2009 Football League Championship play-off final

This was Burnley's first Championship play-off final, although they had won the third-tier 1994 Football League Second Division play-off final 2–1 against Stockport County the old Wembley Stadium.[7][8] Sheffield United had lost both the 1997 and 2003 Football League Second Division play-off finals.[7] During the regular season, Burnley had won both matches, 3–2 away in December 2008 and 1–0 at home the following April.[9] It had been 33 years since Burnley last played top-flight football in the 1975–76 Football League First Division, while Sheffield United had been most recently relegated from the highest tier in the 2006–07 FA Premier League.[10] Paterson was Burnley's top scorer with twelve goals in the regular season, followed by Alexander with nine, while Craig Beattie led the scoring charts for Sheffield United with twelve.[2] This was Burnley's 61st competitive match of their season, and Paterson was ever present throughout.[11]

The referee for the final was Mike Dean of the Wirral District Football Association, with assistant referees Darren Cann and Mick McDonough, and Lee Probert acting as the fourth official.[12] Dean's appointment was not without controversy: he had officiated the match in which Sheffield United were relegated from Premier League in 2007 and refereed the 2006 Football League Championship play-off final when Kevin Blackwell, the Sheffield United manager, was in charge at Leeds United who lost the match 3–0.[12] Blackwell described the appointment as "inexplicable" and that he was "amazed at the stupidity of it."[13] He went on to say that he was "very, very angry about people who run the game not using their common sense and putting Mike Dean in what could be a very embarrassing position".[13] Both managers had appeared at the old Wembley Stadium as players: Owen Coyle played, and scored, in Bolton Wanderers' 4–3 victory over Reading in the 1995 Football League First Division play-off final while Blackwell featured for Boston United who lost against Wealdstone in the 1985 FA Trophy Final.[11]

Both managers named starting line-ups unchanged from the second legs of their semi-finals. Burnley were playing in their away kit of light blue, while Sheffield United wore their traditional home strip of red and white stripes. Before kick-off, both teams were presented to members of the military and former Conservative Member of Parliament and Football League chairman Brian Mawhinney.[10]

Sheffield United kicked the game off around 3 p.m. in sunny conditions front of a Wembley crowd of 80,518.[11][14] After early pressure, United's Kyle Walker struck the first shot on target from 20 yards (18 m) which was saved by Burnley's goalkeeper Brian Jensen. Five minutes later, Blake's weak shot was easily saved by Paddy Kenny in the Sheffield United goal. Two minutes later, a Matthew Kilgallon free kick was blocked by the Burnley wall but not cleared, allowing Howard to shoot from the edge of the penalty area which was saved by Jensen. On 13 minutes, Wade Elliott took the ball around the halfway line and started a run towards the Sheffield United goal. He passed to Chris McCann who was tackled, but the ball fell to Elliott whose first-time strike from 25 yards (23 m) flew into the top-left corner of Kenny's net, making the score 1–0 to Burnley. Two minutes later, Alexander brought down Howard as he ran into the box, but the appeals of the Sheffield United players for a penalty were dismissed by Dean. In the 19th minute, McCann headed over the bar from inside the six-yard box while Howard's free kick two minutes later was too high. The first yellow card of the game was shown to Burnley's Clarke Carlisle after he fouled Halford. Burnley were forced to make the first substitution of the afternoon on 27 minutes after McCann failed to recover from a knee injury he sustained clearing the ball, with Joey Guðjónsson coming on to replace him. Paterson went close on 31 minutes, curling the ball just wide of Kenny's post from 20 yards (18 m). Heading towards half time, the game became patchy with neither side creating clear-cut chances, but on 45 minutes, Thompson's looping header went wide. Three minutes of additional time were played and the half ended 1–0 to Burnley.[10][11]

Burnley kicked off the second half and three minutes in, they were awarded a corner which Michael Duff toe-poked just wide of the post. Stephen Quinn's run was brought to a halt by an Alexander tackle before Guðjónsson's tap-in attempt was cleared by United's Nick Montgomery. In the 58th minute, Sheffield United made their first substitution of the game, with David Cotterill being replaced by Jamie Ward. Eight minutes later, Walker played Thompson onside, who picked out Blake. A last-second tackle from Walker did enough to distract Blake whose shot from 8 yards (7.3 m) went wide. United appealed for another penalty in the 69th minute when Walker was seemingly brought down by Christian Kalvenes, but it was not awarded. A minute later, Burnley made their second substitution with Blake, suffering from a hamstring injury, being replaced by Chris Eagles. In the 72nd minute, a break from Ward allowed him to shoot from a tight angle but Jensen deflected the strike. Burnley's final substitution was made in the 74th minute with Jay Rodriguez coming on for Thompson. A minute later, Ward was booked after a deliberate handball. On 77 minutes, an Eagles pass found Paterson on the wing who cut inside to shoot, but it was blocked by Kyle Naughton. Ward was shown a second yellow card for another intentional handball in the 79th minute. Arturo Lupoli was then brought on by Sheffield United to replace Howard, before Quinn was substituted by Lee Hendrie on 85 minutes. In the last minute of regular time, Morgan and Kalvenes clashed heads and the latter was booked. The resulting free kick was struck into the wall allowing Burnley to break but they failed to score as Montgomery cleared a poor pass from Paterson. Deep into additional time, Lupoli was booked for a foul on Elliott, and the final whistle was blown, with Burnley winning the match 1–0.[10][11]

25 May 2009

15:00

Burnley	1–0	Sheffield United
Elliott 13'	Report

Wembley Stadium, London

Attendance: 80,518

Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)

Burnley

Sheffield United

GK 12 Brian Jensen RB 4 Michael Duff CB 5 Clarke Carlisle  23' CB 6 Steven Caldwell LB 3 Christian Kalvenes  90' RM 11 Wade Elliott CM 2 Graham Alexander CM 16 Chris McCann  27' LM 20 Robbie Blake  69' CF 30 Steven Thompson  74' CF 10 Martin Paterson Substitutes: GK 1 Diego Penny MF 7 Kevin McDonald MF 8 Joey Guðjónsson  27' MF 33 Chris Eagles  69' FW 19 Jay Rodriguez  74' Manager: Owen Coyle

GK 1 Paddy Kenny RB 34 Kyle Walker CB 5 Chris Morgan CB 6 Matthew Kilgallon LB 30 Kyle Naughton DM 17 Nick Montgomery RM 4 David Cotterill  58' CM 20 Brian Howard  82' CM 28 Stephen Quinn  85' LM 2 Greg Halford CF 19 Craig Beattie Substitutes: GK 13 Ian Bennett DF 32 Leigh Bromby MF 11 Lee Hendrie  85' FW 9 Arturo Lupoli  90+5'  82' FW 18 Jamie Ward  75'  79'  58' Manager: Kevin Blackwell

Match rules:

• 90 minutes.
• 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
• Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
• Five named substitutes.
• Maximum of three substitutions.