Millennium Stadium, Cardiff - Sunday, 25 May, 2003
Nationwide Football League - Division Two Play Off Final
Kick Off: 1500 BST
MOST SIGNIFICANT STATS Sunday's Division Two Play Off Final at the Millennium Stadium promises to be a hotly contested affair between Cardiff City and Queen's Park Rangers, in front of a passionate crowd.
The Welsh club are hoping to go one better than last season when they failed in the Second Division Play Off semi-finals. Cardiff were last in England's second highest division in 1985. Rangers have their sights set on a return to Division One after two seasons in Division Two.
Cardiff needed just one goal from their Play Off semi-finals against Bristol City to qualify for the end-of-season finale in their home city. Rangers required a 1-0 home win after drawing 1-1 at Oldham in two tense and tight matches.
Honours were even following this season's League meetings, which were both away wins. Leading scorer Rob Earnshaw bagged a hat trick in the Bluebirds' 0-4 victory at Loftus Road in November. Rangers were 1-2 victors at Ninian Park in April.
This will be Cardiff's 58th match of the season and QPR's 53rd. While City have drawn three and won one of their last four, the Londoners have not lost since 22 March, winning seven and drawing two of their last eight. Rangers' last defeat on the road was 3-1 at Swindon on 1 March.
Cardiff have conceded just once in four games, but they have only scored two goals in seven outings. Should they find the back of the net here, it would be their 50th away goal of the campaign. Rangers keeper Chris Day have kept four clean sheets in their last five attempts.
Rangers' 35 year old former Ipswich and Watford midfielder/defender Steve Palmer has been an ever present for the Loftus Road club this season.
The Play Offs may now be in their 17th season, but this is Queen's Park Rangers first experience of them. Cardiff failed to be get past the semi-final stage in the Division Three matches in 1997, and repeated that in the Division Two equivalent last season. Therefore this is a first appearance in the finals for both clubs.
Cardiff manager Lenny Lawrence was in charge of Charlton when the Addicks won the first ever former Second Division Play Off. At that stage the team finishing above the automatic relegation places took part, and Charlton successfully retained their top division status. Lawrence was also manager of Luton, when they lost to Crewe in the semi-finals of the 1996-97 Play Off semi-finals.
Queen's Park Rangers manager Ian Holloway led Bristol Rovers to the 1998 Second Division Play-Offs, losing to Northampton in the semi-finals.
QPR are the 12th of a possible 15 clubs to have finished fourth in this League (and its predecessor) and then to go on and reach the Play Off Final. But the club to have finished sixth in the division has a 100% record in the final. Cardiff have the opportunity to follow Peterborough in 1992 and Burnley in 1994, who both crept into the Play-Offs on the bottom rung and were eventually promoted.
Cardiff have won the first exchange. With a clash of kit colours, the Bluebirds won the toss to wear their traditional blue. QPR will sport all-white, evoking memories of the strip they wore when claiming the League Cup in 1967.
| HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS | | All | Cardiff | QPR | Draws | | Total meetings* | 54 | 20 | 25 | 9 | | League+ | 46 | 19 | 19 | 8 |
| * includes all games from the Premiership, Football League, FA Cup, League Cup and major European competitions | | + denotes Premiership and Football League |
| THIS SEASON'S LEAGUE MEETING in West London | | Queen's Park Rangers 0-4 Cardiff City | | Loftus Road | 29 November, 2001 | | Cardiff scorer: Earnshaw 59, 65, 87, Campbell 90 | | Att: 14,345 | Ref: Clive Wilkes |
| THIS SEASON'S LEAGUE MEETING in South Wales | | Cardiff City 1-2 Queen's Park Rangers | | Ninian Park | 5 April, 2003 | | Cardiff scorer: Thorne 78 | | QPR scorers: Furlong 64, Langley 89 | | Att: 15,245 | Ref: Paul Armstrong |
HEAD TO HEAD NOTES These clubs went twenty years without meeting in the League between 1982 and 2001. They have however locked horns in Division Two in each of the last two League campaigns. Queen's Park Rangers won two of the four meetings, Cardiff one and one was drawn.
During the two decades when they were not in the same division they were paired against each other three times in Cup competitions. Rangers had the better of the exchanges in the Littlewoods Cup in 1988 and knocked Cardiff out of the FA Cup in 1990. But in 1999, Cardiff turned the tables in the Worthington Cup, beating the Londoners on penalties in the First Round.
QPR last recorded a League 'double' over the Welsh club in 1981/82. Cardiff last did the reverse in 1970/71. Both successes were in the old Second Division.
