Woe for Wolves as Premiership dream dies in play-off hell
Season 1994-95 Part One
Wolves missed out on automatic promotion by drawing their last four games
IT was so near yet so far for Wolves this season, as they reached the Division One play-offs only to lose their semi-final showdown with Bolton Wanderers 3-2 after extra-time in the second leg.
Wolves, under manager Graham Taylor, had finished fourth in the table with 76 points, just one behind third-placed Bolton, two fewer than runners-up Reading and six behind champions Middlesbrough.
If the truth be told Wolves missed out on automatic promotion by drawing their last four League games! In mid-april they were bang on course to reach the Premiership but then, for some unknown reason, wins simply eluded them … this, after they had won half of their previous 42 League matches.
At the end of the season Wolves’ playing record was 21 wins, 13 draws and 12 defeats, with a goal count of 77 for and 61 against. Their best win was 5-0 at home against Southend United – when five different players found the net. Of their losses, the heaviest came at Bolton in early February when they crashed 5-1. Two more horrible defeats came either side of Christmas – a 4-2 surrender at Reading and a 4-1 catastrophe at Oldham. Once again Steve Bull top-scored in the League with a total of 16 goals, followed by his strike partner David Kelly who netted 15. While Wolves finished fourth from top, neighbours Albion came home sixth from bottom! Keith Burkinshaw was in charge at The Hawthorns when the season kicked off but three months into the campaign Alan Buckley took over the hot seat in October 1994. The Baggies didn’t get off to the greatest of starts, winning only one of their first 11 League matches. They picked up a little before Christmas but into the New Year performances out on the pitch left a lot to be desired. In fact, four victories were registered in the first ten games of 1995 and thereafter it was a case of staving off relegation, which they did fairly comfortably.
Albion finished the season with a record of 16 wins, 10 draws and 20 defeats, goals scored 51, goals conceded 57.
A 5-1 scoreline over Tranmere Rovers in the penultimate game of the season was their best victory while 5-2 at home to Swindon Town was their heaviest defeat.
Andy Hunt (13 goals), Bob Taylor (11) and Lee Ashcroft (10) were the three top scorers while midfielder Steve Hunt scored a rare hat-trick in a 3-1 home win over Millwall.
Walsall meanwhile did the business in League Division Three, gaining promotion as runners-up behind Carlisle United.
They actully clinched promotion on the very last day of the season with a nil-nil draw against Bury, while thirdplaced Chesterfield could only gain a point at home to Colchester, leaving the Saddlers on 83 points while the Spire-ites finished up on 82.