Bolton Wanderers 4-1 Stockport County: Trotters Crush Hatters to Return to the Championship

Match Details

• Competition: Sky Bet League One Play-off Final
• Venue: Wembley Stadium, London
• Final Score: Bolton Wanderers 4 - 1 Stockport County
• Half Time: Bolton Wanderers 1 - 1 Stockport County (8 minutes added time)
• Attendance: 42,268
• Referee: Josh Smith (4th Official: Anthony Backhouse, VAR: Peter Bankes)

Match Stats & Key Metrics

	Bolton Wanderers	Stockport County
Score	4	1
Half Time	1	1
Goalscorers	Rodrigues 3', Wootton o.g. 64', Dalby 81', Rodrigues pen 90+4'	Sidibeh 29'
Formation	4-2-3-1	4-3-3
Yellow Cards	-	Wootton 60', Bailey 80'
Red Cards	-	Dacres-Cogley 90+2'
Substitutions	Dalby 62' (Simons), Cissoko 72' (Gale), McAtee 72' (Burstow), Christie 76' (Conway)	Andresson 65' (Stokes), Diamond 65' (Barry), Olaofe 65' (Sidibeh), Mothersille 81' (Osborn), Connolly 90+5' (Edun)
Attendance	42,268

The Story of the Match

BOLTON WANDERERS sealed a return to the Championship for the first time in seven years as they saw off Stockport County 4-1 in front of a crowd of 42,268 fans in a sweltering League One Play-off Final at Wembley.

Bolton Wanderers came into the Play-off Final with three wins against Bradford City away in the Play-off Semi-Final 2nd Leg (1-0) last time out, Bradford City at home in the Play-off Semi-Final 1st Leg (1-0) and Stevenage at home (5-1), two draws against Huddersfield Town at home (3-3) and Bradford City away (1-1), and one loss against Luton Town at home (2-3).

Stockport County came into the Play-off Final with four wins against Stevenage at home in the Play-off Semi-Final 2nd Leg (2-0) last time out, Stevenage away in the Play-off Semi-Final 1st Leg (1-0), Barnsley away (3-1) and Peterborough United at home (3-1), and two defeats against Port Vale at home (1-2) and Mansfield Town at home (0-1).

Stockport County were bidding to reach the second tier for the first time since the 2001-02 campaign and would do so just four years after being promoted from the National League. This was the sixth time in club history that Bolton Wanderers had reached the EFL play-off finals across the Championship and League One, though both of their attempts at promotion in the third tier ended in defeat, losing 1-0 to Tranmere Rovers in 1991 and 2-0 to Oxford United in 2024.

Stockport County had won three of their last four games against Bolton (drawn one), keeping a clean sheet in each victory across that time. The Hatters' three clean sheets in that run are just one fewer than across their prior 25 games across all competitions against the Trotters combined between April 1909 and November 2023. The 2025-26 League One play-off final was Bolton's 16th trip to Wembley Stadium across all competitions, winning seven of those matches. The Trotters had won just one of their last five however, a 4-0 victory over Plymouth Argyle in the 2023 Football League Trophy final, while failing to score in the other four.

Stockport County had lost three of their four Football League play-off finals, winning the other against Rochdale in 2007-08. They had lost both finals as a third-tier side, against Peterborough United in 1991-92 and Burnley in 1993-94. During their play-off semi-final tie against Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers kept clean sheets in both matches against the Bantams, the first time they had ever managed to get through the semi-final stage of the play-offs without conceding.

With his strike against Stevenage in the semi-final, Stockport County's Kyle Wootton became the second player to score 20 goals in League One (including play-offs) this season, after Leyton Orient's Dom Ballard (23). Only Reading's Lewis Wing (22) has more goal contributions in League One this season among midfielders than Bolton's Amario Cozier-Duberry (19, including play-offs). In the third tier this season, the 20-year-old also ranks second for dribbles completed (68), behind only Stockport's Jack Diamond (89).

Bolton Wanderers manager started with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Bonham in goal, a back four of Osei-Tutu, Forino, Johnston and Conway, two central midfielders in Simons and Sheehan, three attacking midfielders in Cozier-Duberry, Ruben Rodrigues and Gale, with Burstow the lone striker up front.

Stockport County manager started with a 4-3-3 formation with Addai in goal, a back four of Dacres-Cogley, Wootton, Pye and Edun, three central midfielders in Bailey, Norwood and Osborn, and three forwards in Stokes, Barry and Sidibeh.

The match, the second play-off final of the weekend, kicked off at 1 pm in hot temperatures of 33 degrees inside Wembley Stadium. Inside the first five minutes, Bolton Wanderers led when Ruben Rodrigues slotted home following an error from Stockport County goalkeeper Corey Addai to make it 1-0 after three minutes.

Stockport County had an immediate response disallowed following a VAR check after Adama Sidibeh was judged to have fouled George Johnston in the build-up. However, the striker hit back just before the half-hour mark when he flicked in a header to level at 1-1 in the 29th minute. Kyle Wootton's own goal put Bolton back ahead after the break before Sam Dalby's scissor kick made the game safe at 3-1 in the 81st minute.

Rodrigues added a fourth from the penalty spot in stoppage time to make it 4-1 in the 90th+4 minute after Josh Dacres-Cogley was sent off for pulling Ibrahim Cissoko's hair. Victory for Bolton ends their Championship exile, having been relegated in 2019. Stockport County, meanwhile, missed the chance to bring second-tier football back to Edgeley Park for the first time in 24 years. It was the second time they had lost at Wembley this season, having also been defeated by Luton Town in the Vertu Trophy final back in March.

Timeline of Key Events

• Kick Off 1 pm (temperature 33 degrees)
• 3' Rodrigues slots home after Addai error (Bolton 1-0)
• Early Sidibeh response disallowed by VAR for foul on Johnston (Stockport)
• 29' Sidibeh flicks in a header to level (1-1)
• Half Time Bolton Wanderers 1 Stockport County 1 (8 minutes added time)
• 60' Wootton yellow carded (Stockport)
• 62' Dalby replaces Simons (Bolton)
• 64' Wootton own goal restores Bolton's lead (2-1)
• 65' Andresson, Diamond and Olaofe introduced for Stokes, Barry and Sidibeh (Stockport)
• 72' Cissoko replaces Gale, McAtee replaces Burstow (Bolton)
• 76' Christie replaces Conway (Bolton)
• 80' Bailey yellow carded (Stockport)
• 81' Dalby's scissor kick seals it (3-1); Mothersille replaces Osborn (Stockport)
• 90+2' Dacres-Cogley sent off for pulling Cissoko's hair (Stockport)
• 90+4' Rodrigues converts penalty (4-1)
• 90+5' Connolly replaces Edun (Stockport)
• Full Time Bolton Wanderers 4 Stockport County 1 (6 minutes added time)

Author's Standout Players

• Ruben Rodrigues (Bolton Wanderers) - The architect of Bolton's victory, opening the scoring inside three minutes and adding the killer fourth from the spot in stoppage time, a commanding display that drove the Trotters back to the Championship
• Sam Dalby (Bolton Wanderers) - Came off the bench and immediately changed the game, his stunning scissor kick at 3-1 killing off Stockport's hopes and securing Bolton's return to the second tier in spectacular fashion
• Amario Cozier-Duberry (Bolton Wanderers) - A constant menace down the flank with 19 goal contributions in League One this season including the play-offs, the 20-year-old's direct running and 68 completed dribbles throughout the campaign repeatedly put opponents under pressure on a memorable afternoon at Wembley