The first season of the play-offs was a mere appetiser for the feast that has followed since. There would be no Wembley showpiece final - this was introduced in 1990 - yet this did not take anything away from the entertainment, suspense and intrigue surrounding the new end of season events. Change can sometimes be good; the 1986/87 play-offs proved this point emphatically.
The scramble for the final place in Division One was dramatic enough. With the top flight being reduced from 22 to 20 clubs over the next two seasons, the team finishing one place above the standard relegation dotted line would join the teams finishing 3rd, 4th and 5th in Division Two for the right to keep their place at the top table. Charlton Athletic had lived to fight another day.
With five matches remaining in the season, it appeared as if Charlton's stay in Division One would be limited to one season. But ten points from the last 15 available allowed Lennie Lawrence's side to sneak ahead of Leicester in the race for 19th place. A Jim Melrose brace in the semi-final second leg against Ipswich saw the Addicks win 2-1 on aggregate, with Leeds awaiting them in the final.
Looking to return to the top flight for the first time since 1982, Leeds had come through a thrilling semi-final against Oldham. Winning 1-0 at Elland Road, Leeds were on their way out on the dreaded plastic Boundary Park pitch when a late Mike Cecere header edged Joe Royle's side 2-1 ahead on aggregate. But seconds later Keith Edwards took the match to extra-time, with Leeds eventually going through on away goals.
The final would be just as dramatic. A late winner from Melrose gave Charlton a 1-0 win at Selhurst Park in the first leg, but a Brendan Ormsby goal in front of 31,395 at Elland Road two days later forced a replay. Lawrence shrewdly decided against tossing a coin for the replay venue, possibly fearing losing the toss and a return to Elland Road where Leeds had won nine consecutive matches.
A neutral venue was chosen for the replay on Friday May 29, although the police seemed far from happy with the decision. Birmingham City's St Andrew's ground would be limited to a crowd of 18,000 - it is estimated that Leeds brought 16,000 plus - and 300 police officers were drafted in to prevent any repeat of the horrific violence witnessed two years before during a Birmingham-Leeds league match, that tragically saw a 15-year-old boy lose his life.
Extra-time and penalties would decide the match if needed, although the prospect of a shootout infuriated Lawrence. "It is an absolute nonsense that we could lose our First Division status in such a way," he complained. Charlton played well during the 90 minutes, but as extra-time started, Lawrence's worst fears edged closer.
However, as the £1 million rated Leeds midfielder John Sheridan stroked in a beautiful free kick in the 100th minute, Lawrence may well snapped your hand off for a shootout. Billy Bremner's Leeds had one foot in Division One, just 20 minutes away from capping a fine season that had also seen them reach the FA Cup semi-finals.
"Exit Charlton, or so it seemed," Stephen Bierley wrote in the Guardian. "Rather, enter Shirtliff," he added. If Charlton were after a saviour, their skipper did not seem a likely candidate. Purchased from Sheffield Wednesday for £120,000 the previous summer, centre back Peter Shirtliff had only scored one league goal all season.
He had also come into the play-offs under a fitness cloud. A trapped nerve in his back had curtailed his involvement in the final few league fixtures and the first three matches in the play-offs. "For the three weeks before the play-offs I managed to train for just two days," Shirtliff admitted. Come the end of the final, his return took on even more significance.
Seven minutes remained when Shirtliff intervened for the first time. Expertly sweeping in an effort from the edge of the box from substitute Mark Stuart's pass, Shirtliff punched the air in delight, a happy Yorkshireman among the thousands of disappointed fans inside the ground. With three minutes to go, Shirtliff delivered his golden goal, rumoured to be worth £1 million for the club.
The winning goal was a nicely worked free kick routine just outside the box on Charlton's right. Colin Walsh backheeled the ball, allowing Steve Gritt to trap it using his studs. Moving on to the ball, Andy Peake swung in a delicious curling cross, right into the corridor of uncertainty. A beautiful delivery, simply inviting someone to get on the end of it.
That man would be Shirtliff. Arriving in front of Leeds centre back Jack Ashurst, Charlton's skipper threw himself at the ball just six-yards out. His diving header gave goalkeeper Mervyn Day no chance. The ecstasy and agony of the new system was laid bare in front of us. Charlton players swamped Shirtliff in celebration; the body language of Leeds' players portrayed the heartbreak felt.
"I had a feeling I was going to score tonight - that's why I had my hair cut," Shirtliff joked as Charlton survived the drop. "Over the 42 games of this season we didn't deserve to be relegated, but we've not been scoring enough goals. I include myself in that criticism, I should have more." Shirtliff's two goals - his first brace in professional football - was the perfect time to improve his strike rate.
Lawrence openly admitted that he wondered if his team could respond from the blow of Sheridan's goal. "I didn't think we could come back but we showed masses of character and spirit." Naturally, he sang the praises of his skipper. "Shirtliff was quite incredible considering he had done no training for three weeks before Monday's second leg at Elland Road."
"The coaching staff deserve the credit for working on the free-kick which set it all up," Shirtliff revealed. "The free kick for the winner was a quality kick, something we've been working on," Lawrence added. Captain Marvellous, as the Daily Express labelled him, may have been the ultimate hero. But the assist provided by Peake should not be brushed over.
Understandably though, Shirtliff dominated the match reports the next day. "Rarely can a captain, at least not from defence, have made such a decisive contribution," Clive White noted in the Times. The great escape completed via the play-offs made the experience that much sweeter. Chelsea would not be so lucky a year later.
The first set of play-off matches at the end of the 1986/87 season proved to be a fine advert for the new system. After a few years of this kind of drama, it was obvious that this end of season joy/despair would forever be in the footballing calendar. A time for heroes to be made, players etching their names in the history of a club, just like Charlton's Peter Shirtliff in May 1987.
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