)
Highest scoringCrewe 2–2 Notts County
Plymouth 3–1 Colchester
(4 goals)
Highest attendance73,573 – Crystal Palace v Leicester
(First Division final)
Lowest attendance4,931 – Crewe v Notts County
(Second Division semi-final)
Average attendance20,567
1995
1997

Background

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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.

First Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Crystal Palace 46 20 15 11 67 48 +19 75
4 Stoke City 46 20 13 13 60 49 +11 73
5 Leicester City 46 19 14 13 66 60 0+6 71
6 Charlton Athletic 46 17 20 9 57 45 +12 71

Semi-finals

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First leg
Charlton Athletic1–2Crystal Palace
Newton   1' Report Brown   65'
Veart   71'
Attendance: 14,618
Referee: John Kirkby

Leicester City0–0Stoke City
Attendance: 20,325
Referee: William Burns
Second leg
Crystal Palace1–0Charlton Athletic
Houghton   4' Report
Attendance: 22,880
Referee: Terry Heilbron

Crystal Palace won 3–1 on aggregate.


Stoke City0–1Leicester City
Parker   46'
Attendance: 21,037
Referee: Gurnam Singh

Leicester City won 1–0 on aggregate.

Final

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Crystal Palace1–2 (a.e.t.)Leicester City
Roberts   14' Parker   76' (pen.)
Claridge   120'
Attendance: 73,573
Referee: David Allison

Second Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Blackpool 46 23 13 10 67 40 +27 82
4 Notts County 46 21 15 10 63 39 +24 78
5 Crewe Alexandra 46 22 7 17 77 60 +17 73
6 Bradford City 46 22 7 17 71 69 0+2 73

Semi-finals

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First leg
Bradford City0–2Blackpool
Bonner   72'
Ellis   78'
Attendance: 14,273
Referee: Terry Heilbron

Crewe Alexandra2–2Notts County
Little   3'
Rivers   17'
Finnan   55'
Martindale   90'
Attendance: 4,931
Referee: David Allison
Second leg
Blackpool0–3Bradford City
Shutt   39'
Hamilton   68'
Stallard   78'
Attendance: 9,593
Referee: William Burns

Bradford City won 3–2 on aggregate.


Notts County1–0Crewe Alexandra
Martindale   61'
Attendance: 9,640
Referee: Kevin Lynch

Notts County won 3–2 on aggregate.

Final

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Bradford City2–0Notts County
Hamilton   8'
Stallard   75'
Attendance: 39,972
Referee: Gurnam Singh

Third Division

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
4 Plymouth Argyle 46 22 12 12 68 49 +19 78
5 Darlington 46 20 18 8 60 42 +18 78
6 Hereford United 46 20 14 12 65 47 +18 74
7 Colchester United 46 18 18 10 61 51 +10 72

Semi-finals

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First leg
Hereford United1–2Darlington
Smith   2' Gregan   27'
Blake   37'
Attendance: 6,622
Referee: Kevin Lynch

Colchester United1–0Plymouth Argyle
Kinsella   45'
Attendance: 6,511
Referee: Mick Pierce
Second leg
Plymouth Argyle3–1Colchester United
Evans   3'
Leadbitter   41'
Williams   85'
Kinsella   66'
Attendance: 14,525
Referee: John Kirkby

Plymouth Argyle won 3–2 on aggregate.


Darlington2–1Hereford United
Painter   17'
Appleby   47' (pen.)
White   65'
Attendance: 6,584
Referee: David Allison

Darlington won 4–2 on aggregate.

Final

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Darlington0–1Plymouth Argyle
Mauge   65'
Attendance: 43,431
Referee: William Burns
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