The 2004 Football Conference play-off final took place on 16 May 2004 and was contested between

Aldershot Town Aldershot Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Aldershot, Hampshire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. The club was founded in the spr ...

and

Shrewsbury Town Shrewsbury Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1886, the club were inaugur ...

. It was held at the

Britannia Stadium The bet365 Stadium is an all-seater football stadium in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England and the home of EFL Championship club Stoke City. The stadium was previously called the Britannia Stadium but was renamed on 1 June 2016 when the cl ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

. A crowd of 19,216 attended the game (a conference play-off final record at the time), with just over 12,000 travelling from

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

Match

Summary

Aldershot had the first real chance of the game when Roscoe Dsane got on the end of a ball over the top of the defence and held off Shrews captain Darren Tinson, only to drag his shot wide. Jon Challinor then had a chance but failed to connect properly with

Aaron McLean Aaron McLean (born 25 May 1983) is an English retired professional footballer who played as a striker. At international level he gained five caps for the England C team during his time in non-league. McLean began his senior career with Leyt ...

's cutback. At the other end it took a crucial intervention from Dominic Sterling to deny Jamie Tolley after a good surging run from the midfielder. Aldershot took the lead in the 36th minute when Shots captain Ray Warburton headed on a free kick and McLean powered the ball into the net. However Shrewsbury were level just minutes later, with Duane Darby smashing in an almost identical goal. In the second half the Shropshire side should have taken the lead when Luke Rodgers crossed for Ryan Lowe, who blazed over from inside the area. With the scores level at 1–1, silver goal extra time was required, and Lee Charles had a couple of chances to win it for the Shots. Ultimately the match needed a penalty shoot-out to be settled. After Rodgers had missed Shrewsbury's first kick, goalkeeper Scott Howie was the hero, saving all three of Aldershot's penalties while teammates Tolley, Jake Sedgemore and finally Trevor Challis scored theirs to send Shrewsbury back into the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

Details

References

{{Shrewsbury Town F.C. matches Play-off Final 2004 Play-off Final 2004 Play-off Final 2004

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

Football Conference Play-off Final 2004 Football Conference play-off final