2015 Conference Premier play-off final
Introduction


The **2015 Conference Premier play\-off final**, known as the **2015 Vanarama Conference Promotion Final** for sponsorship reasons, was a [football](/wiki/Association_football "Association football") match between [Bristol Rovers](/wiki/Bristol_Rovers_F.C. "Bristol Rovers F.C.") and [Grimsby Town](/wiki/Grimsby_Town_F.C. "Grimsby Town F.C.") played on 17 May 2015 at [Wembley Stadium](/wiki/Wembley_Stadium "Wembley Stadium") in London. It was the thirteenth [Conference Premier](/wiki/Conference_Premier "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](/wiki/Forest_Green_Rovers_F.C. "Forest Green Rovers F.C.") 3–0 over two legs while Grimsby Town disposed of [Eastleigh](/wiki/Eastleigh_F.C. "Eastleigh F.C.") 5–1\.

Bristol Rovers won the match 5–3 on [penalties](/wiki/Penalty_shoot-out_%28association_football%29 "Penalty shoot-out (association football)") following a 1–1 draw after [extra time](/wiki/Overtime_%28sports%29 "Overtime (sports)"). Rovers therefore became the first club since [Carlisle United](/wiki/Carlisle_United_F.C. "Carlisle United F.C.") in [2005](/wiki/2005_Conference_National_play-off_final "2005 Conference National play-off final") to secure an immediate return to the [Football League](/wiki/Football_League "Football League"), after their relegation on the last day of the [previous season](/wiki/2013-14_in_English_football "2013-14 in English football"). 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](/wiki/English_football_league_system "English football league system"). The attendance of 47,029 was a record for a Conference Premier match, beating the previous best of 42,669 when [Oxford United](/wiki/Oxford_United_F.C. "Oxford United F.C.") defeated [York City](/wiki/York_City_F.C. "York City F.C.") to win promotion at the same venue in [2010](/wiki/2010_Conference_Premier_play-off_final "2010 Conference Premier play-off final").


How does winning promotion via the play-offs differ from other means of promotion?