 Wembley Stadium, venue for the match | |||||||
| Event | 2014–15 Football Conference | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||
| Bristol Rovers won 5–3 on penalties | |||||||
| Date | 17 May 2015 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Ross Joyce | ||||||
| Attendance | 47,029 | ||||||
The 2015 Conference Premier play-off final, known as the 2015 Vanarama Conference Promotion Final for sponsorship reasons, was a football match between Bristol Rovers and Grimsby Town played on 17 May 2015 at Wembley Stadium in London. It was the thirteenth Conference Premier play-off final, the eighth to be played at Wembley and the first to feature either side.
The two participants finished the regular season in 2nd and 3rd respectively to qualify for the play-offs. Bristol Rovers overcame local rivals Forest Green Rovers 3–0 over two legs while Grimsby Town disposed of Eastleigh 5–1.
Bristol Rovers won the match 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time. Rovers therefore became the first club since Carlisle United in 2005 to secure an immediate return to the Football League,[1] after their relegation on the last day of the previous season. For Grimsby Town, it was the third successive season that they had failed to win promotion via the play-offs and were condemned to a sixth straight season in the fifth tier. The attendance of 47,029 was a record for a Conference Premier match,[2] beating the previous best of 42,669 when Oxford United defeated York City to win promotion at the same venue in 2010.
- ^ "Bristol Rovers 1–1 Grimsby". BBC Sport. 17 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Record Crowd See Rovers Return". Football Conference. 17 May 2015. Archived from the original on 20 May 2015. Retrieved 17 May 2015.