1989 Football League play-offs
| Season | 1988–89 |
|---|---|
| Champions |
Crystal Palace (Second Division) Port Vale (Third Division) Leyton Orient (Fourth Division) |
| Matches played | 18 |
| Goals scored | 38 (2.11 per match) |
| Biggest home win |
C. Palace 3–0 Blackburn (Second Division) |
| Biggest away win |
Fulham 0–4 Bristol Rovers (Third Division) |
| Highest scoring |
Blackburn 3–1 C. Palace Fulham 0–4 Bristol Rovers Port Vale 3–1 Preston Wrexham 3–1 Scunthorpe (4 goals) |
| Highest attendance |
30,000 – Crystal Palace v Blackburn (Second Division final) |
| Lowest attendance |
4,377 – Scarborough v Leyton Orient (Fourth Division semi-final) |
| Average attendance | 12,994 |
|
← 1988 1990 → | |
The Football League play-offs for the 1988–89 season were held in May 1989, with the two-legged finals taking place at the finalists home stadiums. The play-off semi-finals were also played over two legs and were contested by the teams who finished in 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th place in the Football League Second Division and Football League Third Division and the 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th placed teams in the Football League Fourth Division table. The winners of the semi-finals progressed through to the finals, with the winner of these matches either gaining promotion or avoiding relegation 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. For the first three seasons the final was played over two legs but this was changed to a single match at Wembley Stadium from 1990.
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Crystal Palace | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 71 | 49 | +22 | 81 |
| 4 | Watford | 46 | 22 | 12 | 12 | 74 | 48 | +26 | 78 |
| 5 | Blackburn Rovers | 46 | 22 | 11 | 13 | 74 | 49 | +15 | 77 |
| 6 | Swindon Town | 46 | 20 | 16 | 10 | 68 | 53 | +15 | 76 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
21 May 1989 15:00 |
| Swindon Town | 1–0 | Crystal Palace |
|---|---|---|
Hopkins  (o.g.) |
County Ground, Swindon Attendance: 16,658 |
- Second leg
24 May 1989 19:45 |
| Watford | 1–1 (a.e.t.) | Blackburn Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Redfearn |
Garner |
Vicarage Road, Watford Attendance: 13,852 |
Watford 1–1 Blackburn Rovers on aggregate. Blackburn Rovers won on away goals.
24 May 1989 20:00 |
| Crystal Palace | 2–0 | Swindon Town |
|---|---|---|
| Bright Wright |
Selhurst Park, London Attendance: 23,677 |
Crystal Palace won 2–1 on aggregate.
Final
- First leg
- Second leg
Crystal Palace won 4–3 on aggregate.
Third Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Port Vale | 46 | 24 | 12 | 10 | 78 | 48 | +30 | 84 |
| 4 | Fulham | 46 | 22 | 9 | 15 | 69 | 67 | +2 | 75 |
| 5 | Bristol Rovers | 46 | 19 | 17 | 10 | 67 | 51 | +16 | 74 |
| 6 | Preston North End | 46 | 19 | 15 | 12 | 79 | 60 | +19 | 72 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
- Second leg
25 May 1989 19:30 |
| Fulham | 0–4 | Bristol Rovers |
|---|---|---|
| Clark Holloway Bailey Reece |
Craven Cottage, London Attendance: 10,188 |
Bristol Rovers won 5–0 on aggregate.
25 May 1989 19:30 |
| Port Vale | 3–1 | Preston North End |
|---|---|---|
| Beckford |
Patterson |
Vale Park, Stoke-on-Trent Attendance: 13,416 |
Port Vale won 4–2 on aggregate.
Final
- First leg
- Second leg
Port Vale won 2–1 on aggregate.
Fourth Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Scunthorpe United | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 77 | 57 | +20 | 77 |
| 5 | Scarborough | 46 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 67 | 52 | +15 | 77 |
| 6 | Leyton Orient | 46 | 21 | 12 | 13 | 86 | 50 | +36 | 75 |
| 7 | Wrexham | 46 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 77 | 63 | +14 | 71 |
Semi-finals
- First leg
21 May 1989 14:00 |
| Wrexham | 3–1 | Scunthorpe United |
|---|---|---|
| Wright Kearns |
Cowling |
Racecourse Ground, Wrexham Attendance: 5,449 |
- Second leg
Leyton Orient won 2–1 on aggregate.
Wrexham won 5–1 on aggregate.
Final
- First leg
- Second leg
Leyton Orient won 2–1 on aggregate.