Was Swindon's 5-5 draw with Sheffield United the greatest play-off game ever? We look at five other crackers....
Tuesday 12 May 2015 17:56, UK
Swindon and Sheffield United played out a 10-goal epic in the deciding leg of their League One play-off semi-final - but where does their seesaw contest rank?
The Wiltshire side will head to Wembley for a showdown with Preston after a 2-1 first-leg win saw them record a 7-6 aggregate victory - but only just, following a pulsating 5-5 draw that was the highest-scoring play-off game in history.
Swindon had gone 3-0 up inside 18 minutes at the County Ground but the Blades had clawed back to 3-2 by half-time, then to 4-2 and - battling still - 5-3 in the second half.
Two goals in the final three minutes of normal time and, suddenly, it was 5-5, but there was no final stoppage-time twist in a game Swindon boss Mark Cooper described as "ridiculous" and during which counterpart Nigel Clough admitted he lost count of the score.
In tribute to the frenzied fixture - and to whet the appetite for more play-off action this week - here are five other end-to-end play-off encounters which turned into goal-fests. Which gets your vote?
Charlton 4-4 Sunderland (Charlton won 7-6 on penalties) - First Division final, 1998
An eight-goal thriller was rounded off with a penalty-shootout to decide who would be a Premier League team the following season.
Charlton striker Clive Mendonca - a Sunderland fan as a boy - scored the first ever hat-trick in a play-off final to earn his side a draw - and that was after they went behind three times.
Mendonca opened the scoring midway through the first half but goals from Sunderland’s strike partnership of Niall Quinn and Kevin Phillips put them ahead early on in the second half.
Mendonca replied in the 71st minute to make it 2-2 before Sunderland regained the lead through Niall Quinn just two minutes later - but Richard Rufus struck in the 85th minute to force extra-time.
Nicky Summerbee put Sunderland 4-3 up nine minutes in but Mendonca struck again, his hat-trick goal ensuring penalties would decide fates.
The shoot-out went to sudden death with Charlton’s John Robinson and Quinn converting, but after Shaun Newton had scored for Charlton, a weak effort by Michael Gray was saved by Sasa Illic.
Charlton, eventually, had won it, Mendonca the hero.
Ipswich 5-3 Bolton (Agg: 7-5) - First Division semi-final second leg, 2000
Another hat-trick hero helped take Ipswich to the play-off final back in 2000.
In what was the fourth consecutive play-off appearance for George Burley’s side, Jim Magilton played a major role as he helped Ipswich defeat Sam Allardyce’s Bolton.
Bolton kept taking the lead before Magilton responded with a goal on every occasion in normal time.
Dean Holdsworth got two and Allan Johnston one, but Magilton equalised for the third time in the match in the last minute of injury-time.
Tempers started to boil over and after going down to 10 men in the 90th minute, they were reduced to nine in the 97th.
A Jamie Clapham penalty followed by a Martijn Reuser strike sealed Bolton’s fate in what was a remarkable turnaround from the Tractor Boys.
Lincoln City 5-3 Scunthorpe United (Agg: 6-4) - Third Division semi-final second leg, 2003
Lincoln had come out on top in a first-leg thriller that saw them enter the second leg with a two-goal advantage.
They went further in front in the first 15 minutes through a Simon Weaver header and doubled their advantage only three minutes later through a finely-struck volley by Paul Mayo.
With the tie seemingly slipping away from Scunthorpe, Alex Calvo-Garcia's scrambled effort reduced the deficit 10 minutes later.
Ten minutes after the interval, Paul Smith's tap-in gave the hosts a two-goal cushion but with just over 20 minutes left, Calvo-Garcia struck again to set up the thrilling finale.
The drama kept rising as Nathan Stanton scored his first ever goal for the Iron, which looked to have salvaged a draw for the away side.
But the introduction of Simon Yeo proved pivotal as he scored twice, the first a left-footed drive and the second a half-volley to put Lincoln into a commanding lead.
Lincoln City 3-5 Bristol Rovers (Agg: 4-7) - League Two semi-final second leg, 2007
Lincoln and Bristol Rovers played out a 5-3 epic in front of a crowd at Sincil Bank who saw their side let in five goals, losing 7-4 on aggregate in another pulsating clash involving the Imps.
Stuart Campbell's spectacular long-range effort put Rovers in front and was soon followed up by a tricky volley from Rickie Lambert.
Jeff Hughes' precise finish gave Lincoln hope but soft defending allowed Richard Walker to make it 3-1.
Mark Stallard's half-volley put the Imps back within touching distance in the 43rd minute, but Sammy Igoe and Sean Rigg put the visitors out of reach, Hughes' effort from outside the box not enough for a Lincoln side who fought to the bitter end.
Nottingham Forest 3-4 Blackpool (Agg: 4-6) - Championship semi-final second leg, 2010
The two clubs may have drawn 4-4 in the Championship in February, but it was their play-off semi-final which will be remembered more fondly - by Blackpool fans, at least.
Blackpool entered the second leg 2-1 up but securing a result at the City ground proved no easy task, particularly when they had been 20 games unbeaten at home beforehand.
Robert Earnshaw levelled the tie overall early on and then scored again in the 66th minute after DJ Campbell got the first of a second-half treble 10 minutes earlier.
Blackpool’s Stephen Dobbie proved the super sub, scoring a deflected strike just three minutes after coming on, before setting up the other two of Campbell’s goals.
Dele Adebola struck a consolation but Ian Holloway's side went to Wembley after a 6-4 aggregate victory - and then secured a place in the top flight after getting the better of Cardiff in another thriller.
Watch all the remaining Football League play-off semi-finals this week on Sky Sports.
