2008 Football League One play-off Final

Doncaster had played in the third tier of English football since gaining promotion from the Third Division as champions in the 2003–04 season.[8] They had not featured in a league play-off final, although they won the 2003 Football Conference play-off Final to secure their place back in the Football League.[8] Doncaster had also never played a competitive at Wembley Stadium.[8] Leeds were relegated to League One the previous season, having also been deducted ten points for entering administration.[9] The club had featured in two play-off finals prior to 2008: they lost the 1987 Football League Second Division play-off Final to Charlton Athletic and were defeated by Watford in the 2006 Football League Championship play-off Final.[9] The last visit Leeds had paid to the national stadium was for the 1996 Football League Cup Final which they lost 3–0 against Aston Villa.[9] During the regular season, both games between the sides resulted in away wins: Doncaster won 1–0 at Elland Road in January 2008 while Leeds secured a 1–0 victory at the Keepmoat Stadium the following April.[10] Doncaster's top scorer going into the play-offs was Hayter with nine goals (seven in the league and two in the FA Cup).[11] Beckford was leading scorer for Leeds with twenty goals, followed by Trésor Kandol with eleven.[12]

The referee for the match was Andy D'Urso representing the Essex County Football Association. Both teams started the final with line-ups unchanged from their respective semi-final second leg matches. The BBC reported that Leeds had sold their full ticket allocation of 36,000 while Doncaster had sold 24,000.[13] According to author Daniel Chapman, Leeds fans queued overnight for the chance to buy tickets, and that "by dawn there were 7,000 in a tired, hungry and angry scrum".[14] Doncaster played in red-and-white hooped shirts while Leeds wore white kit.[13]

The match kicked off around 3 p.m. on 25 May 2008 in front of 75,132 spectators. Within a minute, the Leeds defender Bradley Johnson's shot cleared the Doncaster crossbar. On six minutes, Price's shot from 6 yards (5.5 m) was blocked by Leeds before Richie Wellens struck the ball into the side netting. Casper Ankergren then made a save at Coppinger's feet before denying Hayter after Doncaster had beaten the offside trap. On 15 minutes, Matt Mills became the first player of the afternoon to be shown a yellow card for a foul on Beckford. In the 17th minute, Beckford's 20-yard (18 m) strike was saved in the Doncaster goal by Neil Sullivan. Ten minutes later, David Prutton was booked for a late tackle. Leeds increased the pressure and in the 31st minute Beckford's weak shot was saved by Sullivan. Five minutes before half time, Hayter's strike flew over the Leeds crossbar before Howson's curling shot passed narrowly outside the Doncaster post. The half was brought to a close with the score at 0–0.[13]

Neither side made any changes to their personnel during the half-time interval, and Doncaster won an early free kick which Coppinger struck into the defensive wall. In the 48th minute, Hayter put Doncaster ahead: Stock played in an outswinging corner which Haytor scored with a diving header to make it 1–0. Three minutes later, Beckford's shot was saved by Sullivan low to his right. On 60 minutes, Howson's strike from 20 yards (18 m) was off-target. Twelve minutes later, Leeds made the first substitution of the game with Prutton being replaced by Kandol. Coppinger was then stopped by Jonathan Douglas before Mark McCammon came on for Wellens. With around twelve minutes remaining, Dougie Freedman's shot went wide and he was soon after replaced by Andrew Hughes. Two minutes later, Price was replaced by Adam Lockwood before Sullivan was booked for time-wasting. Doncaster then made their final substitution of the match with Coppinger being replaced by Lewis Guy. Douglas then saw his 20-yard (18 m) half-volley fly just wide of the Doncaster goal and after four minutes of stoppage time, the final whistle was blown.[13]