CARDIFF CITY Final League position
6th D2 81 points Sequences
4 UNDEFEATED - 2 D2, 2 PO [1 win, 3 draws]
KEPT 2 CLEAN SHEETS IN A ROW
NOT CONCEDED IN 225 MINS / 3 hrs 45 mins Recent Form
1 win in last 7 League and Cup games
Drawn 3 of last 11 in all competitions
Lost 3 of last 9 confrontations
Failed to score in 5 of last 7 contests
3 clean sheets in last 4
Seasonal Form | 2002/2003 PERFORMANCE | | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | | All competitions | 57 | 28 | 15 | 14 | 87 | 55 | | All competitions - Home | 26 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 38 | 23 | | All competitions - Away | 31 | 14 | 8 | 9 | 49 | 32 | | Premiership | 46 | 23 | 12 | 11 | 68 | 43 | | Premiership - Home | 23 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 33 | 20 | | Premiership - Away | 23 | 11 | 6 | 6 | 35 | 23 |
Potential Career Milestones
If they play, Chris BARKER and Andy CAMPBELL will be making their 50th appearances for Cardiff.
If selected in the eleven, Gary CROFT will be making his 50th start for the Bluebirds.
| PLAY OFF PERFORMANCES | | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | | All | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 7 | | All ties - Home | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | | All ties - Away | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | | All ties - Neutral venue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| PAST PLAY-OFF MATCHES | | Date | | Rnd | | Result | | | 11 May | 1997 | D3 SF 1L | Cardiff | 0-1 | Northampton | | 14 May | 1997 | D3 SF 2L | Northampton | 3-2 | Cardiff | | 28 Apr | 2002 | D2 SF 1L | Stoke | 1-2 | Cardiff | | 1 May | 2002 | D2 SF 2L | Cardiff | 0-2 | Stoke |
THIS SEASON'S PLAY-OFF MATCHES
Semi-final First Leg | | Cardiff City 1-0 Bristol City | | Ninian Park | 10 May, 2003 | | Cardiff scorer: Thorne 74 | | Att: 19,146 | Ref: Howard Webb |
| Semi-final Second Leg | Bristol City 0-0 Cardiff City
Cardiff win 1-0 on aggregate | | Ashton Gate | 13 May, 2003 | | Att: 16,307 | Ref: Jeff Winter |
QUEEN'S PARK RANGERS Final League position
4th D2 83 points Sequences
9 UNDEFEATED - 7 D2, 2 PO [7 wins, 2 draws]
NOT LOST IN 7 AWAY - 6 D1, 1 PO [5 wins, 2 draws]
SCORED ONE GOAL IN EACH OF LAST 3 Recent Form
10 wins in last 14 League and Cup games
Drawn 2 of last 11 in all competitions
Lost 1 of last 14 confrontations
Failed to score in 1 of last 9 contests
4 clean sheets in last 5
Seasonal Form | 2002/2003 PERFORMANCE | | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | | All competitions | 52 | 25 | 13 | 14 | 74 | 50 | | All competitions - Home | 26 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 40 | 20 | | All competitions - Away | 26 | 10 | 6 | 7 | 34 | 30 | | Premiership | 46 | 24 | 11 | 11 | 69 | 45 | | Premiership - Home | 23 | 14 | 4 | 5 | 38 | 19 | | Premiership - Away | 23 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 31 | 26 |
| EVER PRESENTS: | | Steve Palmer |
Potential Career Milestones
If on the field at kick off, Andy THOMSON will be making his 50th start for Queen's Park Rangers.
| PLAY OFF PERFORMANCES | | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | | All | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | | All ties - Home | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | | All ties - Away | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | | All ties - Neutral venue | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
THIS SEASON'S PLAY-OFF MATCHES
Semi-final First Leg | | Oldham Athletic 1-1 Queen's Park Rangers | | Boundary Park | 10 May, 2003 | | Oldham scorer: Eyres 28 | | QPR scorer: Langley 47 | | Att: 12,152 | Ref: Steve Bennett |
| Semi-final Second Leg | Queen's Park Rangers 1-0 Oldham Athletic
QPR win 2-1 on aggregate | | Loftus Road | 14 May, 2003 | | QPR scorer: Furlong 82 | | Sent Off: Andrews (Oldham) 90 | | Att: 17,201 | Ref: Mark Clattenburg |
| MAN IN THE MIDDLE | HOWARD WEBB
Rotherham, South Yorkshire |
| OTHERS OFFICIALS | | Assistant | Roger East | | Assistant | James Tattan | | Fourth Official | Mick Fletcher |
|
