1993 Football League play-offs
| Season | 1992–93 |
|---|---|
| Champions | Swindon Town (First Division) West Bromwich Albion (Second Division) York City (Third Division) |
| Matches played | 15 |
| Goals scored | 47 (3.13 per match) |
| Biggest home win | Crewe 5–1 Walsall (Third Division) |
| Biggest away win | Walsall 2–4 Crewe (Third Division) |
| Highest scoring | Leicester 3–4 Swindon (7 goals) |
| Highest attendance | 73,802 – Leicester v Swindon (First Division final) |
| Lowest attendance | 6,196 – Crewe v Walsall (Third Division semi-final) |
| Average attendance | 21,320 |
← 1992 1994 → | |
The Football League play-offs for the 1992–93 season were held in May 1993, with the finals taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-off semi-finals were played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League First Division and Football League Second Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th placed teams in the Football League Third Division table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches gaining promotion for the following season.
Background
The 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.
First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Portsmouth | 46 | 26 | 10 | 10 | 80 | 46 | +34 | 88 |
| 4 | Tranmere Rovers | 46 | 23 | 10 | 13 | 72 | 56 | +16 | 79 |
| 5 | Swindon Town | 46 | 21 | 13 | 12 | 74 | 59 | +15 | 76 |
| 6 | Leicester City | 46 | 22 | 10 | 14 | 71 | 64 | +7 | 76 |
Portsmouth, whose top scorer Guy Whittingham had found the net 42 times in Division One, only missed out on automatic promotion on goal difference. Fourth placed Tranmere Rovers had recorded the highest finish of their history and had yet to play in the top flight of English football. Swindon Town, who finished fifth, had won the playoff final three years earlier but promotion was then withdrawn due to financial irregularities. The last playoff place went to the previous season's beaten finalists, Leicester City. In the end, it was Leicester and Swindon who went through to the final. Swindon took a 3-0 lead before Leicester clawed back to make it 3-3, only for Paul Bodin to score the winner and deliver top flight football to Swindon for the first time in their history. Glenn Hoddle's impressive two-year spell as player-manager of Swindon attracted attention of bigger clubs, and soon after this famous victory he was appointed player-manager of Chelsea, while losers Leicester had now been beaten in all of their six appearances at Wembley.
Semi-finals
- First leg
| Swindon Town | 3–1 | Tranmere Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Vickers File:Soccerball shade.svg 2' (o.g.) Mitchell File:Soccerball shade.svg 3' Maskell File:Soccerball shade.svg 27' |
Morrissey File:Soccerball shade.svg 58' |
- Second leg
Swindon Town won 5–4 on aggregate.
| Portsmouth | 2–2 | Leicester City |
|---|---|---|
| McLoughlin File:Soccerball shade.svg 51' Kristensen File:Soccerball shade.svg 72' |
Ormondroyd File:Soccerball shade.svg 53' Thompson File:Soccerball shade.svg 69' |
Leicester City won 3–2 on aggregate.
Final
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Port Vale | 46 | 26 | 11 | 9 | 79 | 44 | +35 | 89 |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | 46 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 88 | 54 | +34 | 85 |
| 5 | Swansea City | 46 | 20 | 13 | 13 | 65 | 47 | +18 | 73 |
| 6 | Stockport County | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 81 | 57 | +24 | 72 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
| Stockport County | 1–1 | Port Vale |
|---|---|---|
| Gannon File:Soccerball shade.svg 5' (pen.) | Glover File:Soccerball shade.svg 24' |
| Swansea City | 2–1 | West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| McFarlane File:Soccerball shade.svg 50' Hayes File:Soccerball shade.svg 65' |
McFarlane File:Soccerball shade.svg 72' (o.g.) |
- Second leg
Port Vale won 2–1 on aggregate.
| West Bromwich Albion | 2–0 | Swansea City |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt File:Soccerball shade.svg 10' Hamilton File:Soccerball shade.svg 20' |
West Bromwich Albion won 3–2 on aggregate.
Final
| Port Vale | 0–3 | West Bromwich Albion |
|---|---|---|
| Hunt File:Soccerball shade.svg 66' Reid File:Soccerball shade.svg 82' Donovan File:Soccerball shade.svg 90' |
Third Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | York City | 46 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 72 | 45 | +27 | 75 |
| 5 | Walsall | 46 | 22 | 7 | 13 | 76 | 61 | +15 | 73 |
| 6 | Crewe Alexandra | 46 | 21 | 7 | 13 | 75 | 56 | +19 | 70 |
| 7 | Bury | 46 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 63 | 55 | +8 | 63 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
- Second leg
| Walsall | 2–4 | Crewe Alexandra |
|---|---|---|
| Clarke File:Soccerball shade.svg 18' O'Connor File:Soccerball shade.svg 78' |
Naylor File:Soccerball shade.svg 31', 42', 88' Ward File:Soccerball shade.svg 77' |
Crewe Alexandra won 9–3 on aggregate.
| York City | 1–0 | Bury |
|---|---|---|
| Swann File:Soccerball shade.svg 59' |
York City won 1–0 on aggregate.
