2000 Football League Second Division play-off Final

In the 1999–2000 Football League season, the teams finishing in the top two positions in the Second Division, the third tier of the English football league system, would gain automatic promotion to the First Division. The teams finishing between third and sixth inclusive would compete in the play-offs for the third and final promotion place.[1] Gillingham finished the season in third place, one position ahead of Wigan Athletic. On the final day of the league season, Gillingham had the opportunity to finish in second place in the table and thereby clinch an automatic promotion place, but a 1–0 defeat away to Wrexham meant that Burnley were able to overtake them thanks to their 2–1 win over Scunthorpe United.[2] Wigan had looked on course for an automatic promotion place in the first half of the season but the team's form fell away dramatically after Christmas.[3]

In the play-off semi-finals, Wigan were paired with fifth-placed Millwall and Gillingham with sixth-place finishers Stoke City. In the first leg of their semi-final away to Stoke, Gillingham conceded two goals in the first eight minutes of the game. Although Ty Gooden scored a goal for the "Gills" after 18 minutes, Stoke extended their lead to 3–1 in the second half. In the fifth minute of stoppage time, Andy Hessenthaler scored a goal for Gillingham, making the final score 3–2.[4][5] Wigan drew 0–0 in the first leg against Millwall, with the BBC noting that both teams appeared "edgy from the outset and perhaps too anxious to impress".[4] After the first legs, the BBC still regarded the outcome of both semi-finals as difficult to predict.[4]

Four days after the first leg matches took place, Wigan defeated Millwall 1–0 in the second leg to win by the same score on aggregate and clinch a place at Wembley; midfielder Darren Sheridan scored the only goal of the game in the second half. Reserve goalkeeper Derek Stillie played in place of Roy Carroll, who had recently undergone an appendix operation,[6] and was praised for his tenacious performance.[7] Gillingham's second leg match was an emotionally-charged game, and before half-time Stoke's Clive Clarke was sent off, reducing his team to ten men. Early in the second half, Graham Kavanagh was also dismissed, leaving Stoke with just nine players. Barry Ashby scored a goal for Gillingham to bring the aggregate score level at 3–3, and with the scores level at the end of 90 minutes, extra time was required. During the additional 30 minutes, Iffy Onuora and Paul Smith scored further goals for Gillingham, who thus secured victory by a final aggregate score of 5–3.[7][8] Stoke manager Gudjon Thordarson was critical of the performance of referee Rob Styles, saying "The almighty God was looking elsewhere. Even He can’t put consistency into the referees".[9]

Gillingham fans waving banners before the match

Gillingham were appearing in the play-off final for a second consecutive season. In the 1998–99 season, the "Gills" had qualified for the final but been defeated by Manchester City.[10] Wigan had also competed in the previous season's play-offs but lost to Manchester City at the semi-final stage; the club had never reached a play-off final, but had played at Wembley on three previous occasions, most recently in the previous season's Football League Trophy.[11] Neither Gillingham nor Wigan had competed higher than the third tier of English football in their history, so whichever team emerged victorious would reach the second level for the first time.[12] The teams had met twice during the regular season, each team winning at their home stadium; Wigan won 2–0 at the JJB Stadium in December and Gillingham won 2–1 at Priestfield Stadium in April.[13] The odds on both teams were considered to be equal, at 5–6.[14]

The play-off final drew an attendance of 53,764, much lower than the figure of 76,935 recorded at the equivalent fixture in the previous season,[15] and there was a significant disparity in the number of tickets sold to the fans of the two clubs, with only around 10,000 Wigan fans in attendance compared to over 40,000 Gillingham fans.[12] A specific revenue figure for the match was not made public, but half of the gate receipts went to The Football League to distribute amongst its member clubs, with Gillingham and Wigan each receiving twenty-five per cent.[16] Rob Styles was chosen to referee the match; although he had been criticised by the defeated manager after the semi-final match between Gillingham and Stoke City, his performance was rated highly by the referee's assessor, and his appointment to take charge of the final was seen as a reward for his handling of the earlier game.[9] The match was broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports 2 with commentary provided by Rob Hawthorne and Alan Brazil.[17] As both teams usually wore predominantly blue kits, a coin was tossed to determine which would have to wear their second-choice colours; Wigan won the toss, meaning that Gillingham wore their second-choice kit of all-yellow.[18] The guest of honour was Philip Williamson, retail operations director of the Nationwide Building Society, the principal sponsor of the Football League, who was accompanied by Peter Middleton, the chairman of the League, and David Dent, the secretary of the Football Association, the governing body of all football in England.[19] One of the Gillingham mascots was Andy Hessenthaler's six-year-old son Jake, who would go on to play professionally for the club himself.[20][21]

Gillingham manager Peter Taylor picked seven of the players who had started the previous season's play-off final,[15] but made the decision to leave the team's captain, Paul Smith, out of the starting line-up due to personal issues, which led to the player requesting a transfer.[22] Wigan manager John Benson, who was taking charge of the team for the last time before the appointment of a new manager,[12] picked the same eleven players who had started the second leg of the play-off semi-final; the line-up included five players who had played at Wembley in the previous season's Football League Trophy final.[23] There was media speculation that Benson would recall goalkeeper Roy Carroll, by now fully recovered from his operation,[6] but ultimately he opted to again select Derek Stillie, and Carroll was named as one of the substitutes.[24] Stuart Barlow, the club's top scorer during the regular season, had recovered from an operation on his ankle and it was anticipated that he would be named as a substitute, but he was ultimately named in the starting line-up.[25] Both teams adopted a 3–5–2 formation.[26]

Gillingham manager Peter Taylor left his post shortly after leading the team to promotion.

After the final whistle Gillingham's temporary captain Adrian Pennock received the winners' trophy jointly with the team's usual captain, Paul Smith, who had come on as a substitute.[49] Peter Taylor commented that "These players, especially the ones that were here last year, deserved it. All season they've shown unbelievable character, and that's what they have done today. They never know when they are beaten." John Benson, commenting particularly on the goal which Wigan felt they were denied, said that "You feel cheated, but decisions like that are part of the game".[50] The day after the game, the victorious players and officials, along with their families, took part in a celebratory open-top bus parade of Gillingham and were the guests of honour at a civic reception hosted by the town's mayor.[51][52]

In the aftermath of the match, Gillingham offered a new contract to manager Peter Taylor, but two weeks after leading the club to victory at Wembley he left to take over as manager of Premier League team Leicester City.[53] Wigan manager John Benson had already announced before the play-off final that he would be leaving his post whatever the result,[6] and he was replaced by Bruce Rioch.[54] Following Taylor's departure, Paul Smith withdrew his transfer request, intimating that he no longer felt the need to leave the club now that Taylor had departed;[22] he would remain at the club for a further five years.[55] Andy Hessenthaler was appointed to replace Taylor in a player-manager capacity.[56]

As a result of their victory, Gillingham gained promotion to the second tier of English football for the first time in the club's 107-year history,[33] and went on to spend five seasons at that level.[57] Wigan reached the Second Division play-offs for a third season in a row in the 2000–01 season but once again failed to achieve promotion, losing at the semi-final stage to Reading.[58] The club finally gained promotion to the second tier of English football in the 2002–03 season and achieved further promotion to the Premier League two years later.[59][60]

The match was the penultimate game to take place at the original Wembley Stadium. The following day's First Division play-off Final was the last match to take place at the stadium before it was demolished and a new stadium of the same name built in its place.[61]

General

• Classic Match : Wigan Athletic 2-3 Gillingham (AET) 2000 Division 2 Play-off Final. Gillingham F.C. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 15 January 2021 – via YouTube.

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