THE FOUR FINALS – PART II

The Champions League final is obviously the big tie of the weekend, but try telling that to fans of Swansea, Reading, Huddersfield, Peterborough, Torquay and Stevenage. The six English sides are all competing for promotion at different levels but, no matter how good their previous form has been in the 2010/11 campaign, it all comes down to a one-off game and who is better on the day.

LEAGUE TWO PLAY-OFF FINAL
Both of my semi-final predictions were wrong as neither Shrewsbury or Accrington made it through to the final. Instead Stevenage will do battle with Torquay at Old Trafford for the right to earn promotion into League One.

The two clubs have made excellent progress this season as it was not too long ago that the duo were Conference rivals. But Torquay earned promotion into the Football League via the play-offs in 2009 before Stevenage won the 2010 title.

Stevenage, who claimed a 3-0 aggregate victory over Accrington, are seeking back-to-back promotions after defying expectations in League Two this season. Whatever the outcome in the final, Stevenage can look back at a fine first season in the Football League. But it will not be easy for Graham Westley’s men, who failed to win or score in the two meetings between the two sides this season.

Torquay have continued to make great progress under Paul Buckle and claimed a 2-0 aggregate victory over Shrewsbury in the semi-finals. The future of Buckle remains uncertain as he has been heavily linked to the post at Bristol Rovers, but hopefully that will not distract the players from the game. Buckle will be going all out for the win regardless of the speculation about his future and the tie looks very evenly balanced.

PREDICTION
If Torquay win, could it ensure Buckle stays at Plainmoor for the chance to manage in League One? Regardless of what the future holds for Buckle I believe the Gulls will claim a narrow 2-1 victory, although the crunch clash at Old Trafford could require extra time.

LEAGUE ONE PLAY-OFF FINAL
There is very little to separate Huddersfield and Peterborough as the League One season reaches its climax at Old Trafford. A lot of the build-up has centred on Peterborough boss Darren Ferguson, who began his playing career under the guidance of his father Sir Alex at Old Trafford, but in a one-off game anything can happen.

Huddersfield go into the game in fine form and are unbeaten for a club record of 27 league games, including the two play-off draws against Bournemouth. The Terriers beat Peterborough in this season’s Johnstone’s Paint Trophy and claimed a draw in the home league fixture, but Posh came out on top at London Road and this is likely to be another nail biting encounter.

Huddersfield battled hard to try and achieve automatic promotion before Southampton cemented second place in the final two games of the season. The Yorkshire side’s excellent unbeaten run deserves to earn them a place in the Championship and manager Lee Clark has done an excellent job in his second full season in charge.

The Terriers would more than deserve victory in the final after finishing eight points clear of their opponents in the regular season. But their defence is going to have to be on top form against Peterborough, the top scoring league club in the country with 106 goals.

Free-scoring Peterborough are likely to get a goal or two at Old Trafford, so how their defence handles Huddersfield’s attack could prove to be the key in this tie. This game seems to be written in the stars for Posh, with the manager being in his spiritual home and a star striker looking to go out with a bang.

Craig Mackail-Smith grabbed his 34th goal of the season in the second leg of the semi-final win over MK Dons. The Scotland international has been heavily linked with a move away from London Road, with Norwich among the club’s interested in his services. If this does prove to be his last game for Posh, Mackail-Smith will want to ensure he goes out on a high and two goals would see him reach 100 for the club.

But all these statistics and stories will go out the window when the game kicks off and it will all be about one game of football.

PREDICTION
After correctly predicting the two semi-final winners, I am going to stick with my original prediction of Huddersfield winning the final. It will be a close encounter, but I think Huddersfield will win 3-2.