2024 English Football League play-offs

The English Football League play-offs for the 2023–24 season (referred to as the Sky Bet Play-Offs for sponsorship reasons) were held in May 2024 with all finals being staged at Wembley Stadium in London.

English Football League play-offs
Wembley Stadium was the venue for each play-off final
Season2023–24
2023
2025

The play-offs began in each league with two semi-finals which were played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd to 6th place in the Championship and League One and the 4th to 7th-placed teams in League Two competed. The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.[1]

Background

edit

The English 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. The fixtures are determined by final league position – in the Championship and League One this is 3rd v 6th and 4th v 5th, while in League Two it is 4th v 7th and 5th v 6th.

Championship

edit

Championship semi-finals

edit

The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 4 May 2024. Going into the final day, Southampton had already confirmed their place in their play-offs by finishing 4th. Leeds United could only secure automatic promotion if they beat Southampton and Ipswich Town lost to Huddersfield Town. In the end, Leeds United missed out on automatic promotion after losing to Southampton, confirming they would finish 3rd. Ipswich Town won their match against Huddersfield. Norwich City, West Bromwich Albion, and Hull City were all in the hunt for the last two spots. West Bromwich Albion leapfrogged Norwich City to 5th after beating Preston North End. Despite their loss to relegation-threatened Birmingham City, Norwich City managed to finish 6th after Hull City also lost against Birmingham City's relegation rivals Plymouth Argyle.

Final league position - Championship
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Leeds United 46 27 9 10 81 43 +38 90
4 Southampton 46 26 9 11 87 63 +24 87
5 West Bromwich Albion 46 21 12 13 70 47 +23 75
6 Norwich City 46 21 10 15 79 64 +14 73
First leg
Norwich City0–0Leeds United
Report
Attendance: 26,982
Referee: Josh Smith
West Bromwich Albion0–0Southampton
Report
Attendance: 25,367
Referee: Samuel Barrott
Second leg
Leeds United4–0Norwich City
Report
Attendance: 36,384

Leeds United won 4–0 on aggregate.

Southampton3–1West Bromwich Albion
Report
Attendance: 30,712
Referee: Tim Robinson

Southampton won 3–1 on aggregate.


Championship final

edit
Leeds United0–1Southampton
Report
Attendance: 85,862
Referee: John Brooks

League One

edit

League One semi-finals

edit

The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 27 April 2024. Going into the final day, Bolton Wanderers had already qualified for the play-offs but still had a chance of automatic promotion. However, a Derby County win prevented that possibility. In the end, they drew with Peterborough United, who had also already guaranteed their place in the play-offs to finish 3rd and 4th respectively. The final day also saw a four-way battle between Barnsley, Oxford United, Lincoln City and Blackpool for the final two spots. In the end, Oxford United secured 5th with a win over Exeter City while Barnsley's draw with Northampton Town proved enough to finish 6th as Lincoln City and Blackpool lost to Champions Portsmouth and Reading respectively to miss out.

Final league position - League One
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Bolton Wanderers 46 25 12 9 86 51 +35 87
4 Peterborough United 46 25 9 12 89 61 +28 84
5 Oxford United 46 22 11 13 79 56 +23 77
6 Barnsley 46 21 13 12 82 64 +18 76
First leg
Barnsley1–3Bolton Wanderers
Cosgrove   75' Report
Attendance: 13,846
Referee: Will Finnie
Oxford United1–0Peterborough United
Report
Attendance: 11,125
Referee: Lewis Smith
Second leg
Bolton Wanderers2–3Barnsley
Report
Attendance: 24,518
Referee: Oliver Langford

Bolton Wanderers won 5–4 on aggregate.

Peterborough United1–1Oxford United
Report
Attendance: 12,420
Referee: Andrew Kitchen

Oxford United won 2–1 on aggregate.

League One final

edit
Bolton Wanderers0–2Oxford United
Report Murphy   31', 42'
Attendance: 70,472
Referee: Sam Barrott

League Two

edit

League Two semi-finals

edit

The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 27 April 2024. Going into the final day, Milton Keynes Dons had already secured a play-off place and were confirmed to finish 4th. The remaining three places were under contention between Doncaster Rovers, Crewe Alexandra, Crawley Town, Barrow and Bradford City. Thanks to Doncaster Rovers' spectacular run from February onwards, where they only lost once coupled with a 10-match win streak, a draw against Gillingham was enough to see them finish 5th. A draw against Colchester United was also enough for Crewe Alexandra to secure 6th. Crawley Town's win over Grimsby Town saw them take 7th as Barrow's draw against Mansfield Town meant they would drop out off the play-offs. All these results meant that Bradford City's win over Newport County would not be enough to see them over the line.

Final league position - League Two
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
4 Milton Keynes Dons 46 23 9 14 83 68 +15 78
5 Doncaster Rovers 46 21 8 17 73 68 +5 71
6 Crewe Alexandra 46 19 14 13 69 65 +4 71
7 Crawley Town 46 21 7 18 73 67 +6 70
First leg
Crewe Alexandra0–2Doncaster Rovers
Report
Attendance: 8,220
Crawley Town3–0Milton Keynes Dons
Report
Attendance: 5,564
Referee: Ross Joyce
Second leg
Doncaster Rovers0–2 (a.e.t.)Crewe Alexandra
Report
Penalties
3–4
Attendance: 12,889
Referee: Scott Oldham

2–2 on aggregate, Crewe Alexandra won 4–3 on penalties.

Milton Keynes Dons1–5Crawley Town
Dean   45+1' Report Williams   3'
Orsi   30', 48', 90+2'
Roles   80'
Attendance: 10,053
Referee: Seb Stockridge

Crawley Town won 8–1 on aggregate.

League Two final

edit
Crewe Alexandra0–2Crawley Town
Report Orsi   41'
L. Kelly   85'
Attendance: 33,341
Referee: Ben Toner (Lancashire)

References

edit
  1. ^ "EFL play-offs: Fixtures, dates and schedule for Championship, League One and League Two". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 May 2023.