1993 Football League play-offs
| Season | 1992–93 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
Swindon Town (First Division) West Bromwich Albion (Second Division) York City (Third Division) |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 47 (3.13 per match) |
| Biggest home win |
Crewe 5–1 Walsall (Third Division) |
| Biggest away win |
Walsall 2–4 Crewe (Third Division) |
| Highest scoring |
Leicester 3–4 Swindon (7 goals) |
| Highest attendance |
73,802 – Leicester v Swindon (First Division final) |
| Lowest attendance |
6,196 – Crewe v Walsall (Third Division semi-final) |
| Average attendance | 21,320 |
|
← 1992 1994 → | |
The Football League play-offs for the 1992–93 season were held in May 1993, 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.
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.
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Portsmouth | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 80 | 46 | +34 | 88 |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 72 | 56 | +16 | 79 |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 76 |
| 6 | Leicester City | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 71 | 64 | +7 | 76 |
Portsmouth, whose top scorer Guy Whittingham had found the net 42 times in Division One, only missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference. Fourth placed Tranmere Rovers had recorded the highest finish of their history and had yet to play in the top flight of English football. Swindon Town, who finished fifth, had won the playoff final three years earlier but promotion was then withdrawn due to financial irregularities. The last playoff place went to the previous season's beaten finalists, Leicester City.
In the end, it was Leicester and Swindon who went through to the final. Swindon took a 3-0 lead before Leicester clawed back to make it 3-3, only for Paul Bodin to score the winner and deliver top flight football to Swindon for the first time in their history.
Glenn Hoddle's impressive two-year spell as player-manager of Swindon attracted attention of bigger clubs, and soon after this famous victory he was appointed player-manager of Chelsea, while losers Leicester had now been beaten in all of their six appearances at Wembley.
Semi-finals
- First leg
16 May 1993 14:50 |
| Swindon Town | 3–1 | Tranmere Rovers |
|---|---|---|
Vickers  2' (o.g.)Mitchell 3'Maskell 27' |
Morrissey 58' |
- Second leg
19 May 1993 19:30 |
| Tranmere Rovers | 3–2 | Swindon Town |
|---|---|---|
| Proctor 45' Nevin 64'Irons 83' (pen.) |
Moncur 28' Maskell 81' |
Swindon Town won 5–4 on aggregate.
19 May 1993 19:45 |
| Portsmouth | 2–2 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| McLoughlin 51' Kristensen 72' |
Ormondroyd 53' Thompson 69' |
Leicester City won 3–2 on aggregate.
Final
31 May 1993 14:30 |
| Leicester City | 3–4 | Swindon Town |
|---|---|---|
| Joachim 57' Walsh 68'Thompson 69' |
Hoddle 42' Maskell 47'Taylor 53'Bodin 84' (pen.) |
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Port Vale | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 79 | 44 | +35 | 89 |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 88 | 54 | +34 | 85 |
| 5 | Swansea City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 73 |
| 6 | Stockport County | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 81 | 57 | +24 | 72 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
16 May 1993 15:00 |
| Swansea City | 2–1 | West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| McFarlane 50' Hayes 65' |
McFarlane 72' (o.g.) |
Vetch Field, Swansea Attendance: 13,917 |
- Second leg
Port Vale won 2–1 on aggregate.
19 May 1993 19:45 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 | Swansea City |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt 10' Hamilton 20' |
The Hawthorns, West Bromwich Attendance: 26,045 |
West Bromwich Albion won 3–2 on aggregate.
Final
Third Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | York City | 46 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 72 | 45 | +27 | 75 |
| 5 | Walsall | 46 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 76 | 61 | +15 | 73 |
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 21 | 7 | 13 | 75 | 56 | +19 | 70 |
| 7 | Bury | 46 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 63 | 55 | +8 | 63 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
16 May 1993 15:00 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 5–1 | Walsall |
|---|---|---|
| Naylor 19', 39' Clarkson 45'Edwards 50'Ward 83' |
Cecere 38' |
Gresty Road, Crewe Attendance: 6,196 |
- Second leg
19 May 1993 19:45 |
| Walsall | 2–4 | Crewe Alexandra |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke 18' O'Connor 78' |
Naylor 31', 42', 88' Ward 77' |
Bescot Stadium, Walsall Attendance: 7,398 |
Crewe Alexandra won 9–3 on aggregate.
York City won 1–0 on aggregate.
Final
29 May 1993 14:30 |
| Crewe Alexandra | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | York City |
|---|---|---|
| McKearney 119' (pen.) |
Swann 104' | |
| Penalties | ||
McKearney  Smith Whalley  Ward |
3–5 | McCarthy Barnes Canham Pepper Hall |