 Wembley Stadium hosted the final | |||||||
| |||||||
| After extra time | |||||||
| Date | 27 May 2018 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Robert Jones | ||||||
| Attendance | 26,218 | ||||||
The 2018 EFL League One play-off final was an association football match which was played on 27 May 2018 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Rotherham United and Shrewsbury Town to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from EFL League One to the EFL Championship. The top two teams of the 2017–18 EFL League One season gained automatic promotion to the Championship, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; the winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2018–19 season in the Championship.
Rotherham had reached the play-off final in their first season back in the third tier of English football, having been relegated from the Championship in the 2017–18 season. The two clubs had faced one another at Wembley before, in the 1996 Football League Trophy Final. The 2018 final was watched by a crowd of more than 26,000 people and refereed by Robert Jones. Shrewsbury's goalkeeper Dean Henderson saved an early Rotherham penalty before Rotherham took the lead with a Richard Wood goal. Shrewsbury equalised through a second-half Alex Rodman strike, forcing the match into extra time. Late in the first half, Wood scored his and Rotherham's second, and the match ended 2–1.
Shrewsbury Town ended the next season in 18th place, five points above the relegation zone. Rotherham United finished 22nd in the 2018–19 EFL Championship, four points from safety and having conceded the most goals in the division, and were relegated back to League One.