page_title: 1996 Football League Third Division play-off Final
section_title: Summary
hierarchical_section_title: 1996 Football League Third Division play-off Final / Match / Summary
caption_attribution_description: English: Oldham Athletic AFC defender Sean Gregan during the warm up at Gigg Lane, home of Bury Football Club prior to the Bury vs. Oldham Athletic friendly game. Saturday 18th July 2009
context_page_description: The 1996 Football League Third Division play-off Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium on 25 May 1996, to determine the fourth and final team to gain promotion from the Third Division to the Second Division of the Football League in the 1995–96 season.
  It was contested by Plymouth Argyle, who finished fourth in the Third Division table, and Darlington, who finished fifth. The teams reached the final by defeating Colchester United and Hereford United respectively in the two-legged semi-finals.
  Plymouth Argyle won the match 1–0 thanks to a headed goal from Ronnie Mauge to gain promotion back to the third tier of English football one season after being relegated. For the club's manager, Neil Warnock, it was his fourth success in the play-offs as a manager, having achieved it twice with Notts County and once with Huddersfield Town. His counterpart, Jim Platt, would leave full-time management at the end of that year.
context_section_description: Darlington were the first to settle with Gary Bannister a prominent player in midfield, but Plymouth Argyle eventually found their rhythm and had the first real goalscoring opportunity after ten minutes. Adrian Littlejohn found space after a one-two with Mickey Evans, but his first touch let him down and the opportunity was not taken. Darlington's main threat was coming from attacking full back Appleby and he had their best chance of the match midway through the first half. He carved out the initial chance, having carried the ball half the length of the pitch, but team-mate Steven Gaughan was unable to convert. The hasty clearance from Argyle found its way back to Appleby but he sent his shot over the crossbar with goalkeeper Cherry completely exposed.
  Plymouth Argyle came close to making their opponents pay for their profligacy in front of goal with Evans lifting a volley over the crossbar. Darlington's captain Andy Crosby was proving to be a formidable figure at the heart of his team's defence, but Argyle fashioned another chance to open the scoring just before half-time. A flick on by Evans presented Adrian Littlejohn with the opportunity to redeem his earlier miss, but he dragged his shot wide.
  There were few clear-cut chances at the start of the second half, but Plymouth Argyle were winning the midfield battle with Mauge and Chris Leadbitter leading by example with a number of forceful tackles. The pivotal moment arrived on 65 minutes after Martin Barlow had earnt a corner-kick on the right-hand side. Leadbitter played the ball short to full back Mark Patterson, whose well-measured cross was met firmly by the unmarked Mauge to head into the back of the net. Darlington tried to force their way back into the match, but were being thwarted by Plymouth Argyle captain Mick Heathcote and his defensive colleagues which left strikers Robbie Blake and Robbie Painter, who both scored in the semi-finals, with little to work on. As Darlington committed more players forward in search of an equaliser they left themselves exposed in defence which gave the leading side more space to launch counter-attacks. Evans and Littlejohn threatened to score the decisive second goal, but in the end Mauge's headed finish midway through the second half proved to be enough to claim the final promotion place for the team from Devon. The match was by no means a classic, with serious goalscoring chances at a premium, but to the winners it did not matter.
caption: Sean Gregan was a key player for Darlington.
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