Playoff Final Prediction
Playoff Final Prediction & Correct Scores for Division 1 & 2
by Doug Martin
Hello everyone. I was incorrect when I said last week that you would not here from me until the World Cup. I forgot about the Playoff finals for Divisions 1 & 2 plus of course England’s last pre world cup friendly against Japan. England beat Mexico on Monday night as I predicted but left some question marks over their performance. I predicted the scoreline to be 3-0 so as it ended 3-1 I was just out. Congrats to Blackpool on beating Cardiff on Saturday 3-2 which was a great result. My initial thoughts are that Blackpool will be relegated next season but I hope I am incorrect on that prediction as they haven’t played in the top flight since the early 1970’s. Bad luck to Cardiff but it was nice to see Peter Risdale leaving. How on earth he ever got the job at Cardiff after the mess that he left at Leeds United who have only now started to recover. Suits employing suits methinks or tossers employing tossers. I hope Cardiff are ok?
Good luck everyone.
Match 1:
Division 1 Play off Final: Millwall - Swindon Town: (Saturday May 29th 3pm - Wembley Stadium)
Millwall came third in the final table at the end of the season & were very unlucky not to go up automatically instead of Leeds United who pipped them in the last game by beating Bristol Rovers 2-1 after being 1-0 down early in the second half. Millwall got over that disappointment by knocking out Huddersfield Town 2-0 in the Playoff semis to book their place against Swindon in this game. Millwall of course got to this stage last season but lost 3-2 to Scunthorpe. This I think is one of the reasons why Millwall will win this game. Millwall are of course no strangers to Wembley having not only played their last season but also in the 2004 FA Cup final when they lost to Manchester United 3-0. They were a Championship side then & will be hoping to go up in this game so that they can at least get back to that level. Swindon knocked out Charlton Athletic on penalties after both legs resulted in both sides locked on 3 goals each. Charlton will be heartbroken at missing out as they were looking to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt after being relegated last season. Alas, it was not to be. Swindon were one of my tips to get relegated at the start of the season so to say that they have done well is an understatement & a credit to their manager Danny Wilson who has of course tasted promotion before with Barnsley & Hartlepool. I think this will be a good game & a close one but my prediction is for Millwall to win & make up for the disappointment of last season.
Result Prediction: Millwall to win
Score Prediction: Millwall 2 Swindon 1
Match 2:
Division 2 Play Off Final: Rotherham - Dagenham & Redbridge: (Sunday, May 30th 3pm, Wembley Stadium):
Rotherham came an easy forth in the final Division 4, err, 2 table while Dagenham just sneaked in on the last day to the playoffs with a win at already relegated Darlington. They made up for the lateness of their playoff confirmation by thrashing poor old Morecombe 6-0 at home in the 1st leg. They eventually went through 7-2 on aggregate. Dagenham have only been in the League 3 seasons, this being their third season. They struggled in their first season but improved last season & only just missed out on a playoff place with defeat to Shrewsbury Town on the last day of the season. This season they have of course gone one better. Dagenham get small gates as they are so close to West Ham but their gates have been rising this season which is good. They will probably be heavily out numbered by Rotherham fans on Sunday but a few West Ham fans will probably go along to support them. Rotherham have reached the playoffs under their manager Ronnie Moore who is in his second spell as manager of Rotherham. In his first spell he took Rotherham from the 2nd division to the Championship & then amazingly kept them there for several seasons. This was an amazing record when you consider Rotherham’s size in terms of their fan base not to mention their financial circumstances. At present they are playing away from Rotherham at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield which thankfully isn’t too far away. They are hoping to build a new ground in Rotherham soon. This makes their progress this season in the league a massive achievement in my point of view. They knocked out Aldershot 3-0 over two legs to get through to Wembley. I think this is their first Wembley appearance since they won the Freight Rover Trophy 2-1 against Shrewsbury Town in 1996. Hence this is Rotherham’s second appearance at Wembley & Dagenham’s first. A win for Rotherham because they had a better league season.
Result Prediction: Rotherham to win
Score Prediction: Rotherham 2 Dagenham & Redbridge 0
Douglas Martin
26th May 2010
dap martin@hotmail.co.uk
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