1997 Football League Third Division play-off Final
Northampton Town Swansea City
1 0
Date24 May 1997
VenueWembley Stadium, London
RefereeTerry Heilbron (Newton Aycliffe)
Attendance46,804

The 1997 Football League Third Division play-off Final was an association football match which was played on 24 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Northampton Town and Swansea City to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Third Division to the Second Division. The top three teams of the 1996–97 Football League Third Division, Carlisle United, Fulham and league winners Wigan Athletic, gained automatic promotion to the Second Division, while the teams placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-offs. The winners of the play-off semi-finals competed for the final place for the 1997–98 season in the Second Division. The losing semi-finalists were Chester City and Cardiff City.

The match, refereed by Terry Heilbron, was played in front of 46,804 supporters. In a goalless first half, Carl Heggs came close to scoring with a volley which Andy Woodman, the Northampton Town goalkeeper, saved. Late in the second half, Northampton Town were awarded a free kick which John Frain struck against the Swansea wall, but the referee ordered it be re-taken. On the second attempt, Frain scored to give his side a 1–0 victory and promotion to the Second Division.

In their next season, Northampton Town finished in fourth place in the Second Division to qualify for the play-offs. There, they lost 1–0 to Grimsby Town in the 1998 Football League Second Division play-off final. Swansea City ended their following season in 21st position in the Third Division.

Route to the final

Football League Third Division final table, leading positions[1]
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Wigan Athletic 46 26 9 11 84 51 +33 87
2 Fulham 46 25 12 9 72 38 +34 87
3 Carlisle United 46 24 12 10 67 44 +23 84
4 Northampton Town 46 20 12 14 67 44 +23 72
5 Swansea City 46 21 8 17 62 58 +4 71
6 Chester City 46 18 16 12 55 43 +12 70
7 Cardiff City 46 20 9 17 57 55 +2 69

Northampton Town finished the regular 1996–97 season in fourth position in the Football League Third Division, the fourth tier of the English football league system, one place and one point ahead of Swansea City. Both therefore missed out on the three automatic places for promotion to the Second Division and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the fourth promoted team. Northampton Town finished twelve points behind Carlisle United (who were promoted in third place), and fifteen behind second-placed Fulham and league winners Wigan Athletic (who had superior goal difference to Fulham).[1]

In their play-off semi-final, Northampton Town faced Cardiff City, with the first match of the two-legged tie taking place at Ninian Park in Cardiff on 11 May 1997.[2] After a goalless first half, Northampton Town were reduced to ten players when Mark Cooper was sent off for violent conduct with 20 minutes of the match remaining. Seven minutes later, Sean Parrish scored with a lob from the edge of the Cardiff City penalty area to give Northampton Town a 1–0 victory.[3] The second leg was held at Sixfields Stadium in Northampton three days later.[4] Ian Sampson put Northampton Town ahead midway through the first half with a header and three minutes later, Cardiff's Jeff Eckhardt was sent off for the use of an elbow. Jason Fowler scored for Cardiff in the 36th minute before goals from Ray Warburton and John Gayle made it 3–1. Simon Haworth scored a late goal for Cardiff but the match ended 3–2 to Northampton Town who progressed to the final with a 4–2 aggregate victory.[5]

Swansea City's opposition in their play-off semi-final was Chester City with the first leg being held at the Deva Stadium in Chester on 11 May 1997.[6] The match was ill-disciplined with nine players being booked. David Flitcroft had a goal disallowed for offside and the match ended in a 0–0 draw.[3] The second leg took place at Vetch Field in Swansea three days later.[7] In the eighth minute, Swansea's defender Steve Jones broke his right leg and was taken away in an ambulance, shortly before Chester's Chris Priest was dismissed for two yellow cards. Swansea scored twice in first-half stoppage time, with goals from Dave Thomas and Steve Torpey. Carl Heggs extended Swansea's lead when he scored with a left-footed volley in the 62nd minute, and the match ended 3–0, with the Welsh team progressing to the final with the same aggregate score.[8]

Match

Background

This was Swansea City's second appearance in a play-off final, having won the 1988 Football League Fourth Division play-off final 5–4 on aggregate against Torquay United. They had played in the fourth tier of English football since being relegated in the 1989–90 season.[9] It was their second competitive match at Wembley Stadium, having made their debut at the national stadium three years before where they won the 1994 Football League Trophy Final in a penalty shoot-out against Huddersfield Town.[10] Northampton Town were appearing in the first play-off final in their history, and had also played in the fourth tier since suffering relegation in the 1989–90 season.[11] It was also their first match at the national stadium.[12]

In the two matches between the sides during the regular season, Swansea City won both: a 1–0 victory at Vetch Field in November 1996 was followed by a 2–1 win at Sixfields the following February.[13] Dave Penney was Swansea City's top scorer during the regular season with 13 goals (all in the league).[14] Northampton Town's leading scorer was Neil Grayson who had scored 12 league goals during the season.[15] The referee for the match was Terry Heilbron from Newton Aycliffe.[16]

