Super sub Charlie is hero in play-off final

Twenty three years ago, the Football League introduced a ‘new’ system to settle the issue of promotion and relegation between divisions.

But the play-offs were in fact a reincarnation of a practice adopted back in the 1890s and were known then as ‘test matches’.

Swindon had qualified for the play-offs by virtue of a third place finish in the Third Division, but seven points adrift of promoted Middlesbrough.

In the semi-final they had seen off Wigan Athletic, having recovered from an early two goal deficit in the first leg at Springfield Park.

The first leg of the final at Priestfield had largely gone to plan, until David Smith grabbed a critical lead for the Gills just eight minutes from time.

But Town were hit hard just 17 minutes into the home leg when, from the visitors’ first attack, an unstoppable volley from Karl Elsey, 22 yards out, flew past Fraser Digby.

Steve White had already seen two shots saved by his former teammate at Bristol Rovers, Phil Kite, and when he was eventually beaten by a header from the Town striker, three minutes before the break, the ball thudded against the crossbar.

Kite seemed to be the busiest man on the park in the first half, saving three times from Dave Bamber and other efforts from Tim Parkin, Peter Coyne and Leigh Barnard. And Town kept up the tempo after the interval, at which Charlie Henry replaced Chris Kamara.

In the 56th minute, Barnard saw his shot hit the bar, but five minutes later the breakthrough finally came. Steve Berry, who had come into the side in place of Jimmy Quinn, centred for Henry to chest the ball into the path of Coyne.

He darted past two defenders and rammed the ball past the keeper to trigger a cacophony of sound around the County Ground.

And 10 minutes from the end the tie was back to stalemate when Town’s substitute was in the right place at the right time. Gills’ defender Les Berry failed to deal with a Bamber centre and the ball found its way through to the far corner of the area where Henry unleashed a hooked shot that flashed past Kite into the net – 2-2 on aggregate !

Neutral Selhurst Park was chosen as the venue for the replay. Back in those far off days of the test matches, Swindon Town had done its utmost to reach the Crystal Palace, for it was there that the FA Cup Final was staged.

Town came very close to getting there on two occasions, shortly before the last one was played there in 1914.

Now at long last the club had come to play a final at the Palace, although the old ground had long since been used as an athletics stadium.

This time the prize on offer was very different – a place in the second tier of league football for the first time in 13 years.

Swindon Town: Digby, Dave Hockaday, Phil King, Coyne, Parkin, Colin Calderwood, Bamber, Kamara (sub Henry 46 mins), Berry, White, Barnard. Att: 14,382 Gillingham: Kite, Haylock, Pearce, Berry, Quow, Greenall, Pritchard, Shearer, Lovell, Elsey (Smith 64), Cascarino.