 Wembley Stadium | |||||||
| Event | 2012–13 Football League Two | ||||||
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| Date | 18 May 2013 | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium, London | ||||||
| Referee | Keith Stroud (Hampshire) | ||||||
| Attendance | 47,127 | ||||||
The 2013 Football League Two play-off final was an association football match played on 18 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Bradford City and Northampton Town. The match determined the fourth and final team to gain promotion from Football League Two, English football's fourth tier, to Football League One. The top three teams of the 2012–13 Football League Two season gained automatic promotion to League One, while the teams placed from fourth to seventh in the table took part in play-off semi-finals; the winners then competed for the final place for the 2013–14 season in League One. Northampton Town finished in sixth place while Bradford City ended the season in seventh position. Burton Albion and Cheltenham Town were the losing semi-finalists, being defeated by Bradford and Northampton respectively.
The match was refereed by Keith Stroud in front of a crowd of 47,127. In the 15th minute of play, Bradford took the lead after James Hanson headed in a pass from Garry Thompson after James Meredith's cross. Four minutes later, the lead was doubled when Rory McArdle's strong header from a Nathan Doyle cross went low into Northampton's goal. Nahki Wells then volleyed past Lee Nicholls from close range just under the half-hour mark in the first half to make it 3–0 to Bradford. Northampton failed to make a shot on target and the match ended 3–0 to see Bradford promoted to League One.
Bradford ended their following season in 11th place in League One, while Northampton finished in 21st place in League Two in their next season, two places and three points above the relegation zone. Their manager, Aidy Boothroyd, was sacked in December 2013 with the club at the bottom of the division.