2015 Football League One play-off Final

This was Preston North End's tenth attempt to be promoted via the play-offs, with their three previous finals all ending in defeat.[9][10] They lost the 1994 Third Division play-off final against Wycombe Wanderers 4–2,[11] the 2001 First Division play-off final 3–0 to Bolton Wanderers,[12] and the 2005 Championship play-off final 1–0 against West Ham United.[13] Swindon had experienced victory and defeat in play-off finals, and this was their fifth final appearance. They won the two-legged 1987 Third Division play-off final against Gillingham, although it required a replay at a neutral venue after the first two matches ended in an aggregate draw.[14] Swindon then won the 1990 Second Division play-off final 1–0 against Sunderland, although they were not promoted as a result of financial irregularities throughout the 1989–90 season.[15] In the 1993 First Division play-off final, Swindon did secure promotion to the top tier of English football with a 4–3 victory over Leicester City.[15] The club's most recent play-off final was when they lost 1–0 to Millwall in the 2010 League One play-off final.[16] In the two league matches played between the clubs during the regular season, Swindon won 1–0 at home in November 2014 but lost 3–0 at Preston the following April.[17] Preston's Garner was the league's highest scorer with 25 goals before the play-offs, while Andy Williams was Swindon's top marksman with 21.[1]

Preston were aiming to be promoted back to the second tier of English having spent four seasons in League One.[18] Swindon had been promoted as champions from League Two in the 2011–12 season but failed to progress past the semi-finals in the 2013 Football League play-offs and had played in League One for two seasons.[19] Preston were favourites to win, according to bookmakers.[20][21] The match was broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports.[20]

The referee for the match was Andrew Madley, representing the West Yorkshire Association Football League, with assistants Dan Cook and Wade Norcott, and Mark Haywood acting as the fourth official.[22] Preston were allocated 30,035 seats in the West End of Wembley Stadium, while Swindon's allocation was 30,485 in the East End.[23] Preston named an unchanged starting line-up from the team who won the second leg of the semi-final against Chesterfield. There were two changes for Swindon, Obika and Harry Toffolo were chosen ahead of Jermaine Hylton and Ricketts.[10] Both teams wore their traditional home kits for the match, with Preston in white and Swindon in red.[10]

Jermaine Beckford (pictured in 2016) scored twice in the first half before completing his hat-trick in the second.

Swindon kicked the match off around 5:30 p.m. in front of a Wembley Stadium crowd of 48,236. Preston's Beckford was fouled by Thompson after two minutes. The resulting free kick from Paul Gallagher was swept into the Swindon net by Beckford, making it 1–0 to Preston. Thompson was injured during the goal and was stretchered off the pitch, forcing Swindon to make an early substitution, with Ricketts coming on to replace him. On 6 minutes, Garner passed to Gallagher whose shot was blocked. Seven minutes later, Gallagher's corner was initially cleared back to him, but his subsequent cross was converted by Paul Huntington from 5 yards (4.6 m), doubling Preston's lead after thirteen minutes. In the 23rd minute, Swindon defender Jack Stephens set off on a run, beat the Preston midfielder John Welsh with a step over, but his shot was deflected. Five minutes later, Gallagher went down with a foot injury and despite being able to continue briefly, he was replaced in the 37th minute by Alan Browne. With two minutes of the half remaining, Swindon's Smith came close to halving the deficit but his header from Byrne's cross went wide from 2 yards (1.8 m). In the 44th minute, Garner won a flick-on, allowing Beckford to run onto it. After a Cruyff Turn, he curled a left-footed shot into the far corner to make it 3–0 to Preston at half time, despite Swindon having almost two-thirds of the possession.[10][18][24]

No changes were made at half-time and Preston kicked off the second half. On 50 minutes, Garner's through ball was picked up by Beckford but his shot was turned behind by Wes Foderingham in the Swindon goal. Three minutes later, Yaser Kasim received the first yellow card of the game for kicking Garner after also fouling him. In the 57th minute, Beckford made it 4–0 to Preston: a poor pass from Kasim was intercepted by Garner, who played the ball forward to Beckford. He advanced on to Swindon's goal and slid the ball past an advancing Foderingham, to complete his hat-trick. In doing so, Beckford became the third player to score a hat-trick in a Wembley play-off final, after Scott Sinclair for Swansea City in the 2011 Championship play-off final and Clive Mendonca for Charlton Athletic in the 1998 First Division play-off final. Five minutes later, Swindon's appeal for a penalty were turned down after Calum Woods' handball in the Preston penalty area was deemed accidental. On 65 minutes, Obika's first chance in the form of a header was easily saved by the Preston goalkeeper Sam Johnstone. A minute later Toffolo was substituted off for Swindon's top scorer Williams, before Preston made their second change of the game, with Kevin Davies on for Beckford. Davies' first chance came from a free kick in the 72nd minute, but he headed wide of the Swindon goal. Five minutes after that, he narrowly failed to convert a Garner header. With eight minutes remaining, Johnstone saved Gladwin's 25 yards (23 m) strike and a minute later prevented Obika's header from going in. After three minutes of additional time, the referee brought the game to a close, and Preston won 4–0.[10][18][24]