2018 English Football League play-offs

The English Football League play-offs for the 2017–18 season (referred to as the Sky Bet Play-Offs for sponsorship reasons) were held in May 2018 with all finals being staged at Wembley Stadium in London. The play-offs began in each league with two semi-finals played over two legs. The teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Championship and League One and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th-placed teams in League Two competed. The winners of the semi-finals advanced to the finals, with the winners gaining promotion for the following season.

English Football League play-offs
Wembley Stadium was the venue for each play-off final
Season2017–18
Matches played13
Goals scored24 (1.85 per match)
Biggest home winExeter City 3–1 Lincoln City
Fulham 2–0 Derby County
Rotherham United 2–0 Scunthorpe United
Biggest away winNotts County 1–4 Coventry City
Highest scoringNotts County 1–4 Coventry City
Highest attendance40,505
Lowest attendance5,645
Average attendance17,637
2017
2019

Background

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The English 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. 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.

Championship

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Championship Semi-finals

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Final league position – Championship
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Fulham 46 25 13 8 79 46 +33 88
4 Aston Villa 46 24 11 11 72 42 +30 83
5 Middlesbrough 46 22 10 14 67 45 +22 76
6 Derby County 46 20 15 11 69 48 +21 75
First leg
Derby County1–0Fulham
Jerome   34' Report
Attendance: 27,163
Referee: Roger East[2]
Middlesbrough0–1Aston Villa
Report Jedinak   15'

Second leg
Fulham2–0Derby County
Sessegnon   48'
Odoi   66'
Report
Attendance: 23,529

Fulham won 2–1 on aggregate.

Aston Villa0–0Middlesbrough
Report
Attendance: 40,505
Referee: Mike Dean[2]

Aston Villa won 1–0 on aggregate.


Championship final

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Aston Villa0–1Fulham
Report Cairney   23'
Attendance: 85,243

League One

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League One Semi-finals

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Final league position – League One
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
3 Shrewsbury Town 46 25 12 9 60 39 +21 87
4 Rotherham United 46 24 7 15 73 53 +20 79
5 Scunthorpe United 46 19 17 10 65 50 +15 74
6 Charlton Athletic 46 20 11 15 58 51 +7 71
First leg
Charlton Athletic0–1Shrewsbury Town
Report Nolan   80'
Attendance: 14,367
Referee: Simon Hooper[2]
Scunthorpe United2–2Rotherham United
Ihiekwe   18' (o.g.)
McGeehan   88'
Report Taylor   17'
Newell   64'
Attendance: 6,591
Referee: Tim Robinson[2]

Second leg
Shrewsbury Town1–0Charlton Athletic
C. Morris   58' Report
Attendance: 9,016
Referee: Jeremy Simpson[2]

Shrewsbury Town won 2–0 on aggregate.

Rotherham United2–0Scunthorpe United
Wood   45+2'
Vaulks   63'
Report
Attendance: 11,061

Rotherham United won 4–2 on aggregate.


League One Final

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Rotherham United2–1 (a.e.t.)Shrewsbury Town
Wood   32', 103' Report Rodman   58'
Attendance: 26,218
Referee: Robert Jones

League Two

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League Two Semi-finals

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Final league position – League Two
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
4 Exeter City 46 24 8 14 64 54 +10 80
5 Notts County 46 21 14 11 71 48 +23 77
6 Coventry City 46 22 9 15 64 47 +17 75
7 Lincoln City 46 20 15 11 64 48 +16 75
First leg
Lincoln City0–0Exeter City
Report
Attendance: 9,509
Referee: Ben Toner[2]
Coventry City1–1Notts County
McNulty   87' (pen.) Report Forte   49'
Attendance: 17,404
Referee: Gavin Ward[2]

Second leg
Exeter City3–1Lincoln City
Stockley   27'
Boateng   47'
Harley   69'
Report Green   78'
Attendance: 5,645
Referee: Darren England[2]

Exeter City won 3–1 on aggregate.

Notts County1–4Coventry City
Grant   44' Report Biamou   6', 71'
McNulty   37'
Bayliss   85'
Attendance: 17,615

Coventry City won 5–2 on aggregate.


League Two Final

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Coventry City3–1Exeter City
[3][4]
Attendance: 50,196
Referee: David Webb

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two play-off dates – and the teams battling it out for promotion". Sky Sports. 6 May 2018. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Appointments: Sky Bet EFL Play-Off Semi-Finals". EFL. 9 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2018.
  3. ^ Law, James (28 May 2018). "Coventry City 3–1 Exeter City". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 12 April 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Coventry City v Exeter City, 28 May 2018". 11v11. AFS Enterprises. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 16 July 2020.