Summary

The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 24 May 1997 at Wembley Stadium in front of a crowd of 46,804.[17] Five minutes into the match, a volley from Swansea's Heggs was tipped over the crossbar by Andy Woodman, the Northampton Town goalkeeper.[18] In the 25th minute, Jan Mølby conceded possession to Swansea's Grayson who passed to Parrish, but Christian Edwards blocked his shot. Early in the second half, John Frain crossed for Christian Lee but his header was off-target.[19] Later in the half, Frain crossed for Gayle whose header just clipped the Swansea crossbar. Soon after, Northampton Town were awarded a free kick on the edge of the Swansea penalty area. Frain struck the ball into the wall but the referee adjudged that the defenders had encroached and ordered the free kick be retaken. On the second attempt, and in second-half stoppage time, Frain's shot found its way into the back of the Swansea goal, giving Northampton a 1–0 lead which they held onto for the last seconds to secure victory and promotion to the Second Division.[18]

Details

Northampton Town1–0Swansea City
Frain 90' Report
Attendance: 46,804
Referee: Terry Heilbron
Northampton Town
Swansea City
GK1Andy Woodman
CB6David Renniedownward-facing red arrow 40'
CB5Ray Warburton
CB4Ian Sampson
RWB2Ian ClarksonYellow card
LWB3John Frain
CM11Roy HunterYellow card
CM7Sean Parrish
FW10Christian Lee
FW9John GayleYellow card downward-facing red arrow 76'
FW8Neil GraysonYellow card
Substitutes:
MF27Dean Peerupward-facing green arrow 40'
MF14Ali Gibb
FW12Jason Whiteupward-facing green arrow 76'
Manager:
Ian Atkins
GK1Roger Freestone
DF8Dave Penney
DF5Christian Edwards
DF4Keith Walker
DF3João Moreira
MF6Kwame AmpaduYellow card
MF10Jan Mølby
MF11Jonathan CoatesYellow card
FW9Steve Torpey
FW7Carl Heggs
FW2Dai ThomasYellow carddownward-facing red arrow 83'
Substitutes:
FW12Linton Brownupward-facing green arrow 83'
MF15Shaun Chapple
DF14Ryan Casey
Manager:
Jan Mølby

Post-match

Swansea City's player-manager Mølby was critical of the referee's decision to allow the decisive free kick to be retaken, suggesting "if they hadn't scored from the second [free kick], the referee would have let them take it again ... There is no crueller way to lose at Wembley than that."[20] Winning goalscorer Frain was elated, recounting that "six months ago I was rotting away in Birmingham's reserves. Now I've scored a last minute winner at Wembley, the stuff you dream about when you are kicking a ball in a park as a little kid."[20] Northampton Town's manager Ian Atkins reflected on his club's recent history, noting "The club was in a state of despair when I arrived and we have gone through a lot in recent years" but that now the "whole town has gone barmy!"[21]

In their next season, Northampton Town finished in fourth place in the Second Division to qualify for the play-offs. There, they lost 1–0 to Grimsby Town in the 1998 Football League Second Division play-off final.[22] Mølby was dismissed from his position the following October with his side fifth from bottom.[23] Micky Adams replaced Mølby temporarily and two weeks later Alan Cork was appointed as the full-time manager:[24] he led Swansea to 21st position in the Third Division that season.[25]

References

  1. 1 2 "League Division Three end of season table for 1996–97 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 31 August 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Cardiff City v Northampton Town, 11 May 1997". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  3. 1 2 "Parrish pumps up final hope". The Guardian. 12 May 1997. p. 24. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Northampton Town v Cardiff City, 14 May 1997". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "Cobblers to meet Swansea". The Independent. 15 May 1997. p. 29. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021 – via Gale.
  6. ↑ "Chester City v Swansea City, 11 May 1997". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 30 January 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "Swansea City v Chester City, 14 May 1997". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 31 January 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  8. ↑ "Swansea battle for return ticket". The Times. 15 May 1997. p. 42. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 7 June 2021 – via Gale.
  9. ↑ "Swansea City". Football Club History Database. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Gwilym, Andrew (8 March 2018). "The story of Swansea City's 1994 Wembley triumph and why they were booed off just two days after winning the cup". Wales Online. Media Wales. Archived from the original on 9 November 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  11. ↑ "Northampton Town". Football Club History Database. Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  12. ↑ "Club history". Northampton Town F.C. Archived from the original on 11 March 2017. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  13. ↑ "Swansea City football club: record v Northampton Town". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  14. ↑ "Swansea squad details – 1996/97 – Player Appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  15. ↑ "Northampton squad details – 1996/97 – Player Appearances". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  16. ↑ Engel, Matthew (26 May 1997). "Re-Frain is Simply the Best on a day of Cobblers galore". The Guardian. p. 23. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "Northampton Town v Swansea City, 24 May 1997". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  18. 1 2 "Northampton sing a joyous refrain". The Independent. 26 May 1997. p. S6. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021 – via Gale.
  19. ↑ Fox, Norman (25 May 1997). "Swansea run over by Frain". Independent on Sunday. p. S23. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021 – via Gale.
  20. 1 2 Gibb, Ian (25 May 1997). "Frain breaks Swansea hearts". The Observer. p. 55. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ Connolly, Kevin (25 May 1997). "Frain's stirring finale gives Cobblers a lift". The Sunday Times. p. 2. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021 – via Gale.
  22. ↑ "League Division 2 end of season table for 1997–98 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  23. ↑ Duxbury, Nick (8 October 1997). "Football: Sacked Molby's parting shot". The Independent. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  24. ↑ "Classic seasons: 1998–99". Swansea City A.F.C. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  25. ↑ "League Division 3 end of season table for 1997–98 season". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 7 September 2018. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
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