2022 English Football League play-offs
 Wembley Stadiumwas the venue for each play-off final | |
| Season | 2021–22 |
|---|---|
←2021 2023→ | |
TheEnglish Football League play-offsfor the2021–22 season(referred to as theSky BetPlay-Offsfor sponsorship reasons) were held in May 2022 with all finals being staged atWembley StadiuminWembley.
The play-offs begin in each league with two semi-finals which are played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in theChampionshipandLeague Oneand the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th-placed teams inLeague Twocompete. The winners of the semi-finals advance to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.
All three play-off finals will use Video Assistant Referees (VAR), making it the first time that they have been used in each of the respective leagues.[1]
Background
[edit]TheEnglish Football Leagueplay-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.[citation needed]
Television
[edit]AllEnglish Football League play-offgames were broadcast live onSky Sports.It was simulcast on theESPN+streaming platform in the United States.[citation needed]
Championship
[edit]Semi-finals
[edit]The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 7 May 2022, due toBournemouthbeatingNottingham Foreston 3 May 2022; this meant that Nottingham Forest andHuddersfield Townwere guaranteed to finish either 3rd or 4th and in the play-offs.Sheffield UnitedandLuton Townwon their games againstFulhamandReadingrespectively, because of this,MiddlesbroughandMillwalldid not qualify for the play-offs regardless of their results. It meant that Luton played Huddersfield, and Sheffield United played Nottingham Forest in the 1st legs, and vice versa in the 2nd legs.
| Final league position – Championship | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 3 | Huddersfield Town | 46 | 23 | 13 | 10 | 64 | 47 | 17 | 82 |
| 4 | Nottingham Forest | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 73 | 40 | 33 | 80 |
| 5 | Sheffield United | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 63 | 45 | 18 | 75 |
| 6 | Luton Town | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 63 | 55 | 8 | 75 |
First leg
[edit]| Luton Town | 1–1 | Huddersfield Town |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
Second leg
[edit]Huddersfield Town won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Nottingham Forest | 1–2 (a.e.t.) | Sheffield United |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
|
| Penalties | ||
| 3–2 | ||
3–3 on aggregate. Nottingham Forest won 3–2 on penalties.
Final
[edit]The winner, Nottingham Forest, won promotion to the top fight after more than two decades of absence, joiningFulhamandBournemouthin being promoted to thePremier Leaguefor the2022–23season.
League One
[edit]Semi-finals
[edit]The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 30 April 2022,Milton Keynes Donshad already guaranteed a place in the play-offs and would have been promoted if they had a better result thanRotherham United.Sheffield WednesdayandSunderlandwon their games againstPortsmouthandMorecamberespectively to finish 4th and 5th.Wycombe WanderersbeatBurton Albionand due toPlymouth Argylelosing to MK Dons, Wycombe finished 6th and Plymouth finished 7th. It meant that Wycombe played MK Dons and Sunderland played Sheffield Wednesday in the first legs, and vice versa in the second legs.
| Final league position – League One | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 3 | Milton Keynes Dons | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 78 | 44 | 34 | 89 |
| 4 | Sheffield Wednesday | 46 | 24 | 13 | 9 | 78 | 50 | 28 | 85 |
| 5 | Sunderland | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 79 | 53 | 26 | 84 |
| 6 | Wycombe Wanderers | 46 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 75 | 51 | 24 | 83 |
First leg
[edit]Second leg
[edit]Wycombe Wanderers won 2–1 on aggregate.
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1–1 | Sunderland |
|---|---|---|
|
Report |
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Sunderland won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
[edit]League Two
[edit]Semi-finals
[edit]The final table was confirmed after the final matchday on 7 May 2022,Bristol Rovershad already secured a play-off place and could still have finished 3rd and gained automatic promotion if they betteredNorthampton Town's result in the last game of the season. Northampton Town and Bristol Rovers both won their games, putting both of them on 80 points with the promoted team decided ongoal difference.Due to Bristol Rovers winning their game 7–0, it put them both on a +22 goal difference, but Bristol Rovers had scored more goals than Northampton Town (71–60). This meant that against all the odds at the time, Bristol Rovers were promoted and Northampton were condemned to the play-offs.Swindon TownbeatWalsallin their game, andMansfield Towndrew to championsForest Green Rovers,which was enough to qualify for the play-offs. It meant that Mansfield Town played Northampton and Swindon Town playedPort Valein the 1st legs, and vice versa in the 2nd legs.
| Final league position – League Two | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 4 | Northampton Town | 46 | 23 | 11 | 12 | 60 | 38 | 22 | 80 |
| 5 | Port Vale | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 67 | 46 | 21 | 78 |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 77 | 54 | 23 | 77 |
| 7 | Mansfield Town | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 67 | 52 | 15 | 77 |
First leg
[edit]| Swindon Town | 2–1 | Port Vale |
|---|---|---|
McKirdy 26',68' |
Report | Wilson83' |
Second leg
[edit]Mansfield Town won 3–1 on aggregate.
2–2 on aggregate. Port Vale won 6–5 on penalties.
Final
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"VAR to be used at EFL Play-Off Finals".efl.Retrieved2022-05-28.