EFL: Greatest ever play-off matches

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 We all love the drama of the playoffs. 

They are a series of matches contested by the four football teams that finish below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of English football.

Greatest play-offs

They were first introduced to the EFL in 1987 and have been staged after every season since. Some hate them and others love them. Let's explore some of their greatest matches.

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Reading 2-4 Swansea: 2011 Championship play-off final.

Swansea stormed into a 3-0 lead come the end of the first half. However, a two-goal comeback from Reading after half-time tested the nerve of the Welsh side. A young Scott Sinclair then bagged a hat-trick to ensure Swansea became the first Welsh side to play in the Premier League. This would mark the start of a memorable period for the club. In 2013, they won the EFL Cup. 

Nottingham Forest 2-5 Yeovil: 2007 League One play-off semi-final. 

One to forget for Forest fans and a memorable night for everyone associated with Yeovil. Forest won the first leg 2-0, but an amazing performance from the away side saw them triumph 5-4 on aggregate. Arron Davies scored a double and was the hero of the night. What's also incredible is the varied journeys that both clubs have been on since this night.

Forest 2 - 5 Yeovil

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Wigan Athletic 2-3 Gillingham: 2000 Second Division play-off final.

After they missed out on promotion to the First Division a season prior with a dramatic defeat against Man City, Gillingham bounced back against Wigan. They nearly lost again in this match. Wigan drew ahead in the 99th minute, but an Andrew Thomson strike won it for Gillingham with only two minutes left to play. That sent their fans crazy. 

Charlton 4-4 Sunderland (Charlton won on penalties): 1998 First Division play-off final.

Never mind the playoffs, this is probably one of the greatest matches ever played. After eight goals and 120 minutes of football, Charlton triumphed after a dramatic penalty shootout. Reminisce about this incredible drama by watching the highlights in the video below. 

One Sunderland fan spoke about the incredible team that they had at the time despite this defeat. Rangda Rangda commented on YouTube: "Amazingly, we had Kevin Phillips when we were in Division One, one of the best English strikers of that era, and it was a pretty strong era."

Blackpool 3 - 2 Cardiff: 2010 Championship play-off final.

The finest moment in Ian Holloway's managerial career. His Blackpool side twice came from behind to defeat Cardiff and reach the Premier League for the first time in their history. They won 3-2, with all the goals coming during an opening first 45 minutes of excitement and occasionally awful defending.

Blackpool 1-2 West Ham United: 2012 Championship play-off final.

Two years after their triumph against and one year after relegation, Blackpool were back at Wembley. On this occasion, West Ham triumphed after a tense final thanks to the expertise of Sam Allardyce. A late winner from Ricardo Vaz Tê secured Premier League football for the London side. Who knows how the recent history for both teams would have looked if this final had gone differently.

Leeds United 2-4 Derby County: 2019 Championship play-off semi-final.

This was one of many chapters in the long rivalry between Leeds United and Derby County. They qualified for the Championship play-off final after a pulsating 4-2 win over Leeds in the second leg of their semi-final at Elland Road. "Stop crying Frank Lampard" was the chant from Leeds fans after their 1-0 first-leg win. It was the Leeds fans crying at the end of a dramatic night at Elland Road.

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