For May 25th I'm going back 7 years to 2014 and the League 1 Play-Off Final at Wembley.
The 2014 edition featured Leyton Orient against Rotherham United. The pair had finished the regular season in third and fourth positions respectively and on identical points (86) behind champions Wolverhampton Wanderers and second-placed Brentford who were both promoted automatically. Orient had defeated Peterborough United in their Play-Off Semi-Final whilst Rotherham had overcome Preston North End. Now it was winner takes all in the Play-Off Final.
We didn't know it at the time but getting to the Play-Off Final represented a high water mark for the O's (such a pure and simple nickname!). Following the Final boxing promoter Barry Hearn sold the club to Italian businessman Francesco Becchetti who promptly fired their experienced Play-Off Final manager Russell Slade early the following season. Becchetti's own managerial appointments proved to be disastrous and he presided over a first season relegation, and within two further years, relegation out of the Football League altogether after 112 years of continuous membership. Orient were in absolute turmoil and supporter protests (which included pitch invasions) led to Becchetti selling out to current Chairman Nigel Travis who presided over a return to the Football League in 2019.
Rotherham United had only been promoted the previous season as runners up in League 2 (the fourth tier of English football) under the management of Steve Evans. Now here they were on the verge of the second tier. Say what you like about Steve Evans but his methods are proven and successful. He has achieved seven promotions with four different clubs: Stamford (2), Boston United (2), Crawley Town and Rotherham United (2) taking both Boston United and Crawley into the Football League. However, his reputation at Boston United was badly tarnished when he was successfully prosecuted for tax evasion. He received a 12 month prison sentence and a 20 month suspension from the game.
On the day, Leyton Orient raced into a two goal lead before half time following strikes by Moses Odubajo (yes, the Rotherham defence parted like the Red Sea) and Dean Cox. Rotherham looked dead and buried. However, all was not over. Ten minutes after the break former Orient striker Alex Revell pulled a goal back for Rotherham and five minutes later he scored another with a sublime chip from fully 35 yards to send the Millers fans into ecstasy. The comeback was complete and, whilst Rotherham now had momentum, the game went to extra time and then penalties. The Millers kept their nerve winning the shootout 4-3 to send them into the Championship. The O's were heading for catastrophic decline.
CRB Match No. 1984